Mon mémoire vise à définir, analyser, contextualiser et historiciser la censure à la Renaissance à travers l’exploration de diverses œuvres de Shakespeare, notamment les pièces souvent désignées sous le nom d’Henriad— Henry IV partie 1 et 2, Richard II— tout en portant une attention particulière sur Les Sonnets. Cette thèse s’intéresse à l’interpénétration des différentes institutions de censure, ainsi qu’aux différentes façons dont la censure peut se manifester ; à l’hétérogénéité des institutions, des divers agents, ainsi que des censeurs ; à la manière dont certains mécanismes se rejoignent, coopèrent ou divergent à d’autres moments. L’objectif principal est de démontrer que la censure va au-delà des paramètres de quelconque institution ou agent individuel, et qu’elle résulte de l’amalgame de chaque partie impliquée volontairement ou involontairement dans la prolifération de mesures répressives. Finalement, mon étude démontre que les pièces et Les Sonnets de Shakespeare ont été censurés de différentes manières, et cela, par différentes institutions, mais plus important encore, ce mémoire met en évidence que Shakespeare a mis en avant différents stratagèmes adaptables dans le but de contourner la censure de ses œuvres. / This thesis seeks to define, analyze, contextualize, and historicize censorship in the Renaissance through an exploration of Shakespeare’s Sonnets as well as the group of plays often referred to as the Henriad—1 Henry IV, 2 Henry IV, and Richard II. The overarching focus of this thesis is to demonstrate the in-betweenness of censorship—the different ways in which censorship is manifested; the institutions as well as the censors; how different censoring mechanisms merge at certain times, cooperate, or even disagree at others. The goal is to bring forth a clear understanding of the genealogical entity of censorship, to prove that censorship is bigger than any one institution, any one individual, that censorship is an amalgamation of every different susceptible censoring party working together mostly, and sometimes not—voluntarily or involuntarily—in their ever-changing ways of repression. Ultimately, my study of Shakespeare demonstrates that the plays and the sonnets were censored in different ways through different institutions, but more importantly, this paper highlights that Shakespeare had different adaptable ways of circumventing the censorship of his works.

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Through research grounded in participant observation among online journalists in Jordan, this project contributes to the investigation of longstanding problems in social theory by asking how the relationship between mass communication and politics is changing in the post-internet age. Or perhaps more skeptically, it asks: Is this relationship changing, or do we merely assume that it must be? Focusing on the concept of censorship, where media and politics meet most forcefully, I investigate the intersections of new technologies, journalistic practices, and state control. My dissertation examines how journalists in Jordan negotiate state censorship and understand their own processes of self-censorship as they mediate modernity and political change in a country where political truths are to a great degree contrived and manipulated. My research explores the effects of censorship on digital news transmission – and the effects of digital transmission on censorship – as journalists create knowledge in an evolving media environment. Particularly in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring, new technologies have enabled a cadre of Jordanian journalists and media activists willing to test boundaries, and permitted an explosive media pluralism in the kingdom. In response to this more distributed, smaller-scale media production, the Jordanian state seems to be changing its tactics. Where it earlier relied on newspaper editors to act as gatekeepers, it now relies on cultivating self-censorship in the individual. My research shows that as media production and consumption become more distributed, so must state censorship. No longer centrally negotiated between government and media institutions, it is communicated to journalists through diffuse control, prosecutions of their peers, changing regulatory schema, and professional codes that promote "responsibility" and "balance" on the part of the individual. Nevertheless, there are still avenues of resistance available to journalists at both independent online news outlets and larger state-aligned outlets. I argue that the Jordanian regime disciplines its media to act as a form of window-dressing, in which it performs certain democratic ideals while ceding no power to its citizens and institutions of civil society. Through this strategy, aimed in part toward its own people but primarily at its all-important foreign investors and donors, the state adds a veneer of freedom to its autocratic foundation. / Anthropology

The Internet presents a new phenomenon to educators and students in the K-12 environment. It's ease of use and ready access to material provides an overwhelming resource for use in the K-12 classroom. This study looked at content management of Internet resources in the K-12 school environment. Content management is defined as the methods of organizing access to the information available on the Internet allowing the teacher to effectively use resources in a classroom setting. Teachers have managed the material, or content, that they present to students for over a decade. Now that resources available on the Internet are also open to K-12 students, teachers must be aware of the need to manage Internet content, just as they would do for any other content being used in their classroom. This study looked at middle school students in 6th and 7th grades. An experimental design was used to determine if K-12 access to Internet resources provides a higher degree of results when students are presented with managed resources, or when students have open access to Internet resources. Analysis of the results of the study show that there is a significant difference in both the amount and the quality of material that was identified by the group with managed access to Internet content. / Ph. D.

In March of 1992, Marion Goldwasser, a teacher at Carroll County High School in Virginia, came under fire for her use of the book, The Floatplane Notebooks, in her classroom. A local preacher and several parents objected to six pages which contained sexual content. Over the next three months, residents throughout Southwest Virginia entered into a debate over the merits of the book, and more broadly the purpose of education. This debate roughly divided into three camps with different perspectives not just on how to proceed, but on the very nature of the controversy itself. These camps were those who felt the controversy was primarily about the censoring of books, those who were primarily concerned with the proper procedure by which the book should be reviewed, and those who saw the book as a moral affront to religious, Christian values. These disputes remained intractable throughout the controversy reflecting underlying disagreements about the ethical role of state power, the public nature of public schools, and the connection between power and knowledge. By understanding these underlying intellectual causes for the intractability of censorship disputes, historians can engage other academics and the public on this important issue. Engagement can take multiple forms, including writing in handbooks designed to help educators deal with such controversies, writing amici curiae briefs on relevant First Amendment cases, and encouraging a broader and more lucid public discussion on censorship and free speech. / Master of Arts / Marion Goldwasser was a high school teacher in Carroll County, Virginia in 1992. That year, she taught a book called The Floatplane Notebooks in her classroom. A parent and a local preacher objected to her use of the book because they did not like its sexual references. They demanded that the book never be used again and that the school board fire Goldwasser. The teacher, the preacher, the school board, and the community debated what to do for four months. Finally, Superintendent Oliver McBride ended the controversy by compromising and allowing the book to be used for advanced senior classes but not junior classes. This controversy matters because it tells us something about censorship controversies in general. They have been going on for a long time and are likely to continue. People disagree about when the government should get involved. They disagree about why we have public schools. They disagree on who should make decisions for the classroom and how the media talks about censorship. Historians need to understand this. When they do, they can help the public become more informed on the issue of censorship.

With the rise of feminist sentiment and the growing awareness of gender equity in China, social media has become an increasingly central space for Chinese feminist expression. However, the complex dynamics of feminist expression in these online spaces—and the role of popular culture in facilitating such discourse—are still to be fully elucidated. This dissertation delves into these understudied facets, focusing on the social media platforms Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Bilibili (China’s largest anime fandom hub), through a cross-platform comparative analysis of the online discussion sparked by the stand-up comedy acts of Chinese female comedians. It further narrows its focus to young (age 22-33) female audiences' engagement with these comedy routines online, probing their perceptions of the confluence between feminist discourse, humor, and social media. Drawing on a mixed-methods qualitative approach that combines content analysis of videos and comments on Douyin and Bilibili with in-depth interviews with 15 young female participants, this dissertation demonstrates how users employed the platform’s creative features to challenge everyday sexism by echoing or building upon the stand-up comedians’ gags. At the same time, the analysis also uncovers how social media is used to insult and push back against these feminist voices. Subsequently, audience analysis reflects the dual use of female comedians' humor as a tool for cultural critique and community formation, while highlighting the deterrents to engagement, such as the polarized reception, stigma surrounding feminism, and online censorship. The findings shed light on the sophisticated role of social media as a platform for digital feminist expression, and the ways in which it can amplify both feminist discourse or, conversely, give voice to misogynistic attacks. They also uncover audience perceptions regarding the influence of popular culture in enhancing female representation, albeit within a frequently binary discourse. Additionally, the study addresses broader cultural implications, including the weaponization of “Westernness” in misogynistic rhetoric and the impact of censorship on audience interaction. By situating the investigation within the context of China's digital landscape and framing stand-up comedy—a genre that resonates with millennials and Gen Z—as a unique lens through which to view feminism, this dissertation transcends mere observation of a cultural phenomenon to offer a deeply personal exploration. It aspires to enrich the literature on social media as a fertile ground for gender-related discussions and to chronicle the emergent feminist ethos of our era.

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