Thesis (Ed. D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1991. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Dissertation Committee: Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, Labros Comitas. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-123).

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Daniel Vitkus, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 7, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains v, 54 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-164). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 267-310). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A..)--Florida State University, 2006. / Advisor: Jerrilyn McGregory, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English.. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Dec. 4, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 72 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-164). Also available on the Internet.

Texte remanié de: Ph.D.--University of Minnesota, 1969. / Bibliogr. p. 161-172. Index.

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This research articulates a relationship between the physical community of Harlem, New York and the digital community comprising TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel related social media website. The purpose of this research is to identify forces of racial commodification in the tourism industry and analyze the role of digital technologies in this process. This research is important because tourism and digital technologies are active sites of racial formation and inequality, and TripAdvisor helps mediate the way they interact. This research employs a mixed-method qualitative approach to articulating the Harlem-TripAdvisor relationship: discourse analysis of online reviews of a prominent cultural tourism company in Harlem, ethnography of that company's tour experiences, and techniques designed to bridge methodological gaps between these two. I find that the Harlem-TripAdvisor relationship produces a three-layered discursive structure, with each successive layer less visible relative to each other. The first—and most visible layer—contains a discourse based in newly emerging conventions of online travel writing. The second layer contains a discourse reflecting touristic valuations of racial difference in capitalistic markets. The third—and least visible layer—contains a discourse reflecting histories and current patterns of racial oppression and inequality. Each of these layers are necessary to create a definition of race emphasizing its supposed benefits to economic growth at the same time it remains a hierarchical and exploitative social construction. / Doctor of Philosophy / This research articulates a relationship between the physical community of Harlem, New York and the digital community comprising TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel related social media website. The purpose of this research is to identify forces of racial commodification in the tourism industry and analyze the role of digital technologies in this process. This research is important because tourism and digital technologies are active sites of racial formation and inequality, and TripAdvisor helps mediate the way they interact. This research employs a mixed-method qualitative approach to articulating the Harlem-TripAdvisor relationship: discourse analysis of online reviews of a prominent cultural tourism company in Harlem, ethnography of that company’s tour experiences, and techniques designed to bridge methodological gaps between these two. I find that the Harlem-TripAdvisor relationship produces a three-layered discursive structure, with each successive layer less visible relative to each other. The first—and most visible layer— contains a discourse based in newly emerging conventions of online travel writing. The second layer contains a discourse reflecting touristic valuations of racial difference in capitalistic markets. The third—and least visible layer—contains a discourse reflecting histories and current patterns of racial oppression and inequality. Each of these layers are necessary to create a definition of race emphasizing its supposed benefits to economic growth at the same time it remains a hierarchical and exploitative social construction.

Do works of art exert their influence on us across time and culture? The so-called "godfather of the Harlem Renaissance," Alain Locke, argued that Black artworks would lead to racial uplift, so he thought art crossed cultural boundaries, at least. In fact, Locke argued again and again for a universal appeal in art while at the same time expounding a thoroughgoing psychological approach to value theory, including aesthetic value. The two seemingly disparate aesthetic theories adverted by Locke have not been aggregated into a unified system. This work sets out to do just that with a review of Locke's early aesthetics as evidenced by his value theory, and his later popular writings that adumbrate his insistence on a universal appeal in art.