Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Communication and Culture, 2006. / Title from dissertation PDF t.p. (viewed Oct. 30, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-08, Section: A, page: 2967. Adviser: Robert L. Ivie.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Communication and Culture, 2006. / Adviser: Robert L. Ivie.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Communication and Culture, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 14, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-09, Section: A, page: 3533. Adviser: Carolyn Calloway-Thomas.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 2926. Adviser: Stephen Hartnett. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 266-284) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Communication and Culture, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 24, 2009). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4320. Adviser: Robert E. Terrill.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4318. Advisers: Martin Camargo; Gail Hawisher. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-151) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

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Political discourse in contemporary Germany provides a window into issues of racism, nationality, and the overall question of German identity. The use of metaphor and racist semantic techniques in political speeches and articles addressing issues of increased neo-Nazi activity and changes in immigration policy point to an increasing struggle over the establishment of a common discursive framework within which such questions are discussed. Such a struggle itself points to a deeper crisis of the state and German identity. This paper offers an approach to understanding these struggles by first examining metaphorical conceptions of the nation and state that not only reflect and describe, but actually shape German experience of these phenomena, further impacting conceptions of race and national identity. The active role of racism in creating a common discursive framework and as it informs the process/state project of hegemony is examined. Questions concerning whether the racism detected is "new" and the consequences of establishing a racialized discourse will contribute, finally, to an exploration of possibilities for creating an anti-racist discourse in Germany.

This dissertation addresses Habermas' search for a communicative foundation for universal rationality as a basis for validating assertions, in the light of the postmodern criticism that all universalizing principles represent the authority, or dominance, of individuals or cultures. By abandoning the idea of validity altogether, postmodern scholars would reduce social organization to power struggles. Modernist criticize this position as a return to relativism. Working at the intersection between these two positions, Habermas maintains the modern distinction between authority and validity, but suggests that the distinction remains blurred by prejudice and self-interest inherent in everyday discourse. To confront prejudice and self-interest, and re-establish a universal standard for validity, Habermas identifies the universal presuppositions for communication and describes them as the conditions for ideal speech. These ideal speech conditions would neutralize prejudice and self-interest, while establishing a universal standard for validity based on consensus--agreement based solely on the force of the strongest argument My thesis is that the ideal speech situation must actually rely on an ethic of discourse in order to create and maintain something like the ideal conditions that Habermas identifies. The ideal speech situation is often called an ethic because it describes how we ought to act during discourse; we ought to act so as to affirm the basic presuppositions inherent in all speech acts. I argue that guidelines for ideal speech do not, by themselves, eliminate prejudice or establish conditions for consensus formation. Habermas seems to accept the inadequacy of these guidelines and relies upon a supplementary disposition that must be adopted by the speakers. This disposition achieves ideal conditions by tacitly requiring speakers to use language literally, but the literal language requirement has no universal foundation in the universal presuppositions of communication. Without this universal foundation, Habermas' discourse theory no longer establishes universal ground for validity, or truth / acase@tulane.edu

<p>This qualitative, narratively orientated study explores the perceptions of undergraduate students? interpretations of their experiences as they voluntarily attempt to start and maintain writing center-facilitated writing groups. During the spring 2014 semester, undergraduate writing tutors at a small, private, women?s, liberal arts university attempted to start four writing groups through the institution?s writing center. Only two of the four proposed writing groups formed, and of those two, only one writing group maintained consistent membership and met regularly throughout the semester. Data for this study were collected from February 2014 to May 2014 and consists of 11 interviews, with four individuals, three of whom were the undergraduate writing tutors who founded the writing groups. Noting the impossibility of generalizing a small, contextualized study like this, the author suggests it may be useful to writing directors to consider writing groups as a viable writing center program for undergraduate students, particularly if viewed as a vehicle for tutor training and leadership development. Other issues for writing center directors, writing center administrators, and teachers of writing at the college level who are interested in how writing groups function to support writers are discussed as well. Moreover, this dissertation examines the author?s own experiences wrestling with a research study that became vastly different from what she intended because of participation constraints. The author?s attempts at self-reflexivity regarding her subjectivities, epistemological contradictions, and other issues raised by her interpretation of her research experience are included as data and discussed in the final chapter of this dissertation.