Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, November, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-204). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 25-26).

Thesis (Ph.D.). / Written for the Dept. of German Studies. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2009/06/09). Includes bibliographical references.

Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-40).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Comparative Literature, June 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

This thesis proposes a critical study of the techniques and motives behind modern commodity feminist advertising, focusing on the appropriation of the “young girl” as a symbol of the feminist cause. This evolving trend in advertising, building upon new movements of empowerment and the recent proliferation of the online feminist space, is shifting the logics of consumption by marketing feminist ideology and activism through consumer purchasing power. By prompting consumers to believe that their purchases can make a significant change, companies are developing brand loyalty in their key marketing demographics by using the image and rhetoric of the “young girl” to tap into a term I call “anti-nostalgia,” a nostalgia whereby women leverage the inherent sentimentality of childhood with a constructive understanding and rejection of the destructively sexist climate they experienced to combat these sociocultural conditions for future generations. Joining theoretical research on branding, user-generated content, and the neoliberal ideology of the consumer-citizen, I argue that these advertising campaigns, coupled with online spaces for public interaction and participation, effectively create channels for their target consumers to contribute to this commodified form of activism. In reality, however, these “feminist” purchases are simply forms of consumer self-therapy in a modern political climate of systemic gender discrimination.

Digital technology has expanded the designer’s creative reach, but cannot duplicate the complexity of the imperfect and unexpected results of handmade processes. By executing a series of hand-built collage and assemblage pieces, I hope to not only rediscover the pleasure of working with my hands but also to develop creative methods to incorporate into future design projects. In this body of work, I have manually executed tasks that designers perform with software — cutting, pasting, layering, aligning, and creating transparency and drop shadows. The pieces are built from new and found materials, using text and images from old family letters and photos — physical evidence of relationships from my childhood and those of my parents and grandparents. These pieces express fragments of memories and family history.

Cette thèse questionne les mises en récits, les nostalgies patrimoniales et les constructions territoriales afin de comprendre les différentes dimensions du cosmopolitisme autour du boulevard Saint-Laurent à Montréal. L’artère représente à la fois une coupure dans la ville, symbolisant pendant longtemps les « deux solitudes » (MacLennan, 1945) francophone et anglophone, et une couture, un lieu de passage et de brassage qui a été privilégié par les immigrants comme lieu d’installation tout au long du XXe siècle. Cette recherche se fonde sur des enquêtes de terrain, associant observation et entretiens, mais aussi sur l’étude de rapports, plans d’aménagement et récits de fiction. Dans l’ancien corridor de l’immigration, se rencontrent, se confrontent et parfois se superposent trois dimensions du cosmopolitisme : un cosmopolitisme politique et identitaire, des formes de marchandisation et enfin, un cosmopolitisme vécu, du quotidien. Différents niveaux de pouvoir agissent sur le boulevard (arrondissement, ville, gouvernement provincial et fédéral) pour en faire un espace de lecture des politiques de diversité et de patrimonialisation. Le boulevard est également l’objet de stratégies de branding : si les acteurs des quartiers « ethniques » mettent en avant le cosmopolitisme, les promoteurs publics et privés du quartier des Spectacles le laissent de côté. Mais ces quartiers ne sont pas réductibles aux seules stratégies de communication et mise en images : ils sont vécus, utilisés et parcourus par les communautés culturelles concernées et par d’autres habitants. Le boulevard est donc un lieu d’expériences citadines qui construisent une forme de cosmopolitisme du quotidien, qui se décline en lieux, ambiances, temporalités et qui se cristallisent dans certaines figures et lieux-moments particuliers, comme les fêtes ou les visites urbaines. / This thesis questions the geography of cosmopolitanism, through the study of narratives, practices and representations around Saint Lawrence boulevard in Montreal. The street represents a divide between the “two solitudes” – the French-speaking and the English-speaking areas -, but also a bond, a passage and melting place, where immigrants settled during the 20th century. This research is based on field studies - combining observation and interviews. It also relies on studies of planning documents, reports and literature. In this former immigration corridor, three aspects of cosmopolitanism are converging, competing and sometimes overlapping: a political and identity-led cosmopolitanism, a consumerist cosmopolitanism, and a day-to-day experienced cosmopolitanism. Several scales of power operate on the boulevard (districts, municipality, provincial and federal government) so that one can read in diversity policies and heritage designations. The boulevard is also a lever for branding strategies: while “ethnic” neighborhoods clearly highlight the assets of cosmopolitanism, public and private real estate developers keep a low profile on that front in the Quartier des Spectacles. At any rate, these neighborhoods are not only about communication and branding: they are also daily experiences, commuting and hustle for cultural communities and many other inhabitants. The boulevard is therefore a space of urban experiences, that gives birth to a form of everyday cosmopolitanism, which is underpinned by venues, atmospheres and time specificities. This notably materializes through key people and special venues in time, such as festivals or walking tours.