Thesis (M.A.) in Communication--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-208).

The state of cultural and social theories is not satisfactory though they seem to flourish in terms of quantity. Scholars successfully describe most of the cultural and social phenomena but propose wildly different, sometime even opposite, interpretations of these phenomena. This thesis offers genetic phenomenological sociology as an alternative interpretation that goes beyond structure oriented theories and construction (agency) oriented theories. It proposes to interpret cultural and social phenomena in the process of their emergence and transformation, and argues that this process or genealogy is the social ontology of culture and society. This thesis develops genetic phenomenological sociology through exploring the genetic side of phenomenology and social theories, and through examining the emergence and transformation of Apple in China. Genealogy is not only method and critique, but also social ontology. This is a main theoretical argument and objective of empirical analysis of the thesis. Theoretically, this thesis explores the genetic side of Husserlian phenomenology, phenomenological sociology as well as the genetic side of social theories. These theories fully develop genealogy as method and critique and imply genealogy as social ontology. But they do not fully develop the idea of genealogy as social ontology. This underdevelopment leads to theoretical problems of subject and normativity, such as Husserlian phenomenology and Foucault's theory. Genealogy, as social ontology, is a way out of the dichotomy of structure and construction, a way out of the philosophy of subject, and a solution to the problems of subject and normativity. This theoretical argument is further developed through theoretical investigation of meaning context, social ontology, genealogy, practice, encountering and embodiment from the perspective of genetic phenomenological sociology in the substantive chapters. Empirically, the genetic phenomenological sociology of Apple answers the question how Apple culture emerges and transforms in China. It examines Apple in genesis in China from the 1980s to 2015. First, the meaning context of this period can be largely described as a transformation of electronic culture from modernization in the 1980s to individualism and consumerism after 2000 through marketization. Second, Apple store exemplifies the social ontology and epistemology of genetic phenomenological sociology. Third, the genealogy of Apple advertisements, media practices and media ritualization concerning Steve Jobs and the cultural encountering of Apple in the meaning context of China's reform era illustrate how Apple culture emerges and transforms. Finally, the genetic phenomenological sociology of Apple technology further reveals the relation between people and thing, which is embodiment. This thesis develops genetic phenomenological sociology as an alternative approach in the study of culture, media and technology that goes beyond structure and construction oriented theories. The ontological root of genetic phenomenological sociology, which is the non-subject philosophy, needs to be further developed.

<p>This paper is a phenomenological approach to the field of performance art. It is aqualitative study based on observations and interviews. The aim is to understand how andwhy do artists use performance art. The empirical result shows that artists use performanceart to challenge what art is. The study explains how artists use performance art as a modeof communication, a communication based on using the voice in different modes. Throughusing an electronic filtered voice, the artists capture the audience's attention and at the sametime they challenge their own narrative and presence. Performance art is seen as a mode ofcommunication, which constitutes a social structure within communities. The study findsthat the artists generate an existential and political awareness for their audience.Keywords:</p>

This paper is a phenomenological approach to the field of performance art. It is aqualitative study based on observations and interviews. The aim is to understand how andwhy do artists use performance art. The empirical result shows that artists use performanceart to challenge what art is. The study explains how artists use performance art as a modeof communication, a communication based on using the voice in different modes. Throughusing an electronic filtered voice, the artists capture the audience's attention and at the sametime they challenge their own narrative and presence. Performance art is seen as a mode ofcommunication, which constitutes a social structure within communities. The study findsthat the artists generate an existential and political awareness for their audience.Keywords:

This paper is a phenomenological approach to the field of performance art. It is aqualitative study based on observations and interviews. The aim is to understand how and why do artists use performance art. The empirical result shows that artists use performance art to challenge what art is. The study explains how artists use performance art as a mode of communication, a communication based on using the voice in different modes. Through using an electronic filtered voice, the artists capture the audience's attention and at the same time they challenge their own narrative and presence. Performance art is seen as a mode ofcommunication, which constitutes a social structure within communities. The study finds that the artists generate an existential and political awareness for their audience.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Adviser: Deborah Taub; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-163).

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 28, 2009). Advisor: Deborah Taub; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-164).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2010. / Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-189).

The object of this master´s thesis is to investigate how the Swedish person literary society movement acts. The Swedish history contains the well-known popular movements with their 19:th century roots. Today, some of them have turned into factors of power. Does the literary society movement have the chance to take over as such en established popular movement? What is their entire aim? My hypothesis is that the person literary societies bring the literature forward through collective memory making. As a theoretical background, I studied research upon literary tourism and collective memory. Heroic worship and person adoration often have been considered naive from a scientific point of view. For my field survey, I interviewed members of societies associated with Ester Ringnér-Lundgren, Carl Johan Love Almqvist, Carl Michael Bellman, Birger Sjöberg and Per Anders Fogelström. I found out that the person literary society movement might be a factor of power in creating discourses from different aspects of their respective authors. The Bellman society aspires to change people´s opinions upon Bellman, while the other ones principally want to make their authors visible. The person literary societies exist in an intermediate position between the academic comparative literature and the biographical. Their other main tasks are publishing, socializing and being responsible for places related to their authors. Foucault´s notion heterotopia (a place between reality and utopia) is applicable to the experience of participating in a person literary society meeting, according to my investigation. The person literary societies also create and maintain les Lieux de Mémoire. According to Nora, this notion signifies turning points where history meets memory. From one of my informants, I perceived a tension between the traditional popular movement society and the computer age. The relationship towards social media and internet differs among the person literary societies in my study. A possible explanation might be the average age of thier members. The society of the youth novelist Ringnér-Lundgren measures an average age of 50, while the other ones mostly consist of people reaching their retirement age. The Fogelström society stands out in attracting immigrants and in working towards the public. Taking part in the Book and Library Fair is the most common collaboration between the societies and the ALM sector. This is a two years master´s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2006. / Thesis directed by Lynette P. Spillman for the Department of Sociology. "December 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-197).