In December 2012, the brutal gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh in New Delhi, India sparked international outrage leading to numerous protests. Singh’s story raised many questions regarding sexual violence and rape culture in India. We Are Angry is a digital narrative that responds to sexual assault and misogyny in India through the story of a victim whose tragedy mirrors that of Singh and many others. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the rhetorical potential of digital narratives through the analysis of We Are Angry. Specifically, I used Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm as a lens to determine how the use of hypertext impacts the narrative’s inherent rationality, fidelity, and coherence. This thesis illustrates that digital narratives’ use of hypertext allows the creator to develop a narrative in a way that can expand the reader’s knowledge on prominent international social justice issues. Hypertext further enhances the level of fidelity and coherence for a reader who may not be familiar with the Indian setting. / Master of Arts

All human communication is narrative in nature (Fisher, 1987) and should adhere to narrative rationality and value-laden idealistic-moralistic or materialistic Master Analogues to be accepted by audiences (Fisher, 1985). This study examined the persuasive nature of the visual narratives presented by the 2020 presidential candidate’s official Facebook posts as well as examine how the candidates’ rhetorical visions create referential points in constructing the viewers’ own identities as supporters (Messaris, 1997). As Foss, Foss, & Trapp (2002) contend, “a basic function of the media is the creation of representations or simulations – reproduced versions of reality” (p. 313). The version of reality being presented on each candidate’s official Facebook page creates narratives as means of influence and cultivating group identity.

Numerous rhetorical critics have employed the narrative paradigm for analysis; however, it has not been applied to Eunice Kennedy Shriver and the Special Olympics. Within the Special Olympics lies rhetoric rich with meaning. As the founder of the Special Olympics Shriver held the power to create an identity not just for the Games, but for those with intellectual disabilities. Creating an identity for a marginalized group, she not only had to craft her speeches for the athletes, but also for the world outside the Special Olympics. This study provides an evaluation of five Shriver addresses to the Special Olympics that took place between 1987 and 2003. Using the narrative paradigm, along with the concept of dynamic spectacle, this literature highlights Shriver's crafting of a communal identity. In demonstrating Shriver's ability to create a communal identity, I provide a framework for future research to study rhetorically crafted identities and communities. / Master of Arts

Abstract Josh Fox's film Gasland, released in 2010, started the national debate concerning the process of hydraulic fracturing and launched the term "fracking" into the public consciousness. Gasland, nominated for four Emmy Awards, was the winner of the 2010 Environmental Media Award for Best Documentary, the Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize, and the Yale Environmental Film Festival Grand Jury Prize. Using the momentum from the film's popular reception, Fox and the Gasland team successfully established a grassroots movement that was responsible for helping create the Frack Act and a moratorium of fracking in the Delaware River Shed. This thesis intends to determine what made Gasland so influential. Through a rhetorical criticism and media analysis, I will show how Fox's film ignited the debate on domestic natural gas production and has created a multi-public literacy that enables social change.

First year college student retention is important to colleges and universities nationwide (Bean, 2005). Most of the research on retention focuses on self-report data collected from students after they withdraw from the institution. The present study focuses, instead, on student stories about school, as well as at and about “home” during their first semester. The experiences of students who transition from high school to college are sometimes likened to those of individuals who enter a new culture for the first time. Thus, this dissertation is grounded in cross-cultural adaptation theory (Kim, 1988, 2001), which posits that successful adaptation occurs via a stress-adaption-growth dynamic and a gradual process of acculturation toward the new environment and simultaneous deculturation from the previous environment. Stories—in the form of in-class free writing assignments—were collected from 264 first-year college students three times during their first semester. These assignments were designed to capture students’ perceptions about their experiences and interactions at school, as well as their experiences and messages to, from, and about “home” as they evolved over the course of the semester. A thematic analysis revealed the majority of stories about events at school were negative and an overwhelming majority of the stories about events at home were positive. A longitudinal comparative analysis revealed no decrease in the percentage of negative stories about experiences and interactions at or about school. Moreover, stories focused on positive school related experiences decreased over time while stories about positive experiences at or about home gradually increased over the course of the semester. For students who did not enroll for spring semester, the results were similar but more dramatic. A large percentage of non-returners were female, about half were first generation college students, and a majority reported “home” as less than 100 miles from the university. More research ought to focus on what goes on during a student’s first year of college to better understand reasons for withdrawing. In doing so, college and university professionals will be able to work more effectively with high school officials, parents, and students to achieve success once they graduate from high school.

This thesis aims to examine corporate storytelling and provide a more holistic understanding of the communication strategy by exploring the recipients experiences of such type of communication. On a more particular note the study tries to provide an understanding of how corporate storytelling is received by potential consumers and in which ways corporate storytelling can contribute to organisations legitimacy. Hence, the theoretical framework of legitimacy by Max Weber (1922) are used to approach the aim of the study. Other theoretical frameworks applied in this study are those of Erving Goffman (2014) and Walter Fisher (1984), namely management impression and the narrative paradigm. The empirical data on which the result is based upon are gathered through interviews were the informants are asked questions about their experiences of four different commercials in which corporate storytelling are applied in two of them and more traditional marketing communication in the other two. Thus, the study takes a qualitative and comparing approach to the research. Moreover the study finds that corporate storytelling could be seen as a form of management impression as the strategy seems to increase organisations positive conspicuity and contribute to their ability to differentiate themselves. It also finds that the communication produced by corporate storytelling is perceived to be more authentic and coherent as well as clear regarding the ability to provide the story with distinct moral and values. In essence this means that corporate storytelling could be associated with narrative rationality, which is believed to be one major reason to how corporate storytelling affects potential consumers, which in return also answers the question to in which ways the strategy can help organisations to generate legitimacy. Lastly the study finds that an organisation by implementing corporate storytelling in their external communication could generate organisational charisma, which is seen as an important part of organisations quest for legitimacy. It shall also be noted that the study concludes that more research need to be conducted in order make more generalising claims.

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<p dir="ltr">When diagnosed with cancer, it is not uncommon for patients to turn to narratives—both fiction and non—looking for comfort or a way to make sense of their situation. When it comes to cancer on screen, we often see a romanticized version of cancer diagnosis: young sick kids falling in love, messages of going on to do amazing things after treatment, or visuals of glamorized sickness. This is not reflective of the dark thoughts that often find homes in the minds of cancer patients. And yet, little media exists to resonate with these darker narratives. Netflix’s The Midnight Club, a horror show catered toward young adults, helps to twist the pre-existing narratives surrounding cancer by utilizing the conventions of the horror genre to explore the darker sides of cancer diagnosis through storytelling. Though often uncomfortable, the show’s ability to discuss thoughts of mortality, pain, and loss in wake of terminal diagnosis is one important of discussion, as is done in this paper.</p>

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the persuasive effects personal stories have on the university recruitment process. Specifically, this study explored how Fisher's (1984) concepts of narrative probability and fidelity influenced Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior model using a four-staged quasi-experimental study. Jablin's (1982) anticipatory socialization phase of organizational assimilation theory acted as a context for this applied dissertation. This study evolved over four stages while working with the North Dakota State University Office of Admission. The first stage provided qualitative data exploring students' opinions of using story-based recruitment material. Focus groups also revealed what types of stories would be helpful for prospective students during the college admission process. Stage two developed and tested the narrative probability and fidelity scales based on Fisher's (1984) narrative paradigm. These newly created scales were used to determine the level of narrative probability and narrative fidelity in each of the experimental conditions. Stage three consisted of the creation and testing of the recruitment videos used in each experimental condition. The final stage tested the story-based recruitment and control videos on prospective students visiting North Dakota State University. The results of this dissertation were obtained using a series of ANOVAs, regression analyses, and path model testing techniques. Overall, the results suggested that high levels of narrative probability and narrative fidelity do positively influence prospective students' attitudes toward choosing a university and have a less powerful, but still positive, influence on their subjective norms beliefs and perceived behavioral control of choosing a university. The theory of planned behavior model was also supported by this data. The results of each stage of this study produced theoretical and practical implications. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of the results, implications, limitations, and future research opportunities.

Is a meme just a humorous composition made to make people laugh, or does it have potential to connote something more? This became the question that gave this article life and emerged when the official Twitter account of Ukraine posted memes mid-war. In order to examine whether a meme has potential to connote something more this article studied memes with the questions RQ1: Do memes function as a multimodal tool for intermediation of narratives and societal discourses on the official Twitter account of Ukraine? RQ2: Which semiotic choices in language and visual communication mainly appear in the memes?  RQ3: How do the main semiotic choices in the memes interact with each other? RQ4: Are, for Ukraine, societal discourses and/or narratives present within the memes? Four memes were collected from the official Twitter account of Ukraine and analyzed with a multimodal critical discourse analysis. Drawing on Fisher's narrative paradigm, this article argues that the use of a meme can be seen as storytelling. In order to investigate the nature of a meme and to understand how a meme can mediate discourse, we draw on Shifman and critical discourse in our analysis. Linking our analysis to former research is done to help the reader understand the multifaceted nature of a meme. The result of this study shows that a meme in this particular case can be used as a multimodal communicative tool for storytelling and the mediating of social discourses, therefore further studies on the subject of memes are recommended.