Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item The death of 'postfeminism' : Oprah and the Riot Grrrls talk back(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2002) Copenhagen, Cathy SueThis paper addresses the ways feminism operates in two female literary communities: the televised Oprah Winfrey talk show and book club and the Riot Grrrl zine movement. Both communities are analyzed as ideological responses of women and girls to consumerism, media conglomeration, mainstream appropriation of movements, and postmodern "postfeminist" cultural fragmentation. The far-reaching "Oprah" effect on modem publishing is critiqued, as well as the controversies and contradictions of the effect. Oprah is analyzed as a divided text operating in a late capitalist culture with third wave feminist tactics. The Riot Grrrl movement is discussed as the potential beginning of a fourth wave of feminism. The Grrrls redefine feminism and femininity in their music and writings in zines. The two sites are important to study as they are mainly populated by under represented segments of "postfeminist" society: middle aged women and young girls.Item The effects of the culture wars : debating political ideologies in the university(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2003) Crookston, Beth AnneItem Finding the faces of our mothers : every day feminism in Stephen King's 'Dolores Claiborne' and 'Gerald's game'(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2006) Turnage, Rachel Anne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert BennettThe historical validity, feminist aspects, and social implications of Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne and Gerald's Game are analyzed to demonstrate how the novels reflect the nature of women's rights and struggles from the 1950's until the early 1990's. The patterns of survivor abuse stories are unearthed through both social science research and feminist literary criticism. By drawing connections between the two novels and their connection to the larger world of feminist issues, the argument is made that these and other popular novels are fruitful for cultural analysis because popular fiction reaches far more readers than academic texts and are thus able to initiate social change on a larger scale.Item Exercising influence, hoping for change : Sara Orne Jewett, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Zitkala-Sa negotiate feminism at the turn of the century(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2007) Feusahrens, Ellen Teresa; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Amy ThomasBy the mid 1800s, American feminism began gaining momentum. Politicians, scientists, and clergymen all responded to the evolving call for reforms. More and more people adopted the view that women were oppressed by a male-centered society, and most women were isolated within the home. Women writers belonged to a small group of women whose voices had cultural weight and they had to negotiate between the demands of their writing and audience and their involvement and interest in the women's movement. At the turn of the century, Sarah Orne Jewett, Zitkala-Ša, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman each had their respective audiences and expectations, and each woman had to balance her writing and her interest in the debate over women's role in society.