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Abstract

Humans have found countless ways to create and consume media. Particularly, the world loves to consume music. With the variety of music available at any given moment due to streaming services and radio, musicians now must compete harder than ever for their popularity. An artist now must create something new and exciting that sets him or her apart from every other artist, highlighting the importance of novelty. One artist who used novelty as a key to her success is Taylor Swift. Using image and roles from the concept of persona and Standpoint Theory, I created a theoretical framework to rhetorically analyze Taylor Swift’s novelty throughout her career. I then selected three albums for analysis, and included four songs, at least one live performance, and one music video from each album to answer my research question: How do rhetors create novelty in the music industry? Through my analysis, I found that by setting up a simple persona at the start of her career, Swift proactively created space for her persona to change. Swift then was able to incorporate changes into her image and roles, making both subtle changes to show how she has matured and major changes to show that she is gaining new understandings of life and fame. Swift’s use of persona creates novelty in the music industry as she shows that musicians do not need to completely change who they are but can establish themselves through their rhetorical persona and changes to that persona.

Sample of Introduction and Conclusion

Introduction (Ch. I)

Humans have found countless ways to create and consume media. Particularly, the world loves to consume music. From genres such as classical that include Mozart and Beethoven, to classic rock with artists such as The Beatles and Pink Floyd, each person can find music that suits his or her musical and lyrical tastes. However, with the variety of music available at any given moment due to streaming services and radio, musicians now must compete harder than ever to prove that they should be a popular artist. An artist now must create something new and exciting that sets him or her apart from every other artist, highlighting the importance of novelty. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines novelty as “something new or unusual . . . the quality or state of being novel . . . new and not resembling something formerly known or used.”[1] Specifically, the last definition is most appropriate to my thesis as it applies to how musicians must market themselves to their audience: each musician must present him or herself as something new that does not resemble another band or artist. Musicians can also create novelty, however, by reshaping things that have been previously used, making something familiar feel new and different in a way that is relatable to their audience. By creating novelty, musicians are able to gain popularity, hopefully leading to fortune and fame.

            One artist who used novelty as a key to her success is Taylor Swift. Swift has worked in the music industry for almost two decades and has thus had to create novelty in her work to set herself apart from other female musicians. Swift has even discussed the need for novelty for musicians, female musicians especially, in her documentary, Miss Americana:

Everyone’s a shiny new toy for, like, two years. The female artists that I know of have reinvented themselves 20 times more than the male artists. They have to or else you’re out of a job. Constantly having to reinvent, constantly finding new facets of yourself that people find to be shiny. Be new to us, be young to us, but only in a new way and only in the way we want. And reinvent yourself, but only in a way that we find to be equally comforting, but also a challenge for you. Live out a narrative that we find to be interesting enough to entertain us, but not so crazy that it makes us uncomfortable.[2]

Swift’s understanding of novelty as a musician placed her in a unique situation as a rhetor. In my thesis, I will analyze how Swift has created novelty in three of her albums through the use of varied personas. In this thesis, I will first overview the rhetorical situation to provide key background information from Swift’s career. After establishing the rhetorical situation, I will review the theoretical framework I apply to Swift’s work in the analysis chapters of my thesis. Finally, I will preview the albums and songs I use as my fragmented text and the criteria I used for excluding other albums/songs.

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[1]. Merriam-Webster Dictionary, s.v. “Novelty (n.),” accessed May 8, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/novelty.

[2]. Miss Americana, directed by Lana Wilson, released January 31, 2020, on Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/search?q=miss%20americana&jbv=81028336.

Conclusion (Ch. V)

My research question for this thesis was: how do rhetors create novelty in the music industry, and my analysis clearly indicates that Swift is a great example of an artist who has rebranded herself uniquely throughout her more-than-15-year career. Swift’s success as a musician shows her understanding of the need to maintain relevance in the music industry. By setting up a simple persona at the start of her career, Swift proactively created space for her persona to change. She then was able to incorporate changes into her image and roles, making both subtle changes to communicate how she has matured and also major changes to communicate that she is gaining new understandings about life and fame. Swift’s rhetorical persona creates novelty in the music industry as she shows that musicians do not need to completely change who they are to remain relevant and successful but can establish themselves through their rhetorical persona and changes to that persona.

Abstract

The Southern Baptist Convention has experienced a long-time crisis of sexual abuse allegations from stakeholders with the issues compounding because of their crisis response strategies. The Southern Baptist Convention enacted crisis response strategies, using denial, attacking the accuser, scapegoating, excusing, apology, and praising the stakeholders responses. These crisis responses were found in statements from the organization from 2019, 2021, and a third-party investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention’s handling of sexual abuse allegations. The theory used for analysis was Coomb’s (2023) situational crisis communication theory. Overall, the Southern Baptist Convention’s crisis response was ineffective because of their responses being reactive and being released much later than they should have.

Sample of Introduction and Conclusion

Introduction

Considering the #MeToo movement regarding sexual abuse and religiously based sexual abuse scandals through organizations such as The Catholic Church, it is important for organizations to consider how they will handle sexual abuse allegations from stakeholders. While some organizations may choose to handle sexual abuse allegations through the legal system or through their own disciplinary system, others will choose to actively ignore the allegations, hoping no one would ever find out. The Southern Baptist Convention choose the latter, hiding and ignoring allegations of sexual abuse from their stakeholders hoping nothing would need to be done. However, the news broke about the widespread issue of accountability and responsibility in the organization, creating the instigation of the crisis. Understanding the crisis response strategies that the Southern Baptist Convention enacted in response to their crisis can set the stage for other organizations to consider their response options and the speed at which they should respond. In this paper, the stage for analysis will be set with Coombs’ (2023) situational crisis communication before going into an explanation of the crisis, the artifacts analyzed for response strategies, and the efficacy of the response strategies.

Conclusion

It is often better for the organization to be the first to break the news of a crisis, rather than waiting for traditional or social media to be the first to speak. By taking charge of the narrative and presenting the facts as the organization knows them to be true at the time, the organization can better manage reactions from stakeholders and their own reputation. However, The Southern Baptist Convention failed to be the first to present the crisis to the public and instead worked to hide the issues until traditional news broke the story first. While using a variety of crisis response strategies that should have worked to repair their reputation, the Southern Baptist Convention waited too long for the response strategies to be accepted by stakeholders.

            By using Coombs’ (2023) situational crisis communication theory for analysis of the Southern Baptist Convention’s crisis response, it was found that the organization used denial, diminishment, scapegoating, attacking the accuser, praising the stakeholders, and apology, but was ultimately uneffective in restoring their reputation. Despite their use of many response strategies, the time between the initiation of the crisis and the release of the crisis responses created too much ambiguity for stakeholders to accept any reactive responsibility the organization was taking.

Abstract

The evangelical church and secular culture have been in constant tension throughout the ages as the church has influenced secular culture and has also been influenced by secular culture. One aspect that has been consistent through both the evangelical church and secular culture has been the hegemony of men and the subordination of women and gay men. As secular culture has started progressing toward a culture that supports equality for all genders, some denominations of the evangelical church have maintained a complementarian view of women’s role in the church and have continued to support men holding higher roles of power while women are relegated to lower-ranking positions. Using interviews with 3 female student pastors under male senior leadership, I analyzed their reports for themes before analyzing each theme for aspects of hegemonic masculinity. Through this analysis, I was able to see that 3 characteristics of hegemonic masculinity were presented through the experiences of the participants: occupational achievement, familial patriarchy, and frontiersmanship.

Sample of Introduction and Conclusion

Introduction

The evangelical church, defined by Melton (2022) as Protestant churches that provide emphasis on the gospel of Jesus Christ, personal conversion experiences, Scripture as the foundation for faith, and active winning of personal commitments to Christ has often found itself in constant tension with secular culture, creating a congregational back and forth between wanting to be involved with some aspects of secular culture while also disapproving of other aspects of the culture. With this, those involved in the evangelical church are tasked with determining their role within the church following the church’s specific internal culture. In some churches, this allows for a complementarian view of women’s roles in leadership positions. Women in leadership in church roles have frequently been relegated to roles of associate pastor, assistant pastor, or administrative assistant despite being just as qualified, if not more qualified, than their male counterparts. With women in the background of the church rather than being highlighted as competent members of the pastoral staff, young women who experience a calling to serve in the evangelical church often do not have role models they can look up to for guidance on how to navigate and prepare for vocational ministry.

Conclusion

In analyzing the reports given by female student pastors under male senior leadership about the aspects of hegemonic masculinity they have experienced, three central themes emerged: The enneagram and being justice-driven, female biblical leadership, and congregation culture. These themes were analyzed in comparison to the characteristics of occupational achievement, frontiersmanship, and familial patriarchy and found to be accurate representations of these characteristics through the subtle enforcement of the subordination of women.

Abstract

This paper analyzes season one of Netflix’s Shadow and Bone through the lens of fantasy theme analysis to find how the rhetors advocate for religious tolerance through two specific characters: Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa. Shadow and Bone, while being a show created for young adults, creates a new perspective on how young adult media can handle the topic of religion delicately without focusing too closely on one specific religion. This paper takes previous fantasy theme analyses into consideration as they have been applied to offer forms of media. By considering the charcter, action, and setting themes available in the storylines of Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa, this paper breaks down the subtle ways the rhetors showed tolerance throughout the season. The rhetorical vision built by the rhetors showed that while it is good and possible to have tolerance for the religious beliefs, but each person will have a breaking point where they can no longer allow tolerate the religious beliefs as they impede on safety, health, and relationships. 

Sample of Introduction and Conclusion

Introduction

Despite the bleakness of the daily news, the world always seems to love a good dystopian story that highlights good and evil in ways that have not yet been discussed. Shadow and Bone does just this while bringing in new aspects such as religion, the impact of parasocial relationships, and the trustworthiness of authority figures for the audience to consider as they involve themselves in the fictional world created by Leigh Bardugo and the found-family of characters the storylines revolve around. Using morally grey characters and a couple of plot twists, Bardugo created a world that requires the audience to consider representations of race, religion, justice, and culture in Young Adult media.

Conclusion

Using fantasy theme analysis as a theoretical framework, I have answered my research question of how do rhetors advocate for tolerance surrounding religious beliefs by analyzing Inej Ghafa and Kaz Brekker for character, action, and setting themes that create the rhetorical vision of religious belief tolerance. Bardugo and Heisserer, through the weaving of multiple storylines and themes, created a dystopian-fantasy world that highlights important conversations of religion, race, and friendship in ways that other Young Adult media may not do. By using religion in a delicately handled way, Bardugo and Heisserer open a discussion of religion belief tolerance and how far tolerance can go before it breaks, Bardugo and Heisserer also highlight the importance of change and growth through the rhetorical visions of Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa and show that motivations and actions can change, thus showing a change in internal belief systems.

Abstract

Hailed as a “man written by a woman” by fans, Hozier has gained a reputation as a singer-songwriter that includes women as the main characters of his muse without objectifying them. Using hegemonic masculinity as the lens for rhetorical examination, an analysis of Hozier’s freshman and sophomore album, Hozier and Wasteland, Baby!, as well as various singles presented considerations for his abstinence from including characteristics of hegemonic masculinity in the lyrics and imagery in his lyrics. Following the common characteristics of hegemonic masculinity as identified by Trujillo (1991) in Foote et al.’s 2017 article, each characteristic was compared to lyrics and concepts used in the albums and singles. Comparing the characteristics to lyrics and concepts that could quickly be used to support hegemonic masculinity However, after comparison, there was no sign of Hozier condoning hegemonic masculinity. Hozier’s music was found to compare women to religious icons and the women were highlighted as protagonists of the stories told through his perspective but were not objectified or subordinated. Overall, Hozier’s use of vivid imagery, connections to Greek mythology, clever wordplay, and avoidance of hegemonic masculinity reinforce his reputation of a musician that writes songs from the perspective of the female gaze.

Sample of introduction and conclusion

Introduction

Hozier has made a name for himself as a respectful artist amid musicians that seem to highlight their own masculine strength and put women down as unworthy of respect. Using two of his albums, Hozier and Wasteland, Baby! for analysis, these albums have presented a plethora of songs, lyrics, ideas, and concepts to consider. Hozier’s use of poetic language is nothing new, but his songs make use of metaphors and comparisons of women to goddesses, highlighting the strength and beauty of the women in his songs. His use of this language is refreshing, as his songs have charted highly on Billboard charts among songs that refer to women using derogatory language. His vulnerability in his music has gained recognition as he wrestles with his own religious trauma and his own internal issues in a way that does not blame the surrounding people but tries to grapple with what aspects of these issues are affecting him. Hozier’s music has been nothing but successful since 2013 and through his music, his interviews, his social media presence, and his marketing, he has only become even more popular with over 17 million monthly listeners on Spotify and 1.7 million followers on Instagram. In this paper, I argue Hozier carefully uses his language to disrupt hegemonic masculinity through his use of vulnerability, reversal of the male gaze, perspective by incongruity, and irony.

Conclusion

Throughout Hozier’s career, his music has created an impact on its listeners that makes them feel seen and valued. Using careful language, Hozier has avoided reinforcing hegemonic masculinity and has shown that he views his partners, and those around him, as equals rather than subordinates. Hozier has included a certain vulnerability that looks inward at his own issues to determine what is holding him back from being able to love his partner, the person he views as magical and goddess-like. This vulnerability fits perfectly with past analyses of the reversal of the male gaze where Hozier has objectified himself and highlighted the strength, emotional intelligence, and bravery of the women in his life. Finally, Hozier has included powerful signs of his influences and what inspires him to write through his use of protest songs, perspective by incongruity, and independent women, making him an incredibly thoughtful artist.

The implications of this analysis all point to a man that has developed a strong sense of empathy, emotional intelligence, and a love of knowledge. This analysis has shown signs of respectful representations of women that not only encourage women to take the reins of agency in their lives, but also encourage them to seek what they want and not settle for anything less than the best. Further research could be done into the impressive amount of literature background used in Hozier’s songs and how it manifests in his songs. Research into his music videos could be beneficial to understanding the full message of his songs, as some messages are not apparent until they have been put into visual cues. Overall, Hozier has crafted a world of respectability around himself, and while there may be some valid critiques of other aspects of his music, I believe he has represented women in a respectful and almost reverent way.