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Browsing by Author "Arthur, Tori, advisor"

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    Depart from study or be deported? Exploring international students' crisis response to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency's (ICE) announcement on TikTok
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Silwal, Urusha, author; Arthur, Tori, advisor; Humphrey, Michael, committee member; Aoki, Eric, committee member
    On July 6, 2020, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) announced that international students would face potential deportation if they took all-online courses in the fall while matriculated on United States university campuses. Through the lens of Media System Dependency Theory and Social Identity Theory, this study examined the crisis responses of international students between July 6-July 14, 2020, on an emerging social media app- TikTok. Despite TikTok's extensive use and thriving presence as a platform for social and political conversations, there are only a few studies on TikTok. Adopting the multimodal method of Critical Techno-Cultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA), the researcher analyzed twenty-one TikTok videos made by international students to study interface features, practices, and discourses present in the platform. The findings indicated that hashtags, green-screen effect, first-person camera view and share feature on TikTok facilitated the articulation of crisis responses of international students. Similarly, the discourse themes of humor, fear of displacement, contribution reminders, and call to action helped to understand how international students articulated their fears and concerns about the ICE announcement. Addressing the gap in TikTok literature, this study elucidated the connection between marginalized groups and their social media use at the time of crisis. This study paves a path for researchers in and beyond academia to study the connection of technology, marginalized cultural groups and social structures.
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    Invisible citizens: how marginalized Ghanaian LGBT+ citizens shape their stories on Instagram
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Addison, Sheilla, author; Arthur, Tori, advisor; Humphrey, Mike, committee member; Attai, Nikoli, committee member
    In Ghana, like most African countries, LGBT+ members are relegated to the background and generally live in fear of persecution. The media has played an instrumental role in framing the discourses surrounding queerness, leading to exclusion, marginalization, and moral panic in the country. Currently, the emergence and active use of social media have afforded many Ghanaians a platform to engage and express harmful opinions that are implicit and explicit queerphobia. In a similar vein, queer activists and some LGBT+ individuals have appropriated social media platforms, including Instagram, as a powerful alternative platform to redefine negative stereotypes, challenge the narratives around marginalized LGBT+ citizens and provide an alternative way of viewing their worlds. Using defensive digital alchemy as its theoretical framework, this thesis employs Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis to assess @lgbtrightsghana's defensive digital alchemy in Instagram to fight against the marginalization of sexual identities in the face of Ghana's anti-LGBT+ Bill. The findings suggest that @lgbtrightsghana's defensive digital alchemy challenges master narratives, redefines negative stereotypes, and provides alternate views of queer Ghanaians.
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    Popcorn thoughts: a podcast economy of film criticism
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Blackburn, Hayley, author; Arthur, Tori, advisor; Humphrey, Michael, committee member; Wolfgang, David, committee member; Black, Ray, committee member; Marx, Nick, committee member
    This qualitative study questions how podcasters review films, engage with audiences, and contribute to film and media discourses. The literature exploring podcast cultures and film criticism had not intersected to a large extent, and this ethnographic inquiry into a case study of five podcast film critics provides an entry point for audio criticism scholarship. The research umbrella drew from film writing and critique cultures (Corrigan, 2015; McWhirter, 2016) and podcast analyses (Llinares, Fox, & Berry, 2018; Spinelli & Dann, 2019) to situate the patterns of discourse and production activities (Fairclough, 2003) within a framework of media sociology (Shoemaker & Reese, 2014). The research engaged with over 55 hours of content and various communication technologies in the winter of 2020/2021. The meso-level analysis considered the data from podcasts as a collective group to focus on the patterns across the audio critic culture (Kozinets, 2010). The findings reflect that audio critics can be further studied as a field of criticism as the collective group followed routines and enacted activities above individual and organizational levels of influence. Niches also frame the contributions of audio critics to the media and film discourse ecosystem as they extend film consumption rituals through discussion and provide a forum for participatory culture among their audiences.
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    Tailored for the gram: a technocultural analysis of Nigerian Igbo women fashion designers' self-presentation on Instagram
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Enyinnaya, Joy, author; Arthur, Tori, advisor; Humphrey, Mike, committee member; Wolfgang, David, committee member; Souza, Caridad, committee member; Scolere, Leah, committee member
    Using African Technocultural Feminist Theory, this study uncovered the ways Nigerian Igbo women fashion designers use Instagram and its affordances to perform digital identities online as well as examined their negotiation of patriarchal ideologies within Igbo culture. The Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis (CTDA) of Instagram posts and interview data revealed Nigerian Igbo women fashion designers employed self-promotion and cultural digitization of Igbo-centric fashion in their self-presentation online. Instagram's affordance of photos allowed them post visually appealing pictures which showcased the intricacies of their designs as well as facilitated the designers' cultural digitalization of Igbo-centric fashion while creating space to challenge patriarchal structures within Igbo culture. The analysis also showed Nigerian Igbo women fashion designers value building and maintaining professional relationships with their clients as they embodied visual aesthetics, relatability, and authenticity in their self-presentation online. Implications, recommendations, and limitations were discussed.