Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Citizenship; Youth--Political activity; Academic theses;
Abstract
Much attention has been paid to the youth voting record and youth participation in politics and civic activities. Some recent scholarship suggests that youth are apathetic and disengaged. Other scholars argue for a more inclusive definition of citizenship and analyze youth's involvement in various service activities. Further analysis of youth voting and conceptions of citizenship is needed in order to mobilize youth and work to sustain a healthy democracy. The MTV "Choose or Lose" Campaign encourages youth voters to get registered, get educated and vote. In 2004 the "Choose or Lose" Campaign increased the ante by offering one youth a chance to speak at the Democratic National Convention and one youth at the Republican National Convention. "Chose or Lose," in combination with the DNC and the RNC, created an essay contest and then selected ten finalists. The ten final essays were posted online and the public voted to select one winner to speak at each convention. The twenty final essays, along with the essay prompt questions, are analyzed using a Burkean approach to unpack the meaning of citizenship. Ultimately, the MTV essays do not provide us with a definition of youth citizenship. The essays were prompted by political leaders, the finalists were selected by political elites, and any member of the public could vote for the winning essay. However, the essays do provide evidence that the current definition of citizenship is insufficient. Youth must be provided with a chance to create and define citizenship-a definition that will be nuanced and multiplicative. The attempts to mobilize youth voters will not be effective until the political rhetoric and public vocabulary validate youth conceptions of citizenship.
Year of Submission
2007
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of Communication Studies
First Advisor
Catherine Helen Palczewski
Second Advisor
April Chatham-Carpenter
Third Advisor
John Fritch
Date Original
2007
Object Description
1 PDF file (131 leaves)
Copyright
©2007 Jennifer Lea Farrell
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Farrell, Jennifer Lea, "Framed: Youth Conceptions of Citizenship" (2007). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2623.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2623
Comments
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