Bachelor of Arts, Wittenberg University, 2023, History

As time moves forward, events from the past become blurred in memory. People remember, honor, and learn from history. On September 11, 2001, the United States lost 2,983 civilian lives in a terrorist attack by al Qaeda. Since 2001, the United States government has made many decisions aimed at protecting those on United States soil. To commemorate the lives lost and to prevent an act of terror in the future, historians evaluate how to remember and learn from the events that occurred on September 11. Learning from the past prepares people for the future. To educate future generations, middle and high school teachers must provide students with valuable lesson plans about September 11. In the middle school and high school classrooms around the country, the process and content used to teach the terrorist attacks of September 11 has evolved over the past twenty years, from relying mostly on personal accounts to include academic articles, textbooks, online resources, and other materials to help students understand how and why September 11 happened the way it did.

Committee: Molly Wood (Advisor); Thomas Taylor (Committee Member); Amy McGuffey (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; History; Middle School Education; Political Science; Secondary Education; Social Studies Education

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2004, Arts and Sciences : Communication

Where were you September 11, 2001? The attacks of that day changed the lives of Americans. The extensive media coverage made anyone with a television a witness to the attacks. This study conducted an interpretive rhetorical analysis of twenty-four “Featured Stories” from the Smithsonian Institute's exhibit, September 11: Bearing Witness to History and the 911 Digital Archive website. This exhibit and its conjoining website provided a forum for those willing to tell his or her individual experience and reaction to the attacks. The researcher applied Payne's (1989) theory of therapeutic rhetoric including his topoi past-future, spiritual-material and self-society. Through the illustrations of these topoi, Payne's concepts of consolation and compensation were also illustrated in the narratives. However, the concept of compensation was different in the postings from Payne's work with the rhetoric of failure. The numerous illustrations of the therapeutic rhetoric concepts led to the conclusion that Payne's theory could be extended to include the rhetoric of loss and tragedy. In addition to these findings, Payne's assumptions and definition of therapeutic rhetoric were also extended to include the rhetoric of loss and tragedy.

Committee: Dr. Steve Depoe (Advisor) Subjects: Speech Communication

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2006, Film (Fine Arts)

Mainstream news media organizations have adopted classical Hollywood narrative storytelling conventions in order to convey vital news information. In doing so, these organizations tell news stories in a way that paints political realities as causal agents, delicate international crises as sensational conflicts, and factual profiles of public figures as colorful characterizations. By establishing artificial narrative lines and unnecessarily antagonistic conflict, the press has at times become an unwitting agent of government policy and, in part, altered the course of international events. The classical Hollywood narrative is the storytelling model on which the American media based its coverage of United States foreign policy after September 11, 2001. The sensationalized coverage culminated in a cinematic presentation of events that led to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Since September 11, a narrative plot unfolded, the characters were defined, and the tension rose. The news media primed the audience as if the American people were watching a well-executed and often predictable Hollywood narrative. And though there was no evidence that proved Iraq had played a role in the September 11 attacks, by March of 2003 the war seemed inevitable and possessing of seemingly perfect narrative logic.

Committee: Adam Knee (Advisor) Subjects:

Bachelor of Arts, Miami University, 2008, College of Arts and Sciences - Communication

On September 11, 2001, Americans watched in horror as nearly 3,000 people perished at the hands of an enemy whom most had never heard of and in a manner that none could have ever imagined. It was the first time since Pearl Harbor that a foreign enemy had carried-out such a large-scale attack on U.S. soil and, in doing so, it shattered the interlude of relative peace that had emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union a decade earlier. When the smoke cleared and U.S. officials named the culprit, many were shocked at the fact that it was not another state that had attacked the worlds sole superpower, but one man and his terrorist organization. In the months and years after the 9/11 attacks, America would unveil the most aggressive and controversial military doctrine in its history which included the utilization of overwhelming preemptive military force against an enemy who existed in over 60 countries worldwide. At the dawn of the 21st century, American military capabilities far surpassed those of any nation or combination of nations on the planet and President George W. Bush and his administration were eager to display such capacity. At the heart of these new policies laid the strong belief that the 9/11 attacks had somehow transformed the nature of the world and made the enactment of specific military policies the only way to ensure American security in the new century. Essentially, this thesis is designed to explore the world that existed both before and after 9/11 as well as the elements of the American domestic environment that influenced which policies were used to engage such a world. This comprehensive analysis which ranges from the Cold War to the Iraq War - will thus challenge the merits of the perception behind the post-9/11 military strategies and determine why, six years later, subsequent policies in Afghanistan and Iraq have not been successful in eliminating al Qaeda.

Committee: Ryan Barilleaux (Advisor); John Forren (Advisor); Howard Kleiman (Advisor) Subjects: American History; American Studies; Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Popular Culture

While much of the focus of past textual analysis of films within the superhero genre has focused on characterizations of heroes, visual iconography, and the logistics of filming or framing a scene, academia has vastly overlooked the necessity of a film's soundtrack, not only as a basic narrative tool and genre locator, but as a means to further understand how a cultural perception of the material is being reflected by the very musical choices presented on a score. While there has been an influx of research focusing on how a culture perceives its heroes – in this case superheroes – during times of great change within a society (either politically, socially, economically, or culturally; for example, the terrorist attack on American soil on 9/11/2001), I have found there to be a lack of research involving how the musical themes of superheroes reflect our cultural views and feelings at a specific point in time. This phenomenon is in need of further research because there is a need to understand how a culture's perception of this change can be reflected in musical themes found in a film's musical score. The following thesis is an investigation of the soundtracks belonging to superhero films and television shows in order to examine the cultural shifts in the perception of superheroes in America. I will observe this musical phenomenon in relation to major historical events, by way of using a post-9/11 lens, textual analysis of the music scores, and various camera angles and acting cues that are choreographed to the music found in the original soundtracks. This thesis is a case study examining this methodology, showing a dramatic cultural perceptual change reflected in the scoring of musical themes and songs via a thorough examination of the evolution of superhero soundtrack music within the realms of DC Comics' Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman characters.

Committee: Jeffrey Brown (Advisor); Esther Clinton (Committee Member); Jeremy Wallach (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies; Music

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2016, American Culture Studies

This research analyzes youth political involvement and civic engagement in the Middle East and North African (MENA) regions and the impact of the U.S. -Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) cultural exchange programs on MENA-U.S. relations after September 11, 2001. Specifically, this study will examine how such programs shape mutual understanding between the U.S. and the countries of the MENA region. The study is informed by the researcher's direct experience through the MEPI program in Leadership, Civic Activism and Citizenship at Georgetown University in 2007. This study also analyzes the impact of leadership styles, conflict resolution and group dynamics, political and social change initiatives, and the role of civil society in democratic processes in the MENA region. This thesis also surveys the cultural exchange experiences of several young people from the MENA region through demonstrating the MEPI program's development, and analyzing the planning and design of different activities included in the program since its inception in 2002. Participants from five MENA countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Lebanon) responded to a targeted online survey regarding the relationship between interest in political and civic engagement and the citizen uprisings in any of the five target countries before and after their participation in the program. One of the key findings of this study clearly correlates with Edward Said's theory of Orientalism; studying the MEPI program, using textual analysis, highlights clear implications of superiority and dominance from the host culture, in this case the United States.In addition to the theoretical outcomes of this research, the results also demonstrate that participation in the MEPI program is likely to increase interest in political issues among participants after they return to their home countries, particularly with younger participants. Gender, on the other hand, does not seem to affect the rate of politi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Khani Begum Ph.D (Advisor); Lara Lengel Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Middle Eastern Studies

PHD, Kent State University, 2016, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies

ABSTRACT The current study aims to investigate the reception of Arabic language works translated into English and published in The U.S. before and after September 11 as reflected in paratexts. This study seeks to explicitly answer these questions: 1) What are the socio-cultural factors that shaped the production and reception of Arabic language works translated into English and published in The U.S. both before and after 9/11? 2) What is the role of human agents, specifically publishers, translators, and authors, in the production and reception of Arabic-language works translated into English and published in The U.S. both before and after 9/11? 3) To what extent can paratexts affect and reveal aspects of Arabic-language works translated into English and published in The U.S. before and after 9/11? and 4) What is the role of 9/11 in shaping the process of production and reception? In order to form a comprehensive image of the reception of these works, both cultural and social frameworks are examined. The cultural framework involves major concepts from polysystem theory, namely, Toury's preliminary norms and Even-Zohar's justifications for importing and translating a literary work from one culture into another. The analysis covers only paratextual material. The social framework involves in-depth analysis of the role of the main human agents (stakeholders) involved in the process of reception, such as translators, authors, and publishers. This analysis is carried out by building on some of Bourdieu's main concepts such as: field, habitus, and forms of capital (cultural, social, economic, and symbolic). Moreover, the analysis focuses particularly on the role of publishers, which is investigated by drawing on publishing theory. As for the periodization of the study, the entire study is classified into two periods, pre- and post-September 11, 2001. The results of the study show that paratexts can be used to identify the norms that govern translation from Arabic i (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Richard Kelly Washbourne Dr. (Advisor); Sue Ellen Wright Dr. (Committee Member); Erik Angelone Dr. (Committee Member); Abed el-Rahman Tayyara Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Language; Language Arts; Linguistics

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2016, Communication Studies

This study situates invasion as a form of what Michel Foucault called governmentality. According to Foucault, governmentality determined how a society was ruled and by whom it was ruled, and under what conditions. A central argument in this dissertation is that invasion, both actual and imagined, has become a fundamental means of governing the population and body, and is as much a productive force as it is destructive. Turning to media representations across a variety of formats, this study examines four key case studies. The first is the Critical Art Ensemble, a tactical media group whose work designed to expose the working of the corporate food supply brought them into direct conflict with the federal authorities. Along these lines, this study argues that tactical media functions as both a form of surveillance and governmentality. Another tactical media group analyzed is the Yes Men, who use their own bodies and the visage of corporate America to expose the often twisted logic at work. This study then turns to representations on film and television, analyzing the film Cloverfield (2008) and the science fiction television series Fringe, both of which rely heavily in the tropes of invasion. Invasion has become a loose term and its workings are not fully theorized. By looking at how invasion, surveillance, and bodies interact, this study lays out a path that not only interrogates the concept of invasion, but also how invasion may be subverted or, by contrast, unquestioned. Methodologically, this study combines visual and ideological analysis, as theorized by Nicholas Mirzoeff and Lisa Nakamura and others, in order to uncover the myriad ways by which invasion works. By combining these methods, the study examines key components from each of these sites. By examining closely the visual representation, and by turns the obfuscation of the such visual representations, of science, law enforcement, the military, surveillance, and destruction - as well as the obfu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Radhika Gajjala (Advisor); Lara Lengel-Martin (Advisor); Scott Martin (Committee Member); Alberto Gonzalez (Committee Member); Clayton Rosati (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, English

This dissertation argues that 9/11 Pakistani novels and films privilege cosmopolitan encounters by Muslim, and occasionally non-Muslim, characters that are in conflict with power and simultaneously reject those interactions that are complicit with it. I define cosmopolitan actions as those that do not merely celebrate but critically engage with foreign cultures and peoples at home and abroad. For the purpose of this project, I confine my analysis of power to the influence wielded by religious fundamentalists and political empires. To make my argument, I examine six Pakistani texts in which 9/11 is not merely a temporal marker but central to their ideological contexts and narrative strategies. These include Nadeem Aslam' s novel The Wasted Vigil (2008), Shoaib Mansoor' s film Khuda Kay Liye (2007), Kamila Shamsie' s novel Burnt Shadows (2009), Mohsin Hamid' s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007), H. M. Naqvi' s novel Home Boy (2009), and Joseph Castelo' s film (co-authored by Ayad Akhtar and Tom Glynn) The War Within (2005). Pakistani novelists and filmmakers have acquired global visibility in the last decade, but their contribution to our understanding of 9/11 has not been sufficiently acknowledged. This project particularizes the recent turn in cosmopolitan theory to accord greater significance to religion in understanding global and local networks. I demonstrate how Pakistani writers and filmmakers represent a gamut of Muslim encounters with foreignness and thereby contest the dominant post-9/11 narrative that Muslims are inherently parochial. The turn towards religion in theories of cosmopolitanism is consistent with a new direction in which postcolonial studies is headed. In his 2012 article "Postcolonial Remains," published in New Literary History, Robert Young notes that postcolonial studies has not paid adequate attention to resistance couched in a religious idiom. In this project, I take Young' s suggestion forward by examining the multiple (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Pranav Jani Dr. (Advisor) Subjects: Literature

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2007, Germanic Languages and Literatures

"Continuation, Avoidance, Renewal: The Discourse of German Writers on America in the Wake of September 11, 2001" This dissertation seeks to contribute to studies of the German perception of "America" at the beginning of the 21st century by analyzing the reactions of eight German authors to the terror attacks of September 11. By using the attacks as a probe for the continuation or modification of a long-lasting discourse on the United States of America and their role in the world, I give fresh insights into the (changing) view of the "New World" in a post-unified Germany. First, I provide an overview of the historical ambivalences of “America” in the German discourse since the 18th century. Then, I analyze the reactions of the eight writers, four of them being younger and less known, four of them being rather renowned and distinguished, often dubbed as "usual suspects" when it comes to commenting public affairs. The first group did not publish any commentaries on the terror attacks. Instead, Kathrin Roeggla, Else Buschheuer, Durs Gruenbein, and Max Goldt published some form of a diary to express their immediate impressions and feelings. In contrast, Peter Schneider, Hans Christoph Buch, Guenter Grass and Hans Magnus Enzensberger made use of the mass media in order to comment on the terror attacks and to assess the consequences. By comparing and close reading the texts of these authors, I bring attention to the continuity and the ruptures in the underlying narratives on "America". As my systemization suggests, three strands of a discourse on the United States can be identified. While the reactions of three authors show a very ambivalent and emotional attitude toward the United States, which is more or less open to traditional sentiments, another three authors consciously try to avoid those patterns, displaying an intentional indifference and sobriety. However, only a minority of two authors opens new perspectives by promoting a critical, yet unexcited image of "Americ (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Bernd Fischer (Advisor) Subjects: Literature, Germanic

Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, 2003, Sociology (Arts and Sciences)

The aim of this research is to compare and contrast the coverage of the state of affairs in the United States in the two month periods following the attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) and the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon (September 11, 2001) as reflected in the primary news articles and OP/ED/Letters pieces in the New York Times. The comparative examination is carried out by means of quantitative contents analysis as well as qualitative observations of the news, graphic, and advertising content of the New York Times for the periods examined. The study is supplemented by an analysis of the claims made by high ranking governmental officials regarding the nature and urgency of the threat of terrorism to the national interest of the United States. The study reports on the construction of reality via mass mediated news narratives during times of national crisis.

Committee: Thomas Vander Ven (Advisor) Subjects: Sociology, General

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2009, Mass Communication

This thesis analyzes a trend in a subgenre of motion pictures that are designed to not only entertain, but also provide a message for the modern world after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The analysis provides a critical look at three different films as artifacts of post-9/11 culture, showing how the integration of certain elements made them allegorical works regarding the status of the United States in the aftermath of the attacks. Jean Baudrillard's postmodern theory of simulation and simulacra was utilized to provide a context for the films that tap into themes reflecting post-9/11 reality. The results were analyzed by critically examining the source material, with a cultural criticism emerging regarding the progression of this subgenre of motion pictures as meaningful work.

Committee: Bruce Drushel PhD (Committee Chair); Ronald Scott PhD (Committee Member); David Sholle PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; English literature; Mass Media; Motion Pictures; Rhetoric

Master of Arts, John Carroll University, 2009, History

This thesis examines the rise of Islamic terrorism from 1979-2003. It begins with how the Soviet-Afghan war during the 1980's gave birth to a movement of young Islamic radicals that became known as al Qaeda. The paper then discusses how the organization, led by wealthy Saudi financier Osama bin Ladin, became a principle antagonist of the Clinton Administration throughout the 1990's. Moreover, it goes on to talk about the numerous successful terrorist acts al Qaeda was able to plan and implement around the world during the 1990's and how the administration attempted to deal them. It also discusses how the attacks of September 11, 2001, changed the way the American government under the Bush Administration saw the problem of international terrorism, looking at it as an act of war rather than one dealt with by law enforcement. This thesis concludes detailing the changes made during the early years of the War on Terror and attempts, with skepticism, to judge their effectiveness.

Committee: Sven Dubie PhD (Committee Chair); Daniel Kilbride PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: History; Political Science

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2012, English/Literature

This thesis applies both postcolonial and trauma theory to explore filmic responses to September 11th and the “War on Terror.” I examine the Hollywood films United 93 and World Trade Center and compare them to the omnibus film 11”09'01 and the Bollywood release My Name is Khan in order to understand the different ways in which each work portrays the trauma of September 11th as well as each film's unique attempt to memorialize the attacks. Both trauma theory and postcolonial theory, I argue, help illuminate the different ideological responses to September 11th. I contend that the two Hollywood films both evacuate the surrounding context from the attacks and instead use the trauma of September to celebrate American heroism, ultimately reinforcing conservative notions of what motivated the attacks, as well as who can claim U.S. citizenship, and by extension, who can claim victimhood. This is contrasted with 11”09'01 and My Name is Khan, both of which return context to September 11th and also attempt to use the trauma as a means of potentially forging new alliances with disparate communities both within the United States and across the globe. It is by examining how the trauma of September 11th continues to inform discourses on terrorism that there exists the potential to contest mainstream discourses on terror and also form more potentially liberatory alliances with different groups of people across the globe.

Committee: Khani Begum (Committee Chair); Stephannie Gearhart (Committee Member) Subjects: Film Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2008, Popular Culture

Through their representations of torture, 24 and Battlestar Galactica build on a wider political discourse. Although 24 began production on its first season several months before the terrorist attacks, the show has become a contested space where opinions about the war on terror and related political and military adventures are played out. The producers of Battlestar Galactica similarly use the space of television to raise questions and problematize issues of war. Together, these two television shows reference a long history of discussion of what role torture should play not just in times of war but also in a liberal democracy. This project seeks to understand the multiple ways that ideological discourses have played themselves out through representations of torture in these television programs. This project begins with a critique of the popular discourse of torture as it portrayed in the popular news media. Using an ideological critique and theories of televisual realism, I argue that complex representations of torture work to both challenge and reify dominant and hegemonic ideas about what torture is and what it does. This project also leverages post-structural analysis and critical gender theory as a way of understanding exactly what ideological messages the programs producers are trying to articulate.

Committee: Dr. Jeffrey Brown (Committee Chair); Dr. Becca Cragin (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Communication; Mass Media