Year of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Arts (MA)

Degree Name

Political Science

Department or School/College

Department of Political Science

Committee Chair

Robert Saldin

Commitee Members

Abhishek Chatterjee, Lucian Conway III, David C.W. Parker

Keywords

place, narrative, political, communication, science, advertisements

Subject Categories

American Politics | Communication | Political Science | Public Relations and Advertising

Abstract

Narratives have been increasingly subject to study within social science disciplines. However, research pertaining to narrative within political campaigns is incomplete. For example, there has been a relative lack of attention in the literature to the symbolic discourse and imagery in many political campaign advertisements that—seemingly—exists in order to link candidates to specific geographic “places” within their constituencies. A more complete understanding of the association between narratives of place and political campaigns will allow us to more effective and accurately gauge how, when, and why candidates use this potential strategy; as well as its possible effectiveness in election outcomes. This study is the first to explore place-based narrative in depth, and provides an overview of where, as well as the degree to which it was featured in political advertisements during the 2012 and 2014 U.S. Senate elections. Moreover, preliminary results suggesting two environmental conditions that account for the occurrence of this phenomenon are discussed. Overall, this study represents a valuable contribution to the literature on political communication, as well as a foundation upon which further research can be undertaken.

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© Copyright 2015 Brian K. Munis