Communication Studies, Department of
First Advisor
Casey Ryan Kelly
Date of this Version
8-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts
Major: Communication Studies
Under the supervision of Professor Casey Ryan Kelly
Lincoln, Nebraska, April 2024
Abstract
This thesis explores the rhetoric of the eco-movement Extinction Rebellion, focusing on the use of swarming and nature tropes to mobilize collective action and revivify contemporary notions of collectivity. Drawing on rhetoric of social movement scholarship, cultural studies, and psychoanalysis, this essay theorizes swarming as a tropological economy that expands the conditions of propriety in the context of collectivity. Through an analysis of Extinction Rebellion’s discourse, this study demonstrates how the naturalization of swarming tropes works in various ways to rewild conventional political discourse, galvanize disruptive collective assembly, and challenge green neoliberalism.
Advisor: Casey Ryan Kelly
Included in
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Comments
Copyright 2024, TylerJ. Behymer. Used by permission