"Party time is over!" : En studie av skräckens diskurs i biblioteksrepresentationer i US-amerikanska sitcoms och tv-satirer
(2010) ABMM43 20101Division of ALM, Digital Cultures and Publishing Studies
- Abstract
- In the article Libraries, librarians and the discourse of fear (2001) Radford & Radford presented the idea that the library representations in popular culture depict the library as a frightening institution for users. According to the article the institution and its librarians use fear as a way of controlling users. The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine whether and if yes, how the article correlates with library representations in American sitcoms and satires from the 1990’s. Through high lighting both genre and resistance our aim is to examine and develop the idea of the library as a fearful and controlling institution.
Our theory and method is derived from Michael Foucault’s discourse theory. Especially his views on... (More) - In the article Libraries, librarians and the discourse of fear (2001) Radford & Radford presented the idea that the library representations in popular culture depict the library as a frightening institution for users. According to the article the institution and its librarians use fear as a way of controlling users. The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine whether and if yes, how the article correlates with library representations in American sitcoms and satires from the 1990’s. Through high lighting both genre and resistance our aim is to examine and develop the idea of the library as a fearful and controlling institution.
Our theory and method is derived from Michael Foucault’s discourse theory. Especially his views on discipline and punishment have inspired our analysis. Since his views on resistance as a natural part of a discourse were not thoroughly examined in the Radford & Radford article this is our main focus.
In our examination we have also included Daniel Koch’s (2004) view of the term social space. From this perspective the library space is not merely defined by its physical appearance, but also by the activities that occur in it.
Our analysis show that the discourse of fear is a common way of representing libraries in sitcoms and satires and that these genres naturally emphasize resistance. However the discourse is much more dynamic than the way it was described by Radford & Radford (2001). Users have an active role in maintaining and also in trying to revolt against the discourse which was never expressed in the article. Resistance operates within the discourse as a way of making it visible and ultimately helping to define it. Our research shows that the most common way of putting resistance into practice is through breaking taboos, which is ultimately expressed by public displays of affection. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1730867
- author
- Miklos, Anna LU and Stenson, Linnea LU
- supervisor
-
- Jutta Haider LU
- organization
- alternative title
- “Party time is over!” : An analysis of the discourse of fear in library representations in US-American sitcoms and tv satires
- course
- ABMM43 20101
- year
- 2010
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Gary Radford, Marie Radford, Daniel Koch, Michel Foucault, Beavis and Butt-head, Golden Girls, Friends, Seinfeld, Daria, The Simpsons, sitcom, satire, humour, social space, cultural studies, discourse of fear, discourse analysis, ALM, library and information science, ABM, biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap, diskursanalys, skräckens diskurs, humor, satir, sitcom
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 1730867
- date added to LUP
- 2010-12-10 13:35:37
- date last changed
- 2014-04-11 14:16:33
@misc{1730867, abstract = {{In the article Libraries, librarians and the discourse of fear (2001) Radford & Radford presented the idea that the library representations in popular culture depict the library as a frightening institution for users. According to the article the institution and its librarians use fear as a way of controlling users. The aim of this Master’s thesis is to examine whether and if yes, how the article correlates with library representations in American sitcoms and satires from the 1990’s. Through high lighting both genre and resistance our aim is to examine and develop the idea of the library as a fearful and controlling institution. Our theory and method is derived from Michael Foucault’s discourse theory. Especially his views on discipline and punishment have inspired our analysis. Since his views on resistance as a natural part of a discourse were not thoroughly examined in the Radford & Radford article this is our main focus. In our examination we have also included Daniel Koch’s (2004) view of the term social space. From this perspective the library space is not merely defined by its physical appearance, but also by the activities that occur in it. Our analysis show that the discourse of fear is a common way of representing libraries in sitcoms and satires and that these genres naturally emphasize resistance. However the discourse is much more dynamic than the way it was described by Radford & Radford (2001). Users have an active role in maintaining and also in trying to revolt against the discourse which was never expressed in the article. Resistance operates within the discourse as a way of making it visible and ultimately helping to define it. Our research shows that the most common way of putting resistance into practice is through breaking taboos, which is ultimately expressed by public displays of affection.}}, author = {{Miklos, Anna and Stenson, Linnea}}, language = {{swe}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{"Party time is over!" : En studie av skräckens diskurs i biblioteksrepresentationer i US-amerikanska sitcoms och tv-satirer}}, year = {{2010}}, }