Date of Award
May 2016
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Media Studies
Advisor(s)
Carol M. Liebler
Keywords
femininity/competency bind, Hillary Clinton, Meta-meme, political communication, social media, social presence
Subject Categories
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Abstract
In the age of viral social sharing, memes have become an increasingly important way for the public to engage in political debate and discussion. Through social media, politicians have an opportunity to participate in meme sharing with their followers, and to gain valuable likeability points with them by doing so. Hillary Clinton is one such politician, who created a meta-meme by participating in a viral meme about her, and was able to have some control over the narrative about her image as a result. The present research examined the uses of and responses to political meta-meming through analysis of both Hillary Clinton’s meta-memes and the reactions to them in the news media as shared on social media. This thesis used a theoretical foundation of social presence theory, which in recent years has come to be used in a social media setting and can predict likeability based on effective participation in social media norms. Analysis was conducted through the lens of the femininity/competency bind to center an understanding of Hillary Clinton’s image.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Birkhead, Hanna Katharina, "“Texts From Hillary:” Political Meta-meming, Likeability, and Social Presence" (2016). Dissertations - ALL. 468.
https://surface.syr.edu/etd/468
