NOTES PERTAINING TO PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Text of Note
Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-1-321-81542-9
DISSERTATION (THESIS) NOTE
Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree
Ph.D.
Discipline of degree
Journalism
Body granting the degree
Indiana University
Text preceding or following the note
2015
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
This dissertation explores the ways Muslim bloggers writing in English use social media site Tumblr. Muslims have historically been framed as scary others who threaten the ideals which are said to structure life in the western world. This framing dates back to Europe's colonial era and has informed media narratives about who Muslims are ever since. This, in turn, has helped shape Islamophobic and anti-Muslim sentiment in many parts of the world. This dissertation examines how Muslims fashion identities and communities in a social media space against such a backdrop. It is informed by research from the fields of mass communication, new media studies, sociology, religious studies, and global studies and employs a mixed method approach. This research design includes survey, interview, and textual analysis methodologies. The survey portion of the dissertation is guided by uses and gratifications theory as it seeks to understand what uses drive bloggers' participation in Tumblr. The interview methodology provides an opportunity to begin to understand why certain uses are more important than others as well as what use of the space actually means to participants. The textual analysis opens a window into understanding the type of content these bloggers are producing.
TOPICAL NAME USED AS SUBJECT
Religion; Islamic Studies; Web Studies; Mass communications
UNCONTROLLED SUBJECT TERMS
Subject Term
Philosophy, religion and theology;Social sciences;Communication and the arts;Blogging;Muslims;New media;Social media;Tumblr