The nature of satire: Essentialism, gender, and purpose
| dc.contributor.committeeChair | Batra, Kanika | |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Shelton, Jennifer | |
| dc.creator | Neitch, Kenna | |
| dc.creator.orcid | 0000-0001-5709-3904 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2016-06-27T22:28:18Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2016-06-27T22:28:18Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2016-05 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2016-05 | |
| dc.date.submitted | May 2016 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2016-06-27T22:28:18Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | There is a lack of recognized satire written by women in the English satirical canon. In this thesis, I argue that this dearth does not stem from an absence of women capable of producing cogent, effective satire, but from the conflicting stereotypes of women and characterizations of satire as a genre that is aggressive, humorous, and intellectually critical. Through a framework of feminist comparativism, I trace out the prevailing historical and literary characterizations of women and satire and use a close reading of Aphra Behn and Mary Wortley Montagu to demonstrate successful examples of women's satire and the social adversity they encountered. Finally, I empirically analyze a contemporary example of satire produced by men and women on the comedy news program The Daily Show. I found that even 21st century iterations of satire perpetuate gendered expectations of humor and satire. I conclude with the conviction that additional research on the intersections of gender and satire is needed, given the current popular re-invigoration of satire and the strides being made by women in comedy more broadly. | |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis won 2nd Place in the Texas Tech University Outstanding Thesis and Dissertation Award, Social Sciences, 2016. | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2346/67161 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.rights.availability | Unrestricted. | |
| dc.subject | Satire | |
| dc.subject | Gender | |
| dc.title | The nature of satire: Essentialism, gender, and purpose | |
| dc.type | Thesis | |
| dc.type.material | text | |
| thesis.degree.department | English | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | English | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Texas Tech University | |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Arts |