Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The recordings, writings, and public figure of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Pennsylvania deathrow prisoner since 1982, represent synecdochic manifestations of his body in space, his oeuvre in time, and his figure in code.This thesis traces both the cultural artifacts that he produces, and how he and Daniel Faulkner, whom he is convicted of killing, have been discursively produced as cultural figures.It suggests that Abu-Jamal represents more than a polarizing history, instead complicating the interconnectedness of audio, textual, and digital media.The thesis uses interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological interventions to examine media, prisons, and profanity in culture.iii I owe many thanks.My advisors kept me focused, honest, and ambitious from this project's conception to its presentation.My family supports, loves, and challenges me, even when they do not understand me.My colleagues and friends endured too many conversations on these topics, but they crystallized my thought.Those who participated in the research, both personally and through their public words, each provided rich information, sometimes even data.Finally, the family and friends of both Mumia Abu-Jamal and Daniel Faulkner, who kept this case close to their hearts, on their tongues, and thereby in the public view, made this thesis both possible and relevant.I thank you all.
Author: lewis levenberg
Language: English
Subfield: Communication
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W255110791