Bücher von Julia Trede

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject American Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,3, University of Kassel, language: English, abstract: Writing has become an indispensable and inherent part in the daily routine of western societies. We learn how to read and write without considering the significance of a literate culture, being interested in how oral cultures develop to literate cultures, or what impact literacy has on a culture. These considerations will be subject of this paper. The initial chapter provides a short overview of previous research in the field of orality and literacy. Following Dürscheid, chapter two defines the concept of literacy and orality, whereby the latter concept will be subdivided into primary and secondary orality. In order to clarify which techniques oral cultures used before the evolution of writing, chapter three discusses the characteristics of oral cultures that have been determined by Walter Ong. Subsequently, I will focus on the shift from orality to literacy showing that writing was not simply invented but made its transition in evolutionary stages, i. e. from pictographic precursors of writing to a fully developed phonetic writing system. The last chapter concentrates on the impact of literacy on the society making clear that the evolution of writing affected entire social areas and led to the emergence of crucial developments in politics, philosophy, and theology.

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 2,7, University of Kassel, language: English, abstract: Hip-hop does only represent a mere music genre but also constitutes a movement that emerged out of profound economic and social changes in New York of the 1970s. It is a cultural expression of an Afrodiasporic community that faced social and racial inequity. Originally, hip-hop constituted a shelter for ethnic minorities that have been socially marginalized by the dominant American culture. However, hip-hop also constitutes a commercial commodity which is often reduced to its commercial purpose. This balancing act of representing a culture on the one hand, and a commodity on the other hand, evoked a discussion on authenticity. The aim of this paper is to analyze how and to what extent authenticity is claimed in songs of hip-hop artists. In order to understand the discussion of authenticity in hip-hop it is crucial to provide an informational background of the preconditions that contributed to the development of hip-hop. Chapter 1.1 provides this basis and describes social and political circumstances that America and especially New York experienced throughout the 1970s. The resulting evolution of the hip-hop movement is subject to chapter 1.2., explaining the beginnings of the movement and outlining hip-hop¿s elements. Chapter 2 is concerned with the concept of authenticity. In the course of this section I will deal with Kembrew McLeod¿s six semantic dimensions of authenticity which serve as a basis for the subsequent analyses. The last chapter provides an analysis of five rap songs that will be analyzed according to McLeod¿s dimensions of authenticity. The aim of this chapter is to find out, to what extent authenticity claims are used and how many dimensions can be identified in a song. Additionally, it is analyzed, if certain dimensions a used more frequently, or more specifically, if it is possible to allocate priorities to McLeod¿s dimensions.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2015 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Kassel, language: English, abstract: The aim of this work is to analyse the meanings and functions of Independence Day which shapes American identity. For an integral analysis two important aspects have to be considered: socio-political circumstances and the techniques used for generating national identity.In the beginning the concept of national identity will be discussed and the terms nation and identity defined. Therefore, the work draws on Benedict Anderson¿s theory of imagined communities in order to establish a general understanding of nations. Patrick Colm Hogan¿s techniques of nationalization provide the basis for the final analysis. After conceptualizing the major elements for the analysis, the author analyses Americas oldest holiday, Independence Day. In the course of the analysis, both socio-political developments and Hogan¿s techniques of nationalization will be identified in order to show how Independence Day celebrations generate and shape American identity.Independence Day is Americäs most important national holiday since it commemorates the birth of the United States of America. The holiday solemnizes the ratification of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of the United States of America. But the Fourth of July encompasses more meanings than commonly assumed. Since its emergence, Independence Day has been instrumentalized for generating national identity and articulating social and ethnic issues. Down to the present day, the Fourth of July has accomplished important functions that established, defined, and shaped American identity.

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject American Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,3, University of Kassel, language: English, abstract: Book printing, telegraph, telephone and broadcasting ¿ all these communication technologies influenced our language and so does the Internet. This term paper examines if the invention of the Internet triggered a language revolution and if a new English has evolved. In order to analyze the language of the Internet, it is necessary to provide a basic framework which is subject to the first chapter. Chapter one provides background information on the concept of language variation and explains important features of language variety. Dealing with language variety is crucial since the subsequent analysis aims to identify if a language variety has evolved. The second chapter deals with the definition and limitation of existing Internet situations which will be separately analyzed in chapter four. The subsequent chapter is concerned with the concept of Netspeak which was initially introduced by the linguist David Crystal. Besides the determination of Netspeak, chapter three also differentiates written and spoken language, in order to analyze whether Netspeak can be considered either spoken or written language. Furthermore, main linguistic features of Netspeak will be examined in order to compare them with each Internet situation. This procedure enables to answeri the question whether the ¿language of the Internet¿ can be considered homogenous or whether each situation applies different linguistic features. Chapter four comprises a detailed analysis of the Internet situations e-mail, chatgroups, virtual worlds and World Wide Web. In the course of this chapter, each situation will be examined according to unique linguistic features to find out if a new language variety has emerged. Additionally, special attention is given to linguistic features of Netspeak to clarify if the language of the Internet can be considered a homogenous language or a language which differs from situation to situation.