The Citizen-Soldier in the American Imagination: Traces of the Myths of World War II in the "Army Strong" Recruitment Campaign

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dc.contributor.authorBocanegra, Maria Leighen
dc.contributor.committeecochairLuke, Timothy W.en
dc.contributor.committeecochairThadhani, Rupa G.en
dc.contributor.committeememberNelson, Scott G.en
dc.contributor.departmentPolitical Scienceen
dc.date.accessioned2016-09-22T14:57:16Zen
dc.date.adate2010-05-20en
dc.date.available2016-09-22T14:57:16Zen
dc.date.issued2010-05-03en
dc.date.rdate2015-04-22en
dc.date.sdate2010-05-09en
dc.description.abstractThe myth of the citizen-soldier resonates strongly in the American imagination and helps (re)construct America the nation. The construction of this myth in the historical context of World War II is especially prominent in contemporary American culture. The myth of the World War II citizen-soldier functions as an individualized discursive formation with specific rules of formation. I contextualize the construction of this individualized discursive formation within the historical era of World War II, and show how it excludes in direct contradiction to the ideals of civic nationalism that shaped the concept of national citizenship of that era. The United States military, which changed to an All Volunteer Force in 1973, functions as a neoliberal state apparatus in modern America. However, the United States Military still largely relies on the rules of formation and the ideals of civic nationalism in order to recruit volunteers for its forces. Traces of the myths of World War II, particularly the myth of the citizen-soldier, can still be found in the United States Army's recruitment material in its current "Army Strong" campaign despite the contradictory ideals of civic nationalism and neoliberalism. I conduct a Critical Discourse Analysis of three recruitment television commercials from the "Army Strong" campaign aired in 2009. I explain how the United States Army uses both the ideals of civic nationalism and the characteristics of neoliberalism in order to encourage potential recruits to join its ranks.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.identifier.otheretd-05092010-175043en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05092010-175043/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/72992en
dc.language.isoen_USen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectCitizen-Soldieren
dc.subjectCivic Nationalismen
dc.subjectCritical Discourse Analysisen
dc.subjectMilitary Recruitmenten
dc.subjectMythen
dc.subjectNationen
dc.subjectNeoliberalismen
dc.subjectUnited States Armyen
dc.subjectUnited States Militaryen
dc.subjectWorld War IIen
dc.titleThe Citizen-Soldier in the American Imagination: Traces of the Myths of World War II in the "Army Strong" Recruitment Campaignen
dc.typeThesisen
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
thesis.degree.disciplinePolitical Scienceen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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