Date of Award

Spring 4-26-2017

Degree Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)

Department

English

Committee Chair/First Advisor

Dr. Letizia Guglielmo

Co-Chair

Dr. Mary Lou Odom

Abstract

This rhetorical analysis examines Choosing the Best Journey, a Choosing the Best, LLC student manual targeted at ninth and tenth grade students, and testimonials from the company’s website to provide insight about the ways in which the company’s curricula position women. In what way does this content position women in relation to men? Does the curriculum position women as those who both hold the responsibility for preventing and bearing the burden of premarital sexual activity? In what ways does this content work to reinforce gender stereotypes? By answering these questions, I am able to determine whether the curriculum works to uphold white, patriarchal power structures in an effort to encourage students to remain abstinent until marriage.

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