An Honours Thesis By: Malcolm Capstick
Contrasting Masculinities in Azeroth The Construction of Hegemonic Masculinity in World of Warcraft An honours thesis by: Malcolm Capstick A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Honours in Sociology This honours thesis is accepted by: Dr. Audrey MacNevin Honours Supervisor Dr. Augie (Russell) Westhaver Acting Chair April 21st 2015 Saint Mary’s University Canada © Malcolm Capstick 2015 Acknowledgments Throughout the process of this research I have been lucky enough to have several people whose kindness, patience and intelligence contributed greatly to my own academic pursuits. Firstly, I would like to thank my fellow students within the honours program. This project was only made possible through the collective input/criticism that I was lucky enough to receive from a great set of peers. Secondly, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to my family, Bryanne and Kaden. It was only through their support, sacrifice and encouragement that this project was able to become reality. Every day I am reminded how lucky I am to have such great people in life. Lastly, I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Audrey MacNevin who both challenged, and supported me throughout the process of this document Abstract Contrasting Masculinities in Azeroth: The Construction of Hegemonic Masculinity in World of Warcraft By Malcolm F. Capstick Using R.W. Connell’s theoretical framework of hegemonic masculinity, a critical discourse analysis is completed on the avatar creation screen in World of Warcraft (WoW), a popular, online video game. As WoW is foremost a commodity, analysis is contrasted with design and marketing strategies that are provided by a lecture given at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus, on May 7th, 2014 by Rob Pardo, chief creative designer of WoW.
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