Event, Image, History and Place: How the NYC2012 Olympic Bid Constructed New
Event, Image, History and Place: How the NYC2012 Olympic Bid Constructed New York City A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Michael H. Koch August 2012 © 2012 Michael H. Koch. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Event, Image, History and Place: How the NYC2012 Olympic Bid Constructed New York City by MICHAEL H. KOCH has been approved for the School of Media Arts and Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Joseph W. Slade Professor of Media Arts and Studies Scott Titsworth Interim Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT KOCH, MICHAEL H., Ph.D., August 2012, Mass Communication Event, Image, History and Place: How the NYC2012 Olympic Bid Constructed New York City (251 pp.) Director: Joseph W. Slade This dissertation examines the bid book produced by the NYC2012 organization as part of its effort to have New York City named host of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The NYC2012 bid book, like any other Olympic bid book, is a unique, complex document. It is both a blueprint or future vision of a city, and an extensive, carefully- constructed piece of place-marketing aimed primarily (but not solely) at the elite decision-makers who control the Olympic Movement, along with all its economic and cultural power. Using a qualitative approach, drawing upon cultural history, urban studies, political economics, and other perspectives, this work identifies and discusses the key themes in the NYC2012 bid book: New York City’s cosmopolitanism; its urban needs and networks; its renascence and recaptured traditions; and its drama and spectacle.
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