To Reagan's "New Right," What's in a Name? : the Symbolic Significance of the "Welfare Queen" in Politics and Public Discourse

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To Reagan's University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2012 From the "war on poverty" to Reagan's "new right," what's in a name? : the symbolic significance of the "welfare queen" in politics and public discourse. Kem Roper University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Roper, Kem, "From the "war on poverty" to Reagan's "new right," what's in a name? : the symbolic significance of the "welfare queen" in politics and public discourse." (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1232. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1232 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FROM THE "WAR ON POVERTY" TO REAGAN'S "NEW RIGHT;' WHAT'S IN A NAME? THE SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE "WELFARE QUEEN" IN POLITICS AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE. by KEM ROPER B.A., Oakwood University, 1995 M.A., UA Huntsville, 2002 A Dissertation Submitted to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences ofthe University of Louisville In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2012 Copyright © by Kern Roper 2012 All Rights Reserved FROM THE “WAR ON POVERTY” TO REAGAN’S “NEW RIGHT,” WHAT’S IN A NAME? THE SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE “WELFARE QUEEN” IN POLITICS AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE by KEM ROPER B.A., Oakwood University, 1995 M.A., UA Huntsville, 2002 A Dissertation Approved on November 16, 2012 By the following Dissertation Committee Dr. Debra Journet Dr. Karen Kopelson Dr. David Anderson Dr. Carol Mattingly Dr. Nancy Theriot ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I suppose I could try and fool myself into thinking I have accomplished this feat alone. But, then, all of you reading this would know the truth, so there's really no point in kidding myself. To be sure, I would not have even attempted this monumental task were it not for the incredible supporting and encouraging circle of friends, family, associates and colleagues who have ushered me along this sometimes treacherous journey. First, let me pay due homage to my Heavenly Father upon whom I have relied for strength and guidance all the days of my life. It is God and God alone who deserves all glory and honor. I am but a vessel and servant whose aim is to do His bidding. I pray my work is not in vain. Second, I cannot think of a more fitting gift that my Creator could have given me than the handsome, intelligent, witty, supportive and loving husband that I have. Everett, I don't know if you realize how much lowe you. With your love and encouragement you have made me believe that I can do anything! I have attempted things I never would have otherwise; I have reached beyond myself and beyond what I ever would have thought possible. Through you, God has pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to trust Him to do great things. Thank you for believing in me when 1 didn't believe in myself. Thank you for being that shoulder that I cried on in the darkness when I was sure the very shadow of death would overtake me. Thanks, also, for exercising tough love at times and telling me to "get back in there and fight." I am stronger today because of you. Then, of course, how grateful I am for our two beautiful children! Thank you Eryn and Edyn for your hugs and kisses; for always reminding me of what's really important. Thank you for loving me for who I am and for not caring a bit about the work that I do! You two are my sunshine. You bring such joy to my heart that no words could ever fully express. I know it was hard on you when I was away and there were many nights we had only the phone lines to connect us. But, Eryn, do you remember what I told you? Sometimes doing the hard stuff now will make things easier later, and it's true! When you go through a difficult time and come out on the other side, you find that you are better in some way as a result. We made it through the tough time and now we can enjoy our time together that much more. llove you Everett, Eryn and Edyn with all my heart and soul. Now, I dare not rank the rest of the important people in my life as you have all played such significant roles, but I suppose I must begin somewhere, so how about the beginning? That would probably be Diana Bell's Writing Pedagogy at UAH which lead to my tenure in the Writing Center, two important experiences that (unbeknownst to me) iii started me down this path. I have Diana to thank for introducing me to RhetiComp, a discipline that was completely foreign to me before Fall semester 2000! Thank you also for always believing in me. Thank you for all the recommendations, for being instrumental in getting me my first teaching job and for always being there when I needed teaching advice. So much of my pedagogy has been influenced by you. You were a great mentor! Then, of course, there's that other beginning-at U of L. My very first graduate course at U ofL was Debra Journet's Narrative Theory and it was in Annette Powell's Cultural Rhetorics course that the "naming" project was born. Certainly, these two courses were the most influential and both of you were most excellent instructors and guides. I have valued your input and your encouragement. Thank you, Debra, for believing in this project and knowing long before I did that it was going to work! Your steadfast assurance kept me going forward. Then, when I hit "the wall" who else could have given me that kick in the pants like Michelle Bachelor-Robinson? You were like a big sister to me, leading by example. I admired your confidence and tried to stay close to you so some of that would rub off on me! I will be eternally indebted to you for jump-starting this project when it had stalled in the prospectus stage. Without your sound advice, invaluable feedback and constant motivation I might not have made it to this point. Thanks for your time and energy, for meeting me in B'ham and letting me take up an entire Sunday at your house! Of course, I must thank Phillip Blackmon for your input and feedback also. I will never forget the great food and conversations we had. Knowing I wasn't in this thing alone helped me believe I would make it just like you guys did. I also can't forget my girl, Joy Karega. We've been travelling a similar path together. You've been a great friend and I can't wait to attend your graduation, next! What would I ever do without great friends? Thank you Karen Fray and Yen Andrews for keeping me company by phone on the long drives home, and for telling me I could when I was so sure that I couldn't! You are both truly wonderful. And speaking of phone friends, how could I have ever made it back to Huntsville, AL if it were not for Daddy Earl? On that final stretch of lonely road, when the rest of the world was sleeping, Daddy Earl talked me on in! Thank goodness for the Pacific time zone, huh? The long commute between Huntsville, AL and Louisville, KY often presented unique challenges, and I would be remiss if I did not thank my father, Kenneth Brantley and step-mother, Jan, for stepping in when I couldn't make the trip alone. Thank you for your willingness to adjust your own busy schedules to accommodate mine! Thank you for taking care of my children when I couldn't be there. Thank you for your love and encouragement. I would not have even attempted this if I did not have the support system that is my family. With that in mind, thank you, "Mother" Roper for being the second­ mom to my girls. You are the sweetest mother-in-law anyone could ask for, and I'm so thankful that my children are so comfortable with you and Dad. Knowing that you two iv love them and they love you brought me so much comfort and allowed me the peace of mind to forge ahead with my work knowing that they were in good hands. Thanks, mom, (Eileen) for your encouragement as well. I know you regret being so far away, but I appreciate your prayers and phone calls that let me know you cared. Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder sometimes and for reminding me that "this too shall pass." In many ways we were in the same boat, right? Raising children and going to school! Thank God for seeing us through. And, finally, I would like to thank my awesome dissertation committee: Debra Journet, Carol Mattingly, David Anderson, Karen Kopelson and Nancy Theriot. This project was greatly enhanced by your knowledgeable and insightful feedback. I am so grateful to have had the benefit of such a brilliant team of scholars.
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