Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Summer 2012 Moments When the Weak Gained Ground: Viral Video as a Curriculum of People Michael J. Ryan Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Instructional Media Design Commons Recommended Citation Ryan, Michael J., "Moments When the Weak Gained Ground: Viral Video as a Curriculum of People" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1016. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1016 This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. MOMENTS WHEN THE WEAK GAINED GROUND: VIRAL VIDEO AS A CURRICULUM OF PEOPLE by MICHAEL J. RYAN (Under the Direction of Daniel Chapman) ABSTRACT The public school curriculum has devolved into merely being a political football for the forces of the dominant culture, no longer even attempting to serve the People of the community or the students that the school ostensibly should serve. In the absence of a curriculum that is meaningful to People, another curriculum has spontaneously appeared outside of school via shared online media between social networks. This new curriculum, identified by a relatively wide viewership and its challenge to social injustice, oppressive conventions or hegemonic forces, is a curriculum of viral videos shared because of their meaning and cogence in the moment.