Theatre & Dance ETDs

Publication Date

3-19-2012

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study how performance has influenced the Mormon people in contemporary times and throughout history. This study examines various influential moments in the history of the LDS church that had an impact in shaping this group of people culturally. The thesis as a whole studies how the relationship with the media within the religion has become an ambivalent one. The first chapter of the thesis contextualizes the history of the church in order to analyze how performance has played a role in contemporary culture. The second chapter examines specific performances in contemporary Mormon culture. The performances analyzed include the I am a Mormon' campaign that has been the most recent missionary effort to come from the Mormon Church. The third chapter compares these seminal moments in history and contemporary Mormon culture to analyze the differences between the use of the media in the Mormon Church and other Christian religions. Throughout the thesis the idea of identity and ambivalence are further defined in relation to the church.

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Theatre & Dance

First Committee Member (Chair)

Pearson, Susan

Second Committee Member

Jones, Megan Sanborn

Language

English

Keywords

Mormon Church--History, Mormon Church--Missions, Mormon press, Mormons in mass media, Identity (Philosophical concept), Ambivalence

Document Type

Thesis

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