Publication Date

5-2007

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Christopher Antonsen, Erika Brady, Timothy Evans

Comments

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Degree Program

Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

This thesis explores the social phenomenon surrounding two online documents known collectively as the Incunabula Papers. Using an interpretive framework, this paper argues that immersion within the online discourses surrounding these documents operates akin to legend-tripping; it is a performance-based activity that places Internet readers into a magical playframe in which reality is reinterpreted.

By way of example, this thesis argues that the application of folklorists is crucial for a greater understanding of the dynamic social processes at play within computer-mediated communication. As such, the methodology used in this study is ethnographic; almost all primary resources come from the Internet.

Disciplines

Anthropology | Folklore | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social and Cultural Anthropology

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