Abstract

All human beings are perceptive entities, engaging with the world through somatic and sensory experiences. These interactions allow individuals to assess, understand, and navigate their surroundings and social contexts. Our bodies, through daily experiences and interactions with the constructed environment, learn to move in harmony with or in opposition to dominant societal rhythms. However, it would be inaccurate and misleading to claim that all individuals can seamlessly synchronize with these societal rhythmic systems. For bodies marginalized by race, gender, age, disabilities, and other factors are policed, stigmatized, minimized, and enclosed, resulting in an inability for marginalized individuals to fully synchronize with dominant social rhythmic systems. Consequently, these dominant systems compel marginalized groups to alter their behaviors and kinesthetic movements to navigate a world that does not fully accommodate their rhythms. This desynchronization leaves marginalized communities with two choices, to conform to the spaces and rhythms designed for them by these dominant social rhythmic systems or create their own. Through the examination of the feminine body and marginalized bodies, I explore the opposition to the dominant social rhythmic system and the ongoing creation of new ones, framing activism and social change movements as forms of rhythmic resistance.

Advisor

Sachi Sekimoto

Committee Member

Anne Kerber

Committee Member

Jameel Haque

Date of Degree

2025

Language

english

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Program of Study

Communication and Media

Department

Communication and Media

College

Humanities and Social Sciences

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Rights Statement

In Copyright