Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Communication Studies

Department

Communication Studies

First Reader/Committee Chair

Metts, Charles

Abstract

In this thesis, I argue that punk can be anything, but dead. I honor punk as part of a wider avant-garde movement. In that spirit, I lay out a theoretical framework of shock-effects that I eventually employ as a lens for analyzing data. In “reviewing” the literature, I call attention to the mysteries that early scholarship revealed, how present-day scholars have turned these mysteries into practical approaches to living, and the importance of autoethnographic approaches to studying punk. To employ autoethnography, I generated data through personal memories of punk, self-observation and self-reflection of punk in my life, and considered what others have said about punk. I converted this data through both analysis and interpretation, honoring the spirit of self-reflection. I have defended myself against shock-effects when these have critiqued my identity and faith; I have integrated shock-effects when these have validated my identity and allowed me to laugh. The Brechtian notion of “alienation” or “distanciation” has helped me approach punk with irony and mockery and a sense of light-heartedness; accept myself, others, and the world we share; and feel passionate about preserving, all that is gritty. Essentially, I argue that punk, by virtue of shock-effects, fosters self-reflection.

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