This dissertation seeks to understand the cultural politics of the \"war on terrorism\" through a case study of the \"If You See Something, Say Something\" campaign within the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority Subway System. Drawing upon literature that focuses on an understanding of the affective transmission of culture, this research seeks to understand this particular campaign as a technique of social control. Through a content analysis of the advertisements of this campaign and a performative methodology that analyzes the performance of security within the subway system, an understanding of the connections this local campaign (as a security campaign) has with a greater \"war on terrorism\" is explored.
","abstract_html":"<p>This dissertation seeks to understand the cultural politics of the "war on terrorism" through a case study of the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign within the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority Subway System. Drawing upon literature that focuses on an understanding of the affective transmission of culture, this research seeks to understand this particular campaign as a technique of social control. Through a content analysis of the advertisements of this campaign and a performative methodology that analyzes the performance of security within the subway system, an understanding of the connections this local campaign (as a security campaign) has with a greater "war on terrorism" is explored.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sylvia, Polly"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Sociology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Patricia Ticineto Clough"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Stanley Aronowitz","Lynn Chancer"],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z","subjects":["Sociology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1692","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Patricia Ticineto Clough"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Stanley Aronowitz","Lynn Chancer"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sylvia, Polly"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-11-16T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Sociology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1692"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation seeks to understand the cultural politics of the \"war on terrorism\" through a case study of the \"If You See Something, Say Something\" campaign within the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority Subway System. Drawing upon literature that focuses on an understanding of the affective transmission of culture, this research seeks to understand this particular campaign as a technique of social control. Through a content analysis of the advertisements of this campaign and a performative methodology that analyzes the performance of security within the subway system, an understanding of the connections this local campaign (as a security campaign) has with a greater \"war on terrorism\" is explored.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["\"If You See Something, Say Something\": The Power of the 'War on Terrorism' to Name What We See"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Patricia Ticineto Clough"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Stanley Aronowitz","Lynn Chancer"],"dc:creator":["Sylvia, Polly"],"dc:date.available":["2016-11-16T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation seeks to understand the cultural politics of the \"war on terrorism\" through a case study of the \"If You See Something, Say Something\" campaign within the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority Subway System. Drawing upon literature that focuses on an understanding of the affective transmission of culture, this research seeks to understand this particular campaign as a technique of social control. Through a content analysis of the advertisements of this campaign and a performative methodology that analyzes the performance of security within the subway system, an understanding of the connections this local campaign (as a security campaign) has with a greater \"war on terrorism\" is explored.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1692"],"dc:subject":["Sociology"],"dc:title":["\"If You See Something, Say Something\": The Power of the 'War on Terrorism' to Name What We See"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Sociology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:54Z"}