Alternative Literacies, Resistance, and Spatial Representations in The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Culture of Zine Publication in New Orleans

<p>Zines are small circulation media that amateurs make and distribute. Inspired by both the lack of ethnographic research on the do-it-yourself (DIY) culture of zine-making in urban studies and the growing interest in ethnographically oriented research in literacy studies, rhetoric, and linguistics this research explores the people, places, and practices behind zine publication in New Orleans, Louisiana through participant observation at two specialized loci—the Iron Rail and punk shows—as well as semi-structured interviews with people who make, distribute, and consume zines. This research argues that zine-makers use zines to reinterpret urban space in search of an authentic relationship with the city. They then share these interpretations with others who participate in DIY punk culture. In doing so, zine-makers refuse conventional rules developed for classroom literacy and resist capitalism in their zines' content and in their methods of publishing by both building on local knowledge and opposing corporate media.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Planning and Urban Studies

Year

2010

Author dc:creator

• Jessee, Nathan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Ward, Martha
• Ehrenfeucht, Renia
• Piano, Doreen

• zines
• alternative literacies
• resistance
• spatial discourse

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1223

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2206