Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Communication
Committee Chair
Christopher Campbell
Committee Chair School
Communication
Committee Member 2
David Davies
Committee Member 2 School
Communication
Committee Member 3
Cheryl Jenkins
Committee Member 3 School
Communication
Committee Member 4
Vanessa Murphree
Committee Member 4 School
Communication
Committee Member 5
Fei Xue
Committee Member 5 School
Communication
Abstract
The dissertation analyzes photographic images of dead bodies that appeared in news settings related to warfare in the United States in three distinct eras – the 1860s, the 1940s, and the 1960s. The primary subject of the analysis are photographs of corpses created in the context of the American Civil War (1861-1865), World War II including the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust (1939-1946), and conflict and war in Vietnam (1950-1975). While the sample represents a partial catalogue of images of the dead in the context of warfare since photography emerged in the 1840s as a medium for disseminating news, the selected epochs represent key moments in the development of news photography and thus offer a broad cross section of historical periods in which mortality was part of the news agenda. Findings indicate a consistent distribution and level of graphic explicitness in photographs of dead bodies in the context of each war. Most of the images that have emerged as iconic are associated with the later stages of each war.
Copyright
Richard Anthony Lewis, 2020
Recommended Citation
Lewis, Richard Anthony, "Framing Death and Suffering: An Examination of Photographs of Dead and Dying during the U. S. Civil War, World War II, and the Vietnam War" (2020). Dissertations. 1747.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1747
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Graphic Communications Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons