President Kennedy's image in popular culture and the classroom.

dc.contributor.author Taylor, Charles en_US
dc.contributor.department History en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2014-06-20T17:54:18Z
dc.date.available 2014-06-20T17:54:18Z
dc.date.issued 1998 en_US
dc.description.abstract The purpose of this research is to examine an enduring Kennedy mystique and develop a teaching strategy that helps people to understand a powerful mythology that holds John Kennedy as an exalted national hero. Surveys consistently rank Kennedy as the most popular President among the general public, and President Kennedy remains prominent in the media, literature, and popular culture while the memory of many other presidents has faded into obscurity. en_US
dc.description.abstract The thesis of this research is that despite critical assessment of John Kennedy's presidency offered by many historians, a powerful mythology holds President Kennedy as an exalted national hero. The popular mythology originated in the conscious use of modern media and by Kennedy's assassination. By becoming more aware of mythic dimensions of JFK's image, students can however develop a more historical understanding of the Kennedy presidency. en_US
dc.description.abstract This study relied on diverse primary sources such as The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, U.S. News and World Report, while also utilizing comments of tourists at The Sixth Floor Museum, in Dallas, Texas, photographs of President Kennedy and his family, and the motion picture, JFK. Major secondary sources include Kennedy biographers Thomas Reeves, Richard Reeves, Theodore White, and William Manchester. en_US
dc.description.abstract JFK and his associates carefully laid the seeds of a powerful popular image. Kennedy manipulated the print media through rewards and punishments and skillfully used television, projecting himself as a heroic, poised, likeable, and intelligent figure. President Kennedy's TV acumen made him into more of a celebrity and less of a traditional politician. en_US
dc.description.abstract Kennedy's assassination and symbolic actions during the civil rights movement added to JFK's existing heroic persona. Photographs with blacks and emotionally compelling messages made President Kennedy appear as a paternalistic liberator to African Americans. Moreover, his slaying evoked a sympathy that circumvented a more critical analysis of John Kennedy's death, further promoting him as a martyr and great man. en_US
dc.description.abstract The teaching model in this research focuses on factors that promoted JFK's heroic persona. Moreover, various pedagogical methods in this study help people to understand the nature of Kennedy's heroism and what this heroic persona suggests about contemporary politics. en_US
dc.description.degree D.A. en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://jewlscholar.mtsu.edu/handle/mtsu/4117
dc.publisher Middle Tennessee State University en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Popular culture United States History en_US
dc.subject.lcsh History, United States en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Education, Social Sciences en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Political Science, General en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Biography en_US
dc.subject.lcsh American Studies en_US
dc.thesis.degreegrantor Middle Tennessee State University en_US
dc.thesis.degreelevel Doctoral en_US
dc.title President Kennedy's image in popular culture and the classroom. en_US
dc.type Dissertation en_US
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