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"Put the Fun Between Your Legs!": The Politics and Counterculture of the Bicycle.

Furness, Zachary Mooradian (2006) "Put the Fun Between Your Legs!": The Politics and Counterculture of the Bicycle. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This project is a cultural study of bicycles and the politics that inform the everyday practice of cycling. Through a close examination of media, rhetoric, and protest, I focus my attention on groups of people who believe that bicycles are not merely forms of transportation, rather, they are instruments of communication, sources of identity, vehicles for pleasure, and tools for technological, cultural, and political critique. This 'counterculture' is comprised of feminists, socialists, punks, anti-globalization activists, writers, environmentalists, and others who have created and developed a politics of cycling through a dialectic of communication and action. Through this dialectical process, these cyclists have not only created an important body of knowledge that speaks to issues of gender, class, culture, technology, and ideology, they also demonstrate both how these issues are interrelated and how people can actively negotiate and contest their meanings. As such, they reveal the capacity for others to effectively utilize grassroots organization, alternative media production, and non-violent direct action as a means to initiate political mobilization and positive change in an era of corporatization, globalization, and widespread cynicism. More than anything, they remind us that revolution can, and must, begin in our everyday lives.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Furness, Zachary Mooradianzafst@pitt.eduZAFST
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairSterne, Jonathanjonathan.sterne@mcgill.ca
Committee CoChairStabile, Carolcarol.stabile@gmail.com
Committee MemberWeintraub, Andrewanwein@pitt.eduANWEIN
Committee MemberMitchell, Gordongordonm@pitt.eduGORDONM
Date: 30 March 2006
Date Type: Completion
Defense Date: 20 October 2005
Approval Date: 30 March 2006
Submission Date: 5 December 2005
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Communication: Rhetoric and Communication
Degree: PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Doctoral Dissertation
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: anarchism; bicycling; bike culture; bike punks; bike zines; biketivism; car culture; community bicycling programs; critical mass; cycling history; ivan illich; provos; situationists; social movements; zack furness
Other ID: http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12052005-210916/, etd-12052005-210916
Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2011 20:08
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 13:53
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10058

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