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Marie Anderson, a 2023 graduate from the South Dakota State University School of Communication and Journalism, is the 2024 recipient of the Outstanding Thesis Award from the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender. 

The Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender grew from a set of interdisciplinary conferences in 1978 at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Now it provides opportunities to present research, showcase creative projects and discuss various areas of communication related to language and gender. 

According to the organization’s website, award nominees need to have results and discussion in their theses that “interrogate and offer insights about gender as well as advance our understanding of gendered ways of communicating.” 

Anderson’s research project, “Fighting for What is Right: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Fan Campaign to Save ‘Anne with an E’ from Cancellation,” focuses on the implications of advocacy for the TV show “Anne with an E” using a series of billboard advertisements from a fan campaign following the show’s cancellation in 2019. 

“When the television show ‘Anne with an E’ was canceled, I was fascinated by the way that the show’s online fandom utilized social media to rally for another season,” Anderson explained. “I was especially struck by how the messaging of their campaign, which was being spearheaded mainly by young women and girls, went beyond discussions of entertainment to include deeper messages about their belief in the importance of representation of minorities and social issues. Through my research, I wanted to explore the construction of their rhetorical message and its implications for youth and women-led advocacy.” 

Anderson continued, “One of the biggest takeaways from this research was that just as advocates for social change can come in many shapes and sizes, so can the ways in which they advocate. 

“Actions society has deemed unsubstantial can have a rhetorical impact. Another major takeaway was that the value of media representation stems not from whether a production company finds it lucrative, but from what it means to the audience.” 

Anderson’s faculty advisor, School of Communication and Journalism Associate Academic Director Rebecca Kuehl, had high praises for Anderson’s work. 

“The thesis offers insightful implications regarding how fan-based social movement rhetoric can advance our understandings of the intersection of gender and communication, and how some gender-based issues — such as sexual assault and censorship of girls and women — are unfortunately timeless,” Kuehl said. “It truly was a joy to advise Ms. Marie Anderson as she wrote this important thesis centered on language, gender, and the communication strategies of fan-based social movements in popular culture.”