Building a 'World of Warcraft': Cyber-colonialism through 'othering' strategies

This thesis provides a rhetorical analysis of the popular video game World of Warcraft (WoW) and related material. The subscriber base of this game makes it a particularly prominent example of discourse with potentially great influence. Where previous studies have focused less on WoW's narrative in favor of a psychological or sociological approach, this study attempts to examine the rhetorical implications of the game's storyline. The study situates WoW within a suitable critical space and shows how strategies used to emphasize racial differences result in a new theoretical framework described by the term "cyber-colonialism.".;The study highlights three strategies through which WoW emphasizes the differences between racial groups and thereby creates its cyber-colonial portrayals: constructing opposing binaries, the role of geography and climate, and the use of color as a marker of deviance. These strategies all have an established history within ancient, medieval, and modern literature and likely influence the way in which participants view WoW's cultures.;The remainder of the rhetorical analysis highlights three arguments WoW itself teaches about particular rhetorical strategies. In particular, this study shows how WoW embraces cross-cultural cooperation, rejects scapegoating as an appropriate rhetorical tool, and encourages the involvement of native cultures in solving problems. WoW has great potential as a teaching tool and considerable room for future analysis and arguments.