Chapter 7. Rhetorical analysis of health risk discourse
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Javier Nespereira García
Abstract
This paper is part of my research on public health crisis communication. I have studied the discursive strategies at play in the case of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic within the framework of rhetoric and argumentation theory. Here, I analyse two opposing speeches given at the turning point of the 2009 pandemic crisis: the hearing in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the management of the pandemic by WHO (World Health Organization).
The aim of my study is to highlight the rhetorical nature of public trust as the central attribute of public health institutions’ professional identity. In other words, how these factors – trust and identity – are constructed using arguments, such as the argument from authority or the precautionary principle, and the narratives that give meaning to these arguments.
Abstract
This paper is part of my research on public health crisis communication. I have studied the discursive strategies at play in the case of the 2009 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic within the framework of rhetoric and argumentation theory. Here, I analyse two opposing speeches given at the turning point of the 2009 pandemic crisis: the hearing in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the management of the pandemic by WHO (World Health Organization).
The aim of my study is to highlight the rhetorical nature of public trust as the central attribute of public health institutions’ professional identity. In other words, how these factors – trust and identity – are constructed using arguments, such as the argument from authority or the precautionary principle, and the narratives that give meaning to these arguments.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Preface ix
- Chapter 1. Constructionism in historical writing 1
- Chapter 2. White, Burke and the “literary” nature of historical controversies 17
- Chapter 3. The discursive construction of reality in the context of rhetoric 41
- Chapter 4. Understanding social conflict 67
- Chapter 5. I am and I am not Charlie 83
- Chapter 6. Media representations of recent human migrations to the United Kingdom and other Western countries 107
- Chapter 7. Rhetorical analysis of health risk discourse 133
- Chapter 8. Critical analysis of an educational discourse practice 159
- Chapter 9. The (re)construction of gender roles in the genre of song 181
- Chapter 10. Posthumanism and the city 203
- Chapter 11. Discourses of social movements in Southern Europe 227
- Chapter 12. Cognitive frames, imaginaries and discursive constructions 249
- Epilogue 273
- Author index 285
- Subject index 289
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Preface ix
- Chapter 1. Constructionism in historical writing 1
- Chapter 2. White, Burke and the “literary” nature of historical controversies 17
- Chapter 3. The discursive construction of reality in the context of rhetoric 41
- Chapter 4. Understanding social conflict 67
- Chapter 5. I am and I am not Charlie 83
- Chapter 6. Media representations of recent human migrations to the United Kingdom and other Western countries 107
- Chapter 7. Rhetorical analysis of health risk discourse 133
- Chapter 8. Critical analysis of an educational discourse practice 159
- Chapter 9. The (re)construction of gender roles in the genre of song 181
- Chapter 10. Posthumanism and the city 203
- Chapter 11. Discourses of social movements in Southern Europe 227
- Chapter 12. Cognitive frames, imaginaries and discursive constructions 249
- Epilogue 273
- Author index 285
- Subject index 289
