The Price of Vigilance

2004 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHELLE E. JOLLY
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
Women's Voices ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
The Press

This study explores the role of the press in the gendering of political discourse and the politicization of women in San Francisco during the rule of the Vigilance Committee of 1856. Although some historians have noted the gender dimension of the reform and vigilance movement, a broader discussion is warranted. To build readership and support for his reform agenda, James King of William, editor of the Daily Evening Bulletin, used gendered political rhetoric, inviting women to participate in political debate through letters to the editor. His tactics inspired rival editors to write in gendered terms and even to include women's voices in their columns. But women's participation in public political debate in mainstream newspapers was short-lived. Still, their involvement in the reform and vigilance movement of 1855-1856 contributed materially to the politicization of women in San Francisco.

Exploring the “Liberal Paradox” from the Inside: Evidence from the Swedish Migration Courts

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 1162-1185
Author(s):  
Livia Johannesson
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
The Political ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Liberal Paradox ◽  
Do So

Courts are influential actors during the implementation of immigration policies in liberal democracies. The “liberal paradox” thesis stipulates that courts are driven by logics that hamper restrictionist immigration policies. This study contributes to this theory by exploring the norm construction of impartiality among judicial workers in Swedish migration courts when deciding asylum appeals. Its findings contradict the liberal paradox assumption that courts act according to inner logics that benefit immigrants’ rights. At Sweden’s migration courts, judicial workers show impartiality by using a skeptical approach to asylum applicants and do so to distance themselves from the political discourse of generosity that has dominated Swedish political debate for decades. The broader implications of these findings are that immigration policy theories can benefit from qualitative research exploring informal norm constructions in courts, as such work can offer new insights about the role of courts in the implementation of immigration policies.

scholarly journals Writer’s argumentative attitude

Pragmatics ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrina Pounds
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Linguistic Context ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The Press ◽  
Contextual Framework ◽  
Linguistic Level ◽  
Argumentative Structure ◽  
Pragmatic Dimension

This article deals with those aspects of language that can be seen to carry out a primarily “interactional function” in that they are used to “establish and maintain social relationships” (Brown and Yule 1983: 2 and 3). Such aspects have been variously referred to as performing an “expressive” (Bühler 1934), “emotive” (Jakobson 1960), “social expressive” (Lyons 1977) or “interpersonal” (Halliday 1994) function or, more recently, as performing the function by which “social roles and relationships are constructed” (White 2002: 2). In this article such aspects are referred to in very general terms as ‘attitudinal’ or as carrying ‘attitudinal meaning’ or expressing ‘attitude’. It is widely accepted that the interaction generated through language has a strong pragmatic dimension, that is, it can hardly be appreciated out of context. This article is particularly concerned with highlighting the significance and the all-pervasive nature of such pragmatic dimension in the case of the interaction engendered between writers and readers through the medium of Letters to the Editor published in the English and Italian print media. The following three questions arise: 1) At which linguistic level can specific attitudinal resources be identified and compared? 2) To what extent may the extra linguistic context play a role in the specific case of Letters to the Editor? 3) Are similar attitudinal resources and strategies used in the English and Italian letters? How may any differences be explained? In order to answer these questions the article firstly explores the nature of attitudinal meaning as outlined in previous studies. The second section focuses on the cultural context in which the letters are produced with particular reference to the role of language, argumentation, the press and the genre Letters to the Editor in England and Italy. The third section deals with the argumentative structure of the letters and the specific attitudinal meanings associated with the various components of such structure. The method of analysis is illustrated through examples from the English corpus. The main findings are presented and a comparison is drawn between the two corpora. The findings are further assessed in the light of the contextual framework set out in the preceding section.

scholarly journals Religious Rhetoric and the Evolution of George W. Bush's Political Philosophy

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 975-998 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAUREN FRANCES TUREK
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Religious Rhetoric ◽  
Scholarly Work ◽  
Political Career ◽  
The Press ◽  
Christian Leader ◽  
Role Of Religion

This essay surveys George W. Bush's public statements from 1993 to 2001 to examine the evolution of his religious and political rhetoric. Bush's personal religiosity and his use of religious rhetoric during his campaigns for the presidency and in his two terms in office have received extensive comment from the press as well as from scholars. Yet very little scholarly work has considered the role of religion in his earlier political career. Although Bush had evinced a deep and genuine evangelical faith for years before he launched his bid for the governorship, he did not begin his political career as an overtly Christian leader. Instead, over the course of his governorship, he gradually incorporated Christian tropes in his speeches to develop, explain, and gain support for his “compassionate conservative” policies and to build rapport with voters.

scholarly journals Municipal Websites in the Local Public Debate

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marte Winsvold
Keyword(s):  
Digital Communication ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Media ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Media ◽  
Source Of Information

Abstract The proliferation of digital communication spaces is expected to have the paradoxical effect of both enhancing pluralism as well as causing a fragmentation of the public political debate. The question addressed in this paper concerns the position of one such space of communication in the local public debate - municipal websites. Four Norwegian municipalities are studied, and the role of their websites is assessed by evaluating the visibility and the extent to which the contents of these websites affect the agenda of the local media. The study indicates that even though the municipal websites are not particularly visible to the citizens, they still influence the public political agenda by being a source of information to the press. As the communication taking place on the municipal websites spills over to the media and thereby reaches the majority of the citizens, the websites can not be said to lead to a fragmentation of the public debate. Whether or not the websites contribute to the pluralism of the public debate is however uncertain.

Suva Residents’ Views on Cancer, Diabetes and HIV in The Fiji Times

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzana Gounder
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Illnesses ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
Medical Responsibility ◽  
Grassroots Support ◽  
Preliminary Study ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
Situated Approach ◽  
Significant Health

The burden of preventable diseases is increasing in the South Pacific Island Countries and Territories. In Fiji, significant media attention and national finances are spent on public dissemination of the modifiable risk factors of chronic illnesses. However, little is known about lay societal perceptions of chronic illnesses and of people living with these illnesses. This preliminary study takes an area-situated approach to lay knowledge and examines Suva residents’ moral evaluations associated with socially significant health concerns in Fiji. Using the case studies of HIV, cancer, and diabetes, the research employs content analysis to examine 144 Suva residents’ Letters to the Editor, published between 2000 and 2019 in The Fiji Times. The findings indicate that letter writers on chronic illnesses are power sensitive, interested in governmental responsibility, and aware of the role of stigma in creating inequitable health outcomes. The study’s findings locate chronic illness as not only a medical responsibility but also a social justice and human rights concern that requires a multisectoral approach, with community-tailored responses at the heart of all discussions. The lay-societal recognition of the three illnesses as being socially relevant suggests grassroots support for policies directed towards structural reforms for the prevention and management of these illnesses.

Choosing to be the Hero, the Joker, the Villain: An Interview with Arthur Dong

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-46
Author(s):  
Oliver Wang
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Asian Americans ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Short Film ◽  
Recent Experience ◽  
West Hollywood

Oliver Wang interviews documentary filmmaker Arthur Dong. Originally from San Francisco, Dong began his career as a student filmmaker in the 1970s before releasing the Oscar-nominated short film, Sewing Woman in 1982. Since then, his films have focused on the role of Chinese and Asian Americans in entertainment industries as well as on anti-LGBQ discrimination. In the interview, Wang and Dong discuss Dong's beginnings as a high school filmmaker, his decision to turn the story of his seamstress mother into Sewing Woman, his struggle to bring together the Asian American and queer film communities and his recent experience in staging a “Hollywood Chinese” exhibit inside a renovated bar in West Hollywood.

The Fight to Save Welfare for Low-Income Older Asian Immigrants: The Role of National Asian American Organizations

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Asian American ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Bill Clinton ◽  
Asian Immigrants ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Welfare Reform Law ◽  
Selection Of

The welfare reform law of August 1996 signed by President Bill Clinton put an end to immigrants’ eligibility of federal means tested entitlements. The rollbacks on welfare are the most drastic for older, low-income Asian immigrants who are on Supplemental Security Income. The article’s focus is in on national Asian American organizations who are involved in this political debate. The central question discuss is how did national Asian American organizations characterize and affect the 1996 federal welfare reform and immigrant debate. The selection of organizations that was studied and the findings of that investigation, along with the assessment of its effectiveness and the resources barriers they face are discussed.

A Rhetorics of the Word

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Pattison
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Philosophical Tradition ◽  
Final Part ◽  
Communications Technology ◽  
Christian Life ◽  
Call And Response ◽  
Hermann Broch ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact

A Rhetorics of the Word is the second volume of a three-part philosophy of Christian life. It approaches Christian life as expressive of a divine calling or vocation. The word Church (ekklesia) and the role of naming in baptism indicate the fundamental place of calling in Christian life. However, ideas of vocation are difficult to access in a world shaped by the experience of disenchantment. The difficulties of articulating vocation are explored with reference to Weber, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard. These are further connected to a general crisis of language, manifesting in the degradation of political discourse (Arendt) and the impact of new communications technology on human discourse. This impact can be seen as reinforcing an occlusion of language in favour of rationality already evidenced in the philosophical tradition and technocratic management. New possibilities for thinking vocation are pursued through the biblical prophets (with emphasis on Buber’s and Rosenzweig’s reinterpretation of the call of Moses), Saint John, and Russian philosophies of language (Florensky to Bakhtin). Vocation emerges as bound up with the possibility of being name-bearers, enabling a mutuality of call and response. This is then evidenced further in ethics and poetics, where Levinas and Hermann Broch (The Death of Virgil) become major points of reference. In conclusion, the themes of calling and the name are seen to shape the possibility of love—the subject of the final part of the philosophy of Christian life: A Metaphysics of Love.

scholarly journals Fit for Purpose? Exploring the Role of Freedom of Information Laws and Their Application for Watchdog Journalism

2021 ◽  
pp. 194016122110067
Author(s):  
Mária Žuffová
Keyword(s):  
Differential Treatment ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Press ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
The Law ◽  
Ground Delays ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
State Relations

Despite great volume of research into press–state relations, we know little about how journalists use information that has been generated through independent bureaucratic processes. The present study addresses this gap by investigating the role of freedom of information (FOI) laws in journalism practice. By surveying journalists ( n = 164), interviewing activists and civil servants ( n = 7) and submitting FOI requests to twenty-one ministerial departments in the United Kingdom, this study explores press-state interactions and the limits of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) application to advance the media’s monitorial function. The results show that journalists perceive FOIA as an essential tool for their work. However, they often described their experience as negative. They reported refusals lacking legal ground, delays, not responding at all or differential treatment. In response to gating access, journalists might also adopt tactics that use loopholes in the law. The press-state interactions, already marked by suspicion, thus, continue to perpetuate distrust. These findings might have implications for journalism practices, FOIAs’ potential for government oversight and democracy. In particular, the differential treatment of requests undermines equality under the law, one of the fundamental democratic principles. The study concludes with several policy recommendations for FOIA reform to meet journalists’ needs better.

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