6533b7d0fe1ef96bd125b8da
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Reproductive rights or duties? The rhetoric of division in social media debates on abortion law in Poland
Michał WankeKatarzyna Molek-kozakowskasubject
Cultural StudiesArgumentativeSociology and Political Sciencepro-choicerhetoricDiscourse analysismedia_common.quotation_subject050801 communication & media studies0508 media and communicationsArgumentPolitical scienceReproductive rights050602 political science & public administrationRhetorical questionSocial mediastancediscourse analysismedia_common05 social sciences0506 political scienceprotestAbortion lawpro-lifeLawargumentRhetoricdescription
This study explores the argumentative schemas used in claimmaking and the rhetorical resources for stance-taking in the online abortion law debate in Poland in late 2016. It shows how these discursive devices were used to divide and discredit the opponent in the social media by two social movements: the Stop Abortion coalition of conservative and religious organizations that sponsored the legislative proposal to considerably restrict abortion, and the Save Women committee that stood behind the ‘black’ protests opposing the project. The textual material is drawn from social media profiles of the two movements following a week of intense street protests and publicity activities (19–26 October 2016). It is subjected to contrastive argument analysis and critical discourse analysis of rhetorical resources. The analysis involves comparing (1) the discrepant premises underpinning arguments in the process of claim-making; (2) the reverse distribution of legitimization techniques deployed; and (3) the choices of name-calling devices aimed at discrediting antagonists.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-13 | Social Movement Studies |