Written Communication Jul 2024

Gateways and Anchor Points: The Use of Frames to Amplify Marginalized Voices in Disability Policy Deliberations

Sean Kamperman University of Kansas

Abstract

This essay analyzes the rhetorical framing tactics of a group of disability activists to understand how they use key words, topic shifts, and other framing maneuvers to amplify marginalized voices in public debates. Focusing on a town hall meeting and a legislator update meeting between activists and lawmakers, the author uses stasis theory to analyze how these maneuvers (1) create gateways for marginalized voices to enter the discussion and (2) anchor deliberations around topics of importance to the disabled community. This suggests a more complex role for framing in face-to-face deliberative contexts than studies of framing strategies in written texts have traditionally considered. I argue that a multidimensional view of framing uniting consideration of word choice with attention to interactive dynamics is necessary to appreciate how framing maneuvers can not only shape the content of debates but amplify the voices of people excluded by the tacit rules of democratic deliberation.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2024-07-01
DOI
10.1177/07410883241242109
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
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Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Lambrecht (2026)
    Expanding Community-Engaged Research Through Eye Tracking
    Written Communication

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