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For What Noble Cause: Cindy Sheehan and the Politics of Grief in Public Spheres of Argument

For What Noble Cause: Cindy Sheehan and the Politics of Grief in Public Spheres of Argument This essay provides an analysis of the rhetoric surrounding Cindy Sheehan during the height of her popularity in August and September 2005. This analysis reveals that grief can function as a form of public argument, thus contributing a more nuanced understanding of what G. Thomas Goodnight has termed the public and personal spheres of argument. Sheehan's question—”For what noble cause did my son die?”—disrupted the cultural legibility of soldiers' wartime deaths. Although personalization strategies in the media attempted to reify the boundaries between the personal and public spheres of argument, Sheehan's calls for a public accountability for her grief opened up spaces for public deliberation and anti-war advocacy. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Argumentation and Advocacy Taylor & Francis

For What Noble Cause: Cindy Sheehan and the Politics of Grief in Public Spheres of Argument

Murray, Billie
Argumentation and Advocacy , Volume 49 (1): 15 – Jun 1, 2012
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For What Noble Cause: Cindy Sheehan and the Politics of Grief in Public Spheres of Argument

Abstract

This essay provides an analysis of the rhetoric surrounding Cindy Sheehan during the height of her popularity in August and September 2005. This analysis reveals that grief can function as a form of public argument, thus contributing a more nuanced understanding of what G. Thomas Goodnight has termed the public and personal spheres of argument. Sheehan's question—”For what noble cause did my son die?”—disrupted the cultural legibility of soldiers' wartime...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2012 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
ISSN
2576-8476
eISSN
1051-1431
DOI
10.1080/00028533.2012.11821777
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

This essay provides an analysis of the rhetoric surrounding Cindy Sheehan during the height of her popularity in August and September 2005. This analysis reveals that grief can function as a form of public argument, thus contributing a more nuanced understanding of what G. Thomas Goodnight has termed the public and personal spheres of argument. Sheehan's question—”For what noble cause did my son die?”—disrupted the cultural legibility of soldiers' wartime deaths. Although personalization strategies in the media attempted to reify the boundaries between the personal and public spheres of argument, Sheehan's calls for a public accountability for her grief opened up spaces for public deliberation and anti-war advocacy.

Journal

Argumentation and Advocacy – Taylor & Francis

Published: Jun 1, 2012

Keywords: Cindy Sheehan; public grief; protest rhetoric; spheres of argument; anti-war advocacy

References

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