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Rhetoric in Claims-Making: Constructing the Missing Children Problem
Joel Best
Social Problems
Vol. 34, No. 2 (Apr., 1987), pp. 101-121
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems
DOI: 10.2307/800710
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/800710
Page Count: 21
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Abstract
Claims-making about social problems is a persuasive activity, subject to rhetorical analysis. I use Toulmin's categories, which classify statements as grounds, warrants, and conclusions, to examine the rhetoric of claims made about the missing children problem. In particular, the grounds for missing children claims included a broad definition of the problem, horrific examples, and large estimates of the problem's scope, while references to the priceless, blameless nature of children and the evils threatening missing children provided key warrants. Rhetorical devices analogous to those identified in this case study appear in claims-making about other social problems. I also identify some patterns in rhetorical work, conditions favoring rhetorics of rectitude or rationality. The relationship between rhetoric and the cultural context within which claims emerge deserves further study.
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Social Problems © 1987 Oxford University Press