Shifting Borders: Rhetoric, Immigration, and Californa's Proposition 187: Rhetoric, Immigration And Prop 187

Ono, Kent A.; Sloop, John M.

ISBN 10: 1566399173 / ISBN 13: 9781566399173

Published by Temple University Press, 2002

About this Item

Pages Are Clean, Bright And Tight. A Trade Size Paperback With A Display Quality Spine. Prior owner's address lappears on the Fep.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: Shifting Borders: Rhetoric, Immigration, and Californa's Proposition 187: Rhetoric, Immigration And Prop 187
• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1566399173
• ISBN 13: 9781566399173
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

"Like articles representing the positions of proponents of the measure, those representing opponents constructing the nation as potentially in danger as a result of undocumented immigration."

How do we learn to recognize the damning effects of good rhetorical intentions? And where will we find arguments which escape this trap that permeates the liberal social policy world? Shifting Borders uses an evaluation of the debate over California Proposition 187 to demonstrate how this quandary is best understood by close interrogation of mainstream reports and debates and by bringing to the fore voices that are often left out of mediated discussions.

It is these voices outside the mainstream, so-called "outlaw" discourses, that hold the best possibilities for real social change. To illustrate their claim, the authors present dominant and outlaw discourses around Proposition 187, from television reports, internet chat sites, and religious discourse to coverage of the Los Angeles Times. Their critique ably demonstrates how difficult it is to maintain a position outside the mainstream, but also how important it is for the press, citizens and scholars to actively search out such voices. The findings are organized through a model that provides an innovative method for understanding events and arguments through their rhetorical and communicative construction. In a world where the mediated word defines so much of what we know, Shifting Borders provides a lucid introduction to analyzing the spoken and written word that constitutes political debate in contemporary U.S. culture. In doing so, it makes an important contribution to any future development of progressive political strategy.

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From the Publisher

Learning the lessons of California Proposition 187.