Date of Award
5-2011
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Legacy Department
Professional Communication
Committee Chair/Advisor
Ding, Huiling
Committee Member
Katz , Steven B
Committee Member
Jones , Karyn O
Abstract
This thesis focuses on the cross-cultural comparison of the public rhetorics that construct HIV/AIDS in two online discussion forums from the United States and China. Social constructions of HIV/AIDS have previously been explored in specific countries and cultures; however, comparative studies have rarely been conducted, especially by applying rhetorical cultural analysis focusing on online discourses. Responding to these gaps in research, this study combines two underexplored dimensions -- comparative rhetorical analysis and online discourse -- to show how online communications, metaphors, and topoi identified in discussion forum posts reveal and construct the idea of HIV/AIDS in the public sphere for people living in the two countries with different political, social, and cultural backgrounds.
First, a rhetorical analysis on the discussion forum's structure and content provides a rich understanding of how the underlying ideology influences communication processes and rhetorical patterns. From there, a metaphorical analysis reveals how metaphors are applied and further construct people's interpretation of the disease and illness experience in their daily discourses. Finally, a topical analysis demonstrates how specific reasoning traditions shape the national and cultural mindset for constructing HIV/AIDS in certain ways. The findings suggest that the U.S. forum AIDSmeds reveals a more individualist-expressive rhetoric, which encourages sharing of personal illness experiences and emotions. While the Chinese forum ZhiAiJiaYuan reveals a more communitarian-persuasive rhetoric, which directly persuades the participants to construct their illness experiences from a social moral standpoint.
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Jingwen, "The Rhetorics Of Constructing HIV/AIDS In The United States And China: A Comparative Analysis Of Two Online Discussion Forums" (2011). All Theses. 1072.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/1072