{"id":{"repo_id":"mo-state","oai_identifier":"oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2040"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mo-state/oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2040","repository":{"repo_id":"mo-state","name":"Missouri State University","base_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Bowers v. Lawrence: the Narratives of the Supreme Court","abstract":"This thesis examines the rhetoric of the Court's opinions in Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas from a narrative approach informed by theories on the rhetorical situation. The Bowers majority opinion is framed around themes of history, morality and a reductionist understanding of sexual orientation which allows the Court to endorse sodomy laws. In Lawrence v. Texas a competing narrative was shaped that reframed elements of the Bowers narrative in order to ultimately reject the Court's decision in Bowers. This analysis demonstrates that narrative method of rhetorical analysis is helpful in understanding what is happening when the Court acts.","abstract_html":"This thesis examines the rhetoric of the Court's opinions in Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas from a narrative approach informed by theories on the rhetorical situation. The Bowers majority opinion is framed around themes of history, morality and a reductionist understanding of sexual orientation which allows the Court to endorse sodomy laws. In Lawrence v. Texas a competing narrative was shaped that reframed elements of the Bowers narrative in order to ultimately reject the Court's decision in Bowers. This analysis demonstrates that narrative method of rhetorical analysis is helpful in understanding what is happening when the Court acts.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bohlmann, Daniel Christopher"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Communication","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Eric Morris"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2007-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:06Z","subjects":["rhetoric","United States Supreme Court","judicial","Bowers","Hardwick","Lawrence","Texas","sodomy","Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Daniel Christopher Bohlmann"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1039","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Eric Morris"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bohlmann, Daniel Christopher"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Communication"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["rhetoric","United States Supreme Court","judicial","Bowers","Hardwick","Lawrence","Texas","sodomy","Communication"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Daniel Christopher Bohlmann"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1039"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines the rhetoric of the Court's opinions in Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas from a narrative approach informed by theories on the rhetorical situation. The Bowers majority opinion is framed around themes of history, morality and a reductionist understanding of sexual orientation which allows the Court to endorse sodomy laws. In Lawrence v. Texas a competing narrative was shaped that reframed elements of the Bowers narrative in order to ultimately reject the Court's decision in Bowers. This analysis demonstrates that narrative method of rhetorical analysis is helpful in understanding what is happening when the Court acts."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Bowers v. Lawrence: the Narratives of the Supreme Court"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Eric Morris"],"dc:creator":["Bohlmann, Daniel Christopher"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines the rhetoric of the Court's opinions in Bowers v. Hardwick and Lawrence v. Texas from a narrative approach informed by theories on the rhetorical situation. The Bowers majority opinion is framed around themes of history, morality and a reductionist understanding of sexual orientation which allows the Court to endorse sodomy laws. In Lawrence v. Texas a competing narrative was shaped that reframed elements of the Bowers narrative in order to ultimately reject the Court's decision in Bowers. This analysis demonstrates that narrative method of rhetorical analysis is helpful in understanding what is happening when the Court acts."],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1039"],"dc:rights":["© Daniel Christopher Bohlmann"],"dc:subject":["rhetoric","United States Supreme Court","judicial","Bowers","Hardwick","Lawrence","Texas","sodomy","Communication"],"dc:title":["Bowers v. Lawrence: the Narratives of the Supreme Court"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Communication"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:16:06Z"}