The Rhetoric of Blame: A Rhetorical Framing Analysis of Othering and Blame in Historical Health Crises
type: CreativeWork
description: The United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic was hallmarked by blame rhetoric and fluid social and political expedience. However, the pervasiveness of othering and blame in contemporary pandemic discourse is perhaps consistent with the blame rhetoric of health crises throughout history. Using a rhetorical framing analysis approach, this study aims to explore the various elements of blame rhetoric embedded in newsprint media frames regarding historic infectious disease outbreaks. In doing so, this study investigates three case studies: the San Francisco smallpox outbreak of 1876, the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s – 1990s. Through this investigation, I demonstrate how the elements of othering and blame in these historic health crises consistently mirror the political rhetoric surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic. I argue that the practices of othering and blame defining the contemporary pandemic rhetoric are not a new phenomenon, but rather a continuation of an ongoing problem. Lastly, I argue that it is not the intention of this study to establish an origin for these practices. Rather, the purpose of this study is to use these historic case studies to showcase how the past occupies the present and better illuminate the consequences of medical scapegoating as they occur in our current moment.
abstract: The United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic was hallmarked by blame rhetoric and fluid social and political expedience. However, the pervasiveness of othering and blame in contemporary pandemic discourse is perhaps consistent with the blame rhetoric of health crises throughout history. Using a rhetorical framing analysis approach, this study aims to explore the various elements of blame rhetoric embedded in newsprint media frames regarding historic infectious disease outbreaks. In doing so, this study investigates three case studies: the San Francisco smallpox outbreak of 1876, the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s – 1990s. Through this investigation, I demonstrate how the elements of othering and blame in these historic health crises consistently mirror the political rhetoric surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic. I argue that the practices of othering and blame defining the contemporary pandemic rhetoric are not a new phenomenon, but rather a continuation of an ongoing problem. Lastly, I argue that it is not the intention of this study to establish an origin for these practices. Rather, the purpose of this study is to use these historic case studies to showcase how the past occupies the present and better illuminate the consequences of medical scapegoating as they occur in our current moment.
author: Cameron, Colin G
keywords: blame, San Francisco, smallpox, AIDS, Spanish Flu, COVID, Communication, Health Communication, Mass Communication, Social Influence and Political Communication, Speech and Rhetorical Studies
date published: 2022-05-12T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:45:33Z
provider: University of Southern Mississippi
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Southern Mississippi