Social Movements and Public Discourse: Comparative Study of Discourse Construction in Germany and the United States

Ferree这是一项关于德国和美国堕胎问题的公共话语的研究，研究了过去30年来堕胎问题的变化。堕胎问题将被用来发展和检验一种更广泛的公共话语理论以及社会运动可能对其产生影响的条件。堕胎问题在不同国家和不同时期的两个主要变量上存在显著差异：(a)大众媒体话语中反映的两极分化程度，以及(b)社会运动行动者与政党和其他机构行动者相比，在塑造这一问题上的相对影响力。所采用的主要方法是对报纸和其他大众传播媒介长期以来的内容进行分析，并结合内容分析和对主张对堕胎问题作出特定解释或提出特定表述方式的发言人进行举报人访谈。研究设计将采用共同的研究工具和跨国团队来收集数据。这个项目将大大有助于科学地理解大众传媒和社会运动如何相互作用，从而形成公众对重大社会问题的看法。因为它关注的是一个在德国和美国发展截然不同的重要争议，它将有助于了解这些社会之间的差异，并为面临未来争议的政策制定者提供有价值的见解。* * *

9310617 Ferree This is a study of public discourse on the issue of abortion in Germany and the United States, examining how it shifted over the past 30 years. The issue of abortion will be used to develop and test a broader theory of public discourse and the conditions under which social movements are likely to influence it. The abortion issue provides significant variation between countries and over time on two major variables of interest: (a) the degree of polarization reflected in mass media discourse and (b) the relative influence of social movement actors compared to political parties and other institutional actors in shaping it. The primary methods employed are content analysis of newspapers and other mass media sources over time and a combination of content analysis and informant interviews with spokespersons who have promoted a particular interpretation or way of framing the abortion issue. The research design will employ common research instruments and cross-national teams in data collection. This project will contribute significantly to scientific understanding of how the mass media and social movements interact to shape public perceptions of major social issues. Because it focuses on an important controversy that has developed quite differently in Germany and the United States, it will contribute to knowledge about the differences between these societies and provide insights that will be valuable to policy-makers confronting future disputes. ***