Heather Smith | George Mason University (original) (raw)
Heather Smith is a PhD in health communication specializing in cancer survivorship communication, women's health, health narratives, end of life communication, aging and life span communication, and death education and grief communication, and qualitative methods in communication.
Supervisors: Gary Kreps
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Sexual assaults on college campuses have reawakened conversations about gender equity, campus cli... more Sexual assaults on college campuses have reawakened conversations about gender equity, campus climates, sexual consent, health and violence, and athlete entitlement. The case of the "Stanford Rapist" raised questions about privilege, tolerance of assaults and minimum and maximum sentences for offenders. The communication of the rapist, his father and the judge in the case sparked outrage nationwide. The particular sentence and release of the convicted rapist after three months furthered the debates on sentencing of perpetrators, especially college related assaults, charges of more lenient sentences for those more privileged, and the role of judges in these decisions. This study analyzes the crisis communication and health issues present in convicted rapist Brock A. Turner's letter to Judge Aaron Persky regarding his trial on the sexual assault of a young college student. By conducting a rhetorical analysis on the letter using the works of William Benoit's strategies of image repair and apology, this study finds that the strategic presence of particular apology strategies creates a discourse of guilt and blame that is spotlighting college culture as the cause and minimizes Turner's individual fault and agency.
Sexual assaults on college campuses have reawakened conversations about gender equity, campus cli... more Sexual assaults on college campuses have reawakened conversations about gender equity, campus climates, sexual consent, health and violence, and athlete entitlement. The case of the "Stanford Rapist" raised questions about privilege, tolerance of assaults and minimum and maximum sentences for offenders. The communication of the rapist, his father and the judge in the case sparked outrage nationwide. The particular sentence and release of the convicted rapist after three months furthered the debates on sentencing of perpetrators, especially college related assaults, charges of more lenient sentences for those more privileged, and the role of judges in these decisions. This study analyzes the crisis communication and health issues present in convicted rapist Brock A. Turner's letter to Judge Aaron Persky regarding his trial on the sexual assault of a young college student. By conducting a rhetorical analysis on the letter using the works of William Benoit's strategies of image repair and apology, this study finds that the strategic presence of particular apology strategies creates a discourse of guilt and blame that is spotlighting college culture as the cause and minimizes Turner's individual fault and agency.
Sexual assaults on college campuses have reawakened conversations about gender equity, campus cli... more Sexual assaults on college campuses have reawakened conversations about gender equity, campus climates, sexual consent, health and violence, and athlete entitlement. The case of the "Stanford Rapist" raised questions about privilege, tolerance of assaults and minimum and maximum sentences for offenders. The communication of the rapist, his father and the judge in the case sparked outrage nationwide. The particular sentence and release of the convicted rapist after three months furthered the debates on sentencing of perpetrators, especially college related assaults, charges of more lenient sentences for those more privileged, and the role of judges in these decisions. This study analyzes the crisis communication and health issues present in convicted rapist Brock A. Turner's letter to Judge Aaron Persky regarding his trial on the sexual assault of a young college student. By conducting a rhetorical analysis on the letter using the works of William Benoit's strategies of image repair and apology, this study finds that the strategic presence of particular apology strategies creates a discourse of guilt and blame that is spotlighting college culture as the cause and minimizes Turner's individual fault and agency.
Sexual assaults on college campuses have reawakened conversations about gender equity, campus cli... more Sexual assaults on college campuses have reawakened conversations about gender equity, campus climates, sexual consent, health and violence, and athlete entitlement. The case of the "Stanford Rapist" raised questions about privilege, tolerance of assaults and minimum and maximum sentences for offenders. The communication of the rapist, his father and the judge in the case sparked outrage nationwide. The particular sentence and release of the convicted rapist after three months furthered the debates on sentencing of perpetrators, especially college related assaults, charges of more lenient sentences for those more privileged, and the role of judges in these decisions. This study analyzes the crisis communication and health issues present in convicted rapist Brock A. Turner's letter to Judge Aaron Persky regarding his trial on the sexual assault of a young college student. By conducting a rhetorical analysis on the letter using the works of William Benoit's strategies of image repair and apology, this study finds that the strategic presence of particular apology strategies creates a discourse of guilt and blame that is spotlighting college culture as the cause and minimizes Turner's individual fault and agency.