Exploring vaccination debates through corpus-assisted discourse analysis: The MMR vaccine debate and its relevance to the covid-19 pandemic

Authors

Carlotta Fiammenghi
University of Brescia, Italy
ORCID logo https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2519-0624
Keywords: MMR vaccine, Autism, Covid-19, Newspaper discourse, Corpus-assisted discourse analysis

Synopsis

This volume explores the discursive construction of debates around the topic of vaccination, with a particular focus on the hypothesis of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The research analyses the coverage of the debate in the British press up to 2019, through the tools of corpus-assisted discourse analysis and in light of the so-called “post-truth era”. The analysis focuses on the construction of medico-scientific debates in the media, in particular on issues of newsworthiness and polyphony. The discursive representation of evidence and the (de)legitimation strategies of social actors interacting in the debate are then explored. A large part of the volume is also devoted to the topic of argumentative narratives and the evidential value of personal experience. Each chapter of the monograph illustrates a connection between these aspects of the MMR vaccine controversy and the Covid-19 pandemic situation.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Carlotta Fiammenghi, University of Brescia, Italy

Carlotta Fiammenghi completed her PhD in Linguistic, Literary, and Intecultural Studies at the University of Milan in 2021, and is currently working as a Research Fellow at the University of Brescia, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health; she is also Contract Lecturer for English language and linguistics at the University of Brescia and at the University of Milan. Her main research interests include corpus-assisted (critical) discourse analysis, health and science communication, and newspaper discourse.

Published
April 23, 2024
License Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Details about the available publication format: PDF

PDF
ISBN-13 (15)
979-12-5510-137-6

Details about the available publication format: Epub

Epub
ISBN-13 (15)
979-12-5510-139-0

Details about the available publication format: BUY

BUY
ISBN-13 (15)
979-12-5510-133-8
Physical Dimensions