Rhetoric and victimhood in Northern Ireland

In it I consider recent research into victimhood which I argue can be reconceptualised in rhetorical terms. The empirical chapters begin by looking at how the nature of victimhood is constructed in newspapers through the use of metaphors. I then move to considering how these newspaper articles argue about what should be done about victims by considering their use of argumentation (Chapter 4).

The ideological dilemmas surrounding these arguments suggest that there are always opposing ideas to any ideas about how to deal with victims. In Chapters 5 and 6 I explore how the definition of a victim and ways of dealing with victims are argued about in political manifestos. In Chapters 7 and 8 I look at the same issues as in 5 and 6 but from the perspective of victims.

Several focus groups are analysed and in Chapter 8 particular emphasis is placed on how a rhetorical perspective on needs can give insight into arguments about victimhood.