“Defenders of perversion”: Professing Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the Local Press
This case study provides an important socio-historical snapshot of the same-sex marriage debate in a small city in central Alberta between December 2004 and August 2005. We explore the relationship between professors and small-town newspapers in fostering democratic dialogues on key social issues t...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Saskatchewan
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Engaged Scholar Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://esj.usask.ca/index.php/esj/article/view/70358 |
| _version_ | 1797672822140567552 |
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| author | Geraint Osborne Shauna Wilton |
| author_facet | Geraint Osborne Shauna Wilton |
| author_sort | Geraint Osborne |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This case study provides an important socio-historical snapshot of the same-sex marriage debate in a small city in central Alberta between December 2004 and August 2005. We explore the relationship between professors and small-town newspapers in fostering democratic dialogues on key social issues through an analysis of faculty columns and the responding Letters to the Editor in a local paper. In so doing, this research focuses on two social groups located in a particular social environment, each representing a particular frame: the professors working in the local university who maintained an op-ed column in the local paper and supported a equality frame; and the general public living in Camrose and the surrounding rural area who supported a morality frame. This article contributes to our understanding of scholarly engagement in the town-gown context, the democratic role of the press, and how a particularly contentious social and political issue—same-sex marriage—was experienced and framed by concerned citizens in a small conservative rural city that is also the home to a liberal arts and sciences university campus.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:36:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a9801cafc3e436fbc475a7af14a003a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2369-1190 2368-416X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T21:36:46Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Engaged Scholar Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a9801cafc3e436fbc475a7af14a003a2023-09-26T23:16:09ZengUniversity of SaskatchewanEngaged Scholar Journal2369-11902368-416X2022-12-018310.15402/esj.v8i3.70358“Defenders of perversion”: Professing Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the Local PressGeraint Osborne0Shauna Wilton1University of Alberta, Augustana CampusUniversity of Alberta, Augustana Campus This case study provides an important socio-historical snapshot of the same-sex marriage debate in a small city in central Alberta between December 2004 and August 2005. We explore the relationship between professors and small-town newspapers in fostering democratic dialogues on key social issues through an analysis of faculty columns and the responding Letters to the Editor in a local paper. In so doing, this research focuses on two social groups located in a particular social environment, each representing a particular frame: the professors working in the local university who maintained an op-ed column in the local paper and supported a equality frame; and the general public living in Camrose and the surrounding rural area who supported a morality frame. This article contributes to our understanding of scholarly engagement in the town-gown context, the democratic role of the press, and how a particularly contentious social and political issue—same-sex marriage—was experienced and framed by concerned citizens in a small conservative rural city that is also the home to a liberal arts and sciences university campus. https://esj.usask.ca/index.php/esj/article/view/70358community engagementsame-sex marriage,frame analysis,media,democracy |
| spellingShingle | Geraint Osborne Shauna Wilton “Defenders of perversion”: Professing Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the Local Press Engaged Scholar Journal community engagement same-sex marriage, frame analysis, media, democracy |
| title | “Defenders of perversion”: Professing Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the Local Press |
| title_full | “Defenders of perversion”: Professing Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the Local Press |
| title_fullStr | “Defenders of perversion”: Professing Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the Local Press |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Defenders of perversion”: Professing Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the Local Press |
| title_short | “Defenders of perversion”: Professing Same-Sex Marriage Rights in the Local Press |
| title_sort | defenders of perversion professing same sex marriage rights in the local press |
| topic | community engagement same-sex marriage, frame analysis, media, democracy |
| url | https://esj.usask.ca/index.php/esj/article/view/70358 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT geraintosborne defendersofperversionprofessingsamesexmarriagerightsinthelocalpress AT shaunawilton defendersofperversionprofessingsamesexmarriagerightsinthelocalpress |