This journal publishes studies of health and medicine that take a rhetorical perspective. Such studies combine rhetorical analysis with any number of other methodologies, including critical/cultural analysis, ethnography, qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis. Rhetoric of Health & Medicine seeks to bring together humanities and social scientific research traditions in a rhetorically focused journal to allow scholars to build new interdisciplinary theories, methodologies, and insights that can impact our understanding of health, illness, healing, and wellness. 

Request for Proposals: Co-Editor of Rhetoric of Health & Medicine

2020-10-31

The co-editors and editorial board of the journal Rhetoric of Health & Medicine (RHM) are soliciting proposals for a co-editor with a five-year commitment. The appointed editor should be available to work with the current co-editors starting in the summer of 2021. They will be supported by a team of assistant editors and editorial assistants.

Response to Racial Injustice

2020-06-17

The co-editors of RHM want to empahsize the journal's commitment in cultivating, sponsoring, publishing, and promoting scholarship that addresses racism and interlocking systems of oppression as public health (and/or other health or medical) issues. We welcome queries or submissions around these important issues.

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2023)

Published: 2023-01-09

The Rhetoric of Depression

Listening to "Listening to Prozac" in a Pandemic

Judy Z. Segal

9–35

Abstract

This essay examines the persuasive elements of one of the most influential books of the current era in psychiatry: Peter Kramer’s 1993 Listening...

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Pedagogies of Rhetorical Empathy-in-Action

Role Playing and Story Sharing in Healthcare Education

Lillian Campbell, Elisabeth L. Miller

36–63

Abstract

Since successful healthcare relies heavily on a practitioner’s ability to empathize with the patient, the allied health professions—like nursing...

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Personal Responsibility, Personal Shame

A Discourse Tracing of Individualism about Healthcare Costs

Charee M. Thompson, Christopher M. Duerringer, Lynsey K. Romo, Shana Makos

64–94

Abstract

America’s individualistic culture is reflected in deeply held beliefs about how people should manage their health and their (lack of) money. In...

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From Junkies to Victims

The Racial Projects of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic

Raymond Rosas

95–124

Abstract

In the context of narcotic drug epidemics, racist logics can shape policy deliberation and delimit uptake. While critical public health scholars...

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