Homeless Advocacy and the Rhetorical Construction of the Civic Home

Melanie Loehwing explores the complex relationship between language and social inclusion in Homeless Advocacy and the Rhetorical Construction of the Civic Home. This scholarly work examines how traditional homeless assistance often focuses on immediate material needs while inadvertently reinforcing the political and social exclusion of marginalized individuals. By analyzing the rhetoric used in conventional advocacy, Loehwing demonstrates how certain discourses frame homelessness as an abnormal state that separates people from the broader civic body.

In this volume 1 study, the author shifts focus toward unconventional models of advocacy, such as Food Not Bombs and the Homeless World Cup. These examples serve as rhetorical exemplars of inclusive and empowering civic discourse. This book contributes to the fields of communication studies, political science, and social policy by investigating how discursive practices shape democratic culture. It provides a critical analysis of how rhetoric can address the harms of disenfranchisement, discrimination, and displacement within contemporary society.