My scholarship attends to ghosts. By this I don’t mean looking for literal specters (can the ontologically unconfirmed even be considered “literal”—and if not, what does that mean for the unseen?), but taking stock of the ways our bodies, discourses, histories, and narratives are haunted by other(ed) ways of knowing, being, and doing that have…
After reading Banks’ pieces from Digital Griots: African American Rhetoric in a Multimedia Age I was interested in exploring Banks’ analysis of the DJ as a community figure. In terms of examples of this figure, it is funny to me to hear the DJ referred to as someone who “helps” the MC, amongst others (Scratch,…
Rhetorical velocity (Ridolfo & DeVoss 2009) for the sake of generating plagiarizer-friendly texts that can be recomposed for additional purposes perhaps outside the intentions of the original rhetor or rhetors is a nifty pedagogical strategy for teaching students about the vulnerability of their texts, interconnectedness of their rhetorical subjectivities, and the impact of the dromosphere…
In response to Hayles, Ed Folsom discusses the interplay of narrative and database, noting that the most powerful narratives become like databases in themselves, their plethora of meanings and throughways—like the Garden of Forking Paths—always exceeding any singular account/interpretation. Notably, Hayles positions narrative as a potential “common ground between hyper and deep attention” (197). If…
Would you characterize Byung-Chul Han’s Non-things as a critical theory, a productive theory, or something else? Why? This week while reading “A Portrait of a Scholar…In Progress” in Composition Forum, the distinction Louise Phelps draws between critical and productive theories queued these questions. If we grant “theory” its etymology, the trace gives us theorein, or…
Smartphones as digital teddy bears offer incredible connectivity and access to information but introduce elements that may contribute to a derealization of corporeality by altering how individuals perceive, interact with, and present their physical selves in the digital realm. The challenge is to find a balance that acknowledges the benefits of digital connectivity while preserving…
This past weekend, I knelt on the concrete pad outside the back door of my house, contemplating the apotropaic gaping face of the outdoor outlet, burned beyond reconciliation by a combination of faulty cordage and bad decisions from a prior resident of this lore-heavy property. The context of this agamic, unavailing stare-off was the reel…
When we talk about community, there is an inherent tension between those who happen to be around you and those you have actively sought out. How do we understand community in our own lives–something that develops physically around us, or something we have to seek out and insert ourselves into? Jenny Odell, in her work…
As promised yon, RIDE Blog Carnival #3 is an open event. Here is what we agreed to some months ago: Carnival #3 will work a bit differently in that it will invite a wider set of possibilities. Whereas Carnival #1 and Carnival #2 will be guided by a set of questions, or a theme, Carnival…
I don’t think I have ever thought of the DJ as a rhetor, and here is Banks simply blasting it all over my face; it is indeed amazing, and I am grateful for this reading and would like to own this text. One “mundane fact” I shared in my practicum class is that I used…