In this article, I explore the material rhetorics of place from the perspective of transferential space. Specifically, I examine the Silent Gesture statue of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at San José State University. Drawing on Alison Landsberg’s concept of transferential space and Dominick LaCapra’s concept of empathic unsettlement, I argue that the statue explores the limits of identification in such a way that illuminates new possibilities for the rhetoricity of transferential space. Specifically, I argue that the statue’s invitation to physically and metaphorically ‘Take a Stand’ with Smith and Carlos facilitates noteworthy tensions of civic identity and, in turn, fosters mnemonic practices of consubstantiality with the disenfranchised for its visitors.
This essay extends efforts to facilitate emotional-material frameworks of rhetoric informed by strides in rhetorical and biological studies respectively. Specifically, I examine Edwin Black's theory of exhortation in light of neurological theories of affect, emotion contagion, and embodiment. I argue Black's theory offers a prescient precursor to emotional-material rhetoric but also demands revision in light of recent advances in neuroscience. I present two claims. First, I argue emotionally grounded rhetoric can exhort emotional-discursive connections and preference judgments absent the need to convert emotional experiences into formal beliefs. Second, I argue physiological indicators are at least as important as verbal discourse in facilitating emotional exhortation. Finally, I conclude with some theoretical implications for the emotional-material study of rhetoric.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.