We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics an... more We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics and counterpublics. Parasitic publics are reactionary discursive spaces formed residually and institutionalized affectively through the invention, circulation, and uptake of demagogic rhetorics. They feed off of oppressive conditions in the public sphere by (1) articulating with dominant discourses to exploit dominant publics’ centripetal force and (2) safeguarding the assemblage of dominant publics against counterdiscursive challenge. To illustrate and elaborate on this concept, we use articulation theory to analyze a highly organized white nationalist collective that swarms digital forums and comment sections. Founded by a former Republican congressional aid and Ronald Reagan appointee, this collective maintains training podcasts on their politics and debate strategies, two different databases of copy-and-paste rhetorics, two rhetorical style guides, and a subforum through which they direct each other to swarm digital spaces. We conclude with implications for future research on contemporary public spheres.
In this article, the authors consider how their engaged practices of feminist ethics have come up... more In this article, the authors consider how their engaged practices of feminist ethics have come up against specific dominant normatives. Privileging the experiences of women of color, they question the embodied relationship they have with their research participants, and offer their methodological approaches for addressing ethical challenges that have surfaced through conducting their research in both digital and non-digital spaces and places. Collectively, they collaborate to develop newfound strategies and methodologies for negotiating the often mundane, micro-level moments of friction that prevents intersectional phronesis. Overall, they pitch ethical research practices for digital and non-digital research with diverse subjects of different races, backgrounds, and cultures such that voice(s) are not compromised during research.
We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics an... more We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics and counterpublics. Parasitic publics are reactionary discursive spaces formed residually and institutionalized affectively through the invention, circulation, and uptake of demagogic rhetorics. They feed off of oppressive conditions in the public sphere by (1) articulating with dominant discourses to exploit dominant publics’ centripetal force and (2) safeguarding the assemblage of dominant publics against counterdiscursive challenge. To illustrate and elaborate on this concept, we use articulation theory to analyze a highly organized white nationalist collective that swarms digital forums and comment sections. Founded by a former Republican congressional aid and Ronald Reagan appointee, this collective maintains training podcasts on their politics and debate strategies, two different databases of copy-and-paste rhetorics, two rhetorical style guides, and a subforum through which they direct each other to swarm digital spaces. We conclude with implications for future research on contemporary public spheres.
We introduce "parasitic publics" as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics an... more We introduce "parasitic publics" as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics and counterpublics. Parasitic publics are reactionary discursive spaces formed residually and institutionalized affectively through the invention, circulation, and uptake of demagogic rhetorics. They feed off of oppressive conditions in the public sphere by (1) articulating with dominant discourses to exploit dominant publics' centripetal force and (2) safeguarding the assemblage of dominant publics against counterdiscursive challenge. To illustrate and elaborate on this concept, we use articulation theory to analyze a highly organized white nationalist collective that swarms digital forums and comment sections. Founded by a former Republican congressional aid and Ronald Reagan appointee, this collective maintains training podcasts on their politics and debate strategies, two different databases of copy-and-paste rhetorics, two rhetorical style guides, and a subforum through which they direct each other to swarm digital spaces. We conclude with implications for future research on contemporary public spheres.
We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics an... more We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics and counterpublics. Parasitic publics are reactionary discursive spaces formed residually, institutionalized affectively through the invention, circulation, and uptake of demagogic rhetorics. They feed off of oppressive conditions in the public sphere by (1) articulating with dominant discourses to exploit dominant publics’ centripetal force and (2) safeguarding the assemblage of dominant publics against counterdiscursive challenge. To illustrate and elaborate upon this concept, we use articulation theory to analyze a highly organized white nationalist collective that swarms digital forums and comment sections. Founded by a former Republican congressional aid and Ronald Reagan appointee, this collective maintains training podcasts on their politics and debate strategies, two different databases of copy-and-paste rhetorics, two rhetorical style guides, and a sub-forum through which they direct each other to swarm digital spaces. We conclude with implications for future research and contemporary public spheres.
This article draws upon research with an Arab Muslim blogger on Tumblr to introduce “remonstrativ... more This article draws upon research with an Arab Muslim blogger on Tumblr to introduce “remonstrative agitation” as feminist counterpublic rhetoric. Farrah (the blogger’s chosen pseudonym) uses remonstrative agitation to challenge discursive and rhetorical imperialism, provoking accelerated circulation of counterdiscourse in response to impositions and harassment from white nationalists and white feminists. It functions as a performative, parrhesiastic rhetoric to claim rhetorical agency in the face of epistemic injustice while offering her counterpublic audiences discourse to learn from, relate to, and circulate. This article ultimately offers insights, methods, and visualizations for digital counterpublic rhetoric and future research.
This article discusses Liz Laribee's subversive remix rhetoric for her Tumblr blog, Saved by the ... more This article discusses Liz Laribee's subversive remix rhetoric for her Tumblr blog, Saved by the bell hooks. Laribee's mashup memes feature image stills from Saved by the Bell and direct quotes from bell hooks. These memes facilitate the uptake of feminist discourse through the use of popular media while subverting the assumptions of that media. Laribee therefore uses these subversive mashup memes for social critique. I also illustrate the evolution of Laribee's practices for the mashup memes based on her reflections on the ethics of racial representation in her remix rhetoric. I conclude with implications for academics who wish to use academic theory in response to sociopolitical issues in public discourse.
We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics an... more We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics and counterpublics. Parasitic publics are reactionary discursive spaces formed residually and institutionalized affectively through the invention, circulation, and uptake of demagogic rhetorics. They feed off of oppressive conditions in the public sphere by (1) articulating with dominant discourses to exploit dominant publics’ centripetal force and (2) safeguarding the assemblage of dominant publics against counterdiscursive challenge. To illustrate and elaborate on this concept, we use articulation theory to analyze a highly organized white nationalist collective that swarms digital forums and comment sections. Founded by a former Republican congressional aid and Ronald Reagan appointee, this collective maintains training podcasts on their politics and debate strategies, two different databases of copy-and-paste rhetorics, two rhetorical style guides, and a subforum through which they direct each other to swarm digital spaces. We conclude with implications for future research on contemporary public spheres.
In this article, the authors consider how their engaged practices of feminist ethics have come up... more In this article, the authors consider how their engaged practices of feminist ethics have come up against specific dominant normatives. Privileging the experiences of women of color, they question the embodied relationship they have with their research participants, and offer their methodological approaches for addressing ethical challenges that have surfaced through conducting their research in both digital and non-digital spaces and places. Collectively, they collaborate to develop newfound strategies and methodologies for negotiating the often mundane, micro-level moments of friction that prevents intersectional phronesis. Overall, they pitch ethical research practices for digital and non-digital research with diverse subjects of different races, backgrounds, and cultures such that voice(s) are not compromised during research.
We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics an... more We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics and counterpublics. Parasitic publics are reactionary discursive spaces formed residually and institutionalized affectively through the invention, circulation, and uptake of demagogic rhetorics. They feed off of oppressive conditions in the public sphere by (1) articulating with dominant discourses to exploit dominant publics’ centripetal force and (2) safeguarding the assemblage of dominant publics against counterdiscursive challenge. To illustrate and elaborate on this concept, we use articulation theory to analyze a highly organized white nationalist collective that swarms digital forums and comment sections. Founded by a former Republican congressional aid and Ronald Reagan appointee, this collective maintains training podcasts on their politics and debate strategies, two different databases of copy-and-paste rhetorics, two rhetorical style guides, and a subforum through which they direct each other to swarm digital spaces. We conclude with implications for future research on contemporary public spheres.
We introduce "parasitic publics" as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics an... more We introduce "parasitic publics" as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics and counterpublics. Parasitic publics are reactionary discursive spaces formed residually and institutionalized affectively through the invention, circulation, and uptake of demagogic rhetorics. They feed off of oppressive conditions in the public sphere by (1) articulating with dominant discourses to exploit dominant publics' centripetal force and (2) safeguarding the assemblage of dominant publics against counterdiscursive challenge. To illustrate and elaborate on this concept, we use articulation theory to analyze a highly organized white nationalist collective that swarms digital forums and comment sections. Founded by a former Republican congressional aid and Ronald Reagan appointee, this collective maintains training podcasts on their politics and debate strategies, two different databases of copy-and-paste rhetorics, two rhetorical style guides, and a subforum through which they direct each other to swarm digital spaces. We conclude with implications for future research on contemporary public spheres.
We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics an... more We introduce “parasitic publics” as a necessary, generative addition to scholarship on publics and counterpublics. Parasitic publics are reactionary discursive spaces formed residually, institutionalized affectively through the invention, circulation, and uptake of demagogic rhetorics. They feed off of oppressive conditions in the public sphere by (1) articulating with dominant discourses to exploit dominant publics’ centripetal force and (2) safeguarding the assemblage of dominant publics against counterdiscursive challenge. To illustrate and elaborate upon this concept, we use articulation theory to analyze a highly organized white nationalist collective that swarms digital forums and comment sections. Founded by a former Republican congressional aid and Ronald Reagan appointee, this collective maintains training podcasts on their politics and debate strategies, two different databases of copy-and-paste rhetorics, two rhetorical style guides, and a sub-forum through which they direct each other to swarm digital spaces. We conclude with implications for future research and contemporary public spheres.
This article draws upon research with an Arab Muslim blogger on Tumblr to introduce “remonstrativ... more This article draws upon research with an Arab Muslim blogger on Tumblr to introduce “remonstrative agitation” as feminist counterpublic rhetoric. Farrah (the blogger’s chosen pseudonym) uses remonstrative agitation to challenge discursive and rhetorical imperialism, provoking accelerated circulation of counterdiscourse in response to impositions and harassment from white nationalists and white feminists. It functions as a performative, parrhesiastic rhetoric to claim rhetorical agency in the face of epistemic injustice while offering her counterpublic audiences discourse to learn from, relate to, and circulate. This article ultimately offers insights, methods, and visualizations for digital counterpublic rhetoric and future research.
This article discusses Liz Laribee's subversive remix rhetoric for her Tumblr blog, Saved by the ... more This article discusses Liz Laribee's subversive remix rhetoric for her Tumblr blog, Saved by the bell hooks. Laribee's mashup memes feature image stills from Saved by the Bell and direct quotes from bell hooks. These memes facilitate the uptake of feminist discourse through the use of popular media while subverting the assumptions of that media. Laribee therefore uses these subversive mashup memes for social critique. I also illustrate the evolution of Laribee's practices for the mashup memes based on her reflections on the ethics of racial representation in her remix rhetoric. I conclude with implications for academics who wish to use academic theory in response to sociopolitical issues in public discourse.
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