In rhetorical sense(s): exploration of difference reflected through Black Mirror

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article attempts to expand the world in which rhetorical scholarship exists in general, and the positionality and subjectivity of the rhetorical scholar who engages in theory building specifically. Aiming to create a decolonial space to imagine a better world, I explore the tempo-spatial opening between epistemology and subjectivity as the space to realize our ontological potential. I employ the conception of Otherwise—those different ways of knowing and being – in order to enter into and grapple with this liminal space. An episode of the Netflix series, Black Mirror was used both to analyze and to illuminate one way in which rhetorical scholars can engage in liberatory rhetorical theorizing. This article, thus, ultimately offers a different way of thinking and being rhetorical scholars.KEYWORDS: DecolonizationsubjectivitydifferenceBlack Mirrorobjectivityliminality Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsAkie Fukushige WenkAkie Fukushige Wenk, PhD, Department of Communication Studies at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA embraces an interdisciplinary approach to her scholarship, and her research interests range from decolonial scholarship to liberatory pedagogy, from the rhetoric of race to interracial friendships.