Oscillating scale and articulating regions: Power geometries and multi-scalar publics in People’s Tribune’s coverage of Benton Harbor, Michigan

Abstract

This essay explores the mapping of power geometries as public rhetoric within People’s Tribune’s coverage of Benton Harbor, Michigan. In doing so, the essay demonstrates three techniques for mapping power geometries: that they (a) oscillate between spatial scales, thereby managing a tension between framing place as unique and common to a broader geography; (b) articulate regions so as to locate the power dynamics of the nation; and (c) connect the place to a power geometry of resistance. Mapping power geometries also enables the production of a multi-scalar public: a set of strangers who understand their relationship to each other through a shared, yet differentiated, connection to variously scaled issues. The analysis consequently contributes to existing literature regarding spatial scale, the use of place-based argument in social movement rhetoric, and the formation of multi-scalar publics.