Rhetoric Review Oct 2023

There Went the Neighborhood: Spatial Rhetoric, Spatial Occupation, Regendering and Forgetting in Mid-Century Detroit

Liz Rohan University of Michigan–Dearborn

Abstract

This essay shows the rhetorical and material process of regendering and forgetting that accompanied the downsizing and tearing down of U.S. progressive-era settlement homes founded by female maternalists who lost their ethos by mid-century in the U.S. The regendering of place by mid-century urban renewalist’s rhetoric, policy and culture enabled the elimination of neighborhoods. It made vulnerable the concept and material space of the neighborhood as a headquarters for community engagement, and denied the emotional attachment to homes that Progressive-Era maternalists embraced. The legacy of maternalist placemaking layered into Detroit’s contemporary social service agencies embodies the impact of this regendering.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2023-10-02
DOI
10.1080/07350198.2023.2269017
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Topics
rhetorical criticism argument place and space
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References (45) · 1 in this index

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