Rhetoric Review Apr 2014

Compensatory Division in the Occupy Movement

John Jones

Abstract

Rhetorical approaches to identification have tended to favor it over its counterpart, division. However, compensatory divisions can be rhetorically productive for protest movements that challenge the state. An analysis of the use of these divisions in the Occupy Wall Street movement—particularly the use of the human microphone and computer networking—shows that these technologies aid in enacting divisions between protestors and the dominant social structures that they challenge, thus creating the potential for rhetorically productive sociality.

Journal
Rhetoric Review
Published
2014-04-03
DOI
10.1080/07350198.2014.884416
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism digital rhetoric
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (1)

  1. Lawson (2025)
    Nuancing Networks: On the Individuation of Doxa in Online Communities
    Rhetoric Review

References (21) · 3 in this index

  1. Barabási Albert-László. (2002)
    Linked: The New Science of Networks
  2. Biesecker Barbara A. (1997)
    Addressing Postmodernity: Kenneth Burke, Rhetoric, and a Theory of Social Change
  3. Borrowman et al. (2011)
    Divided We Stand: Beyond Burkean Identification
    Rhetoric Review
  4. Burke Kenneth. (1937)
    Attitudes toward History
  5. Burke Kenneth. (1969)
    A Grammar of Motives
     ↗
Show all 21 →
  1. Burke Kenneth. (1939)
    The Southern Review
  2. Burke Kenneth. (1969)
    A Rhetoric of Motives
     ↗
  3. Castells Manuel. (2009)
    Communication Power
  4. 10.1002/9781444318234
     ↗
  5. Davis (2008)
    Identification: Burke and Freud on Who You Are
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  6. DeLanda Manuel. (2006)
    A New Philosophy of Society: Assemblage Theory and Social Complexity
  7. 10.1086/668049
     ↗
  8. Hawhee Debra. (2009)
    Moving Bodies: Kenneth Burke at the Edges of Language
  9. MacKinnon Rebecca. (2012)
    Consent of the Networked: The World-Wide Struggle for Internet Freedom
  10. 10.1086/668048
     ↗
  11. 10.1086/668047
     ↗
  12. Murray Jeffrey W. (2002)
    Kenneth Burke: A Dialogue of Motives
  13. Rice (2009)
    Networked Exchanges, Identity, Writing
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  14. Ryder Phyllis Mentzell. (2006)
    Rhetoric Review
  15. 10.1086/668050
     ↗
  16. Turkle Sherry. (2011)
    Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other
CrossRef global citation count: 6 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Jan 2026
    Review/Recenzja: Nancy Organ. 2024. Data Visualization for People of All Ages. Oxon: CRC Press; and Jen Christiansen. 2023. Building Science Graphics: An Illustrated Guide to Communicating Science Through Diagrams and Visualizations. Oxon: CRC Press ↗
    Ewa Modrzejewska
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis digital rhetoric multimodality grammar and mechanics race and writing book reviews
  2. Pedagogy Apr 2025
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism african american rhetorics cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing graduate education two-year college teacher development writing centers technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions digital rhetoric multimodality social media literacy studies race and writing gender and writing community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  3. Philosophy & Rhetoric Sep 2024
    Where’s the Rhetoric? Imagining a Unified Field ↗
    Joshua Hanan
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism composition theory genre theory discourse analysis cultural rhetorics argument qualitative research quantitative research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric affect and writing body and rhetoric editorial matter
  4. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Sep 2024
    Populist Rhetorics Case Studies and a Minimalist Definition ↗
    Arthur E. Walzer
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument digital rhetoric social media disability studies public rhetoric editorial matter
  5. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Jun 2023
    Decoding the Digital Church: Evangelical Storytelling and the Election of Donald J. Trump ↗
    Candice Ruh
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism discourse analysis qualitative research digital rhetoric social media gender and writing book reviews editorial matter