Temporal Tampering and “The Case for Reparations”

Rhetoric & Public Affairs Dec 2023

Temporal Tampering and “The Case for Reparations”

Andrew Parayil Boge

Abstract

Abstract This essay examines Ta-Nehisi Coates's article “The Case for Reparations” to illuminate how he uses inventive temporal strategies to transform the grounds of the reparations debate. I argue, Coates engages in a process of temporal tampering that involves meddling with dominant temporal structures (conceptions of time that serve white supremacy) to accommodate the excessiveness of anti-Black violence. Through tactics of timeline jumping and a rhetoric of repair, Coates draws on articulations of time as a resource to sabotage anti-reparations temporalities. Instead of approaching the reparations debate through stale discursive entry points, such as financial logistics, I reveal how Coates draws upon conceptions of time to reposition reparations as a mode of worldbuilding and social transformation.

Journal: Rhetoric & Public Affairs
Published: 2023-12-01
DOI: 10.14321/rhetpublaffa.26.4.0031
Open Access: Closed
Topics: multimodality race and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network →