Rhetorical Ingenuity in the New Global Realities: A Case of the Anti-Sweatshop Movement

KB Journal: The Journal of the Kenneth Burke Society Apr 2012 web Open Access

Rhetorical Ingenuity in the New Global Realities: A Case of the Anti-Sweatshop Movement

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to conceptualize, theorize and provide a representative anecdote of rhetorical ingenuity as it has surfaced in the contemporary history of the anti-sweatshop movement. Rhetorical ingenuity is a term derived from the work of Kenneth Burke (1969) based on the combination of imagination and inventiveness. The anti-sweatshop movement, part of the new global realities (Ingram, 2002), calls for more imaginative tactics and strategies. Special attention is paid to the proposition of and development of counter-organizations as forms of rhetorical ingenuity. Two parallel situations are compared where a traditional social movement tactic (i.e., the hunger strike) ushers in the example of rhetorical ingenuity through the development of new counter-organizations (i.e., the WRC and later the DSP), occurring in 2000 and the other in 2006. The purpose of rhetorical ingenuity to add to social moment theory is discussed in light of previous contributions. Finally, exploring the success of rhetorical ingenuity in social movements is considered for future research.

Journal: KB Journal: The Journal of the Kenneth Burke Society
Published: 2012-04
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Topics: modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism
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