Democratic Dissent and the Politics of Rescue during the Twenty-first Century’s “Inhospitable” EU Migration “Crisis”

This article uses critical approaches to examine the ways in which dissenters have objected to the European Union’s current “politics of rescue.” The authors argue that the term “hospitality” has been a key term in liberal theorizing about mobility since the Enlightenment, but that various neo-liberal “pull” theories, worries about securitization and the militarization of rescue efforts in the Mediterranean have converged in ways that have turned Europe into an “inhospitable” place for foreigners. The authors use three short case studies—of maritime captains’ and sailors’ rescue efforts, academic critiques of FRONTEX, and vernacular reactions to the iconic Kurdi image—to put on display the contradictions that exist when illiberal decisions are made by EU communities that are supposed to be democratically governed by hospitality principles. They also argue that the focus on the social agency of “traffickers” deflects attention away from the structural and colonial facets of these migration “crises.

Thanatourism, Caminata Nocturna, and the Complex Geopolitics of Mexico’s Parque EcoAlberto

This article provides readers with a critical analysis of Mexico’s Parque EcoAlberto. Utilizing some of the theoretical work of interdisciplinary scholars who are interested in the study of “thanatourism,” the authors illustrate how this park, with its Caminata Nocturna (night hike), is much more than simply a “dark” tourist attraction that deters those who might travel North to the U.S. border. This study shows how the indigenous Hñähñú in Mexico have to confront a host of symbolic and material forces that are sometimes hidden in the patriotic metanarratives that swirl around this park

The Diseased "Terror Tunnels" in Gaza: Israeli Surveillance and the Autoimmunization of an Illiberal Democracy

This essay provides an ideological critique of the media tropes that have been used by Israeli militarists, politicians, diplomats, and members of the public to characterize Gazan “terror tunnels” as existential threats. The author extends the work of Butler, Derrida, Esposito, and other scholars to illustrate the ways that autoimmunizing rhetorics are used to render precarious the lives of Israelis while erasing the non-combat status of Gazan civilians who are accused of aiding and abetting those who build smuggling tunnels. This focus on the alleged existential danger of the tunnels is used to ward off international criticism of those who accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of violating the international humanitarian law principles of distinction, proportionality, necessity, and humanity

The Diseased "Terror Tunnels" of Gaza: Israeli Surveillance and the Autoimmunization of an Illiberal Democracy

This essay provides an ideological critique of the media tropes that have been used by Israeli militarists, politicians, diplomats, and members of the public to characterize Gazan “terror tunnels” as existential threats. The author extends the work of Butler, Derrida, Esposito, and other scholars to illustrate the ways that autoimmunizing rhetorics are used to render precarious the lives of Israelis while erasing the non-combat status of Gazan civilians who are accused of aiding and abetting those who build smuggling tunnels. This focus on the alleged existential danger of the tunnels is used to ward off international criticism of those who accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of violating the international humanitarian law principles of distinction, proportionality, necessity, and humanity.This essay provides an ideological critique of the media tropes that have been used by Israeli militarists, politicians, diplomats, and members of the public to characterize Gazan “terror tunnels” as existential threats. The author extends the work of Butler, Derrida, Esposito, and other scholars to illustrate the ways that autoimmunizing rhetorics are used to render precarious the lives of Israelis while erasing the non-combat status of Gazan civilians who are accused of aiding and abetting those who build smuggling tunnels. This focus on the alleged existential danger of the tunnels is used to ward off international criticism of those who accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of violating the international humanitarian law principles of distinction, proportionality, necessity, and humanity

The Diseased "Terror Tunnels" of Gaza: Israeli Surveillance and the Autoimmunization of an Illiberal Democracy

This essay provides an ideological critique of the media tropes that have been used by Israeli militarists, politicians, diplomats, and members of the public to characterize Gazan “terror tunnels” as existential threats. The author extends the work of Butler, Derrida, Esposito, and other scholars to illustrate the ways that autoimmunizing rhetorics are used to render precarious the lives of Israelis while erasing the non-combat status of Gazan civilians who are accused of aiding and abetting those who build smuggling tunnels. This focus on the alleged existential danger of the tunnels is used to ward off international criticism of those who accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of violating the international humanitarian law principles of distinction, proportionality, necessity, and humanity.This essay provides an ideological critique of the media tropes that have been used by Israeli militarists, politicians, diplomats, and members of the public to characterize Gazan “terror tunnels” as existential threats. The author extends the work of Butler, Derrida, Esposito, and other scholars to illustrate the ways that autoimmunizing rhetorics are used to render precarious the lives of Israelis while erasing the non-combat status of Gazan civilians who are accused of aiding and abetting those who build smuggling tunnels. This focus on the alleged existential danger of the tunnels is used to ward off international criticism of those who accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of violating the international humanitarian law principles of distinction, proportionality, necessity, and humanity

Cultural Amnesia and Legal Rhetoric: Remembering the 1862 United States-Dakota War and the Need for Military Commissions

Attend to the Indians. If the draft cannot proceed, of course it will not proceed. Necessity knows no law. —Abraham Lincoln, wire to Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, civic leaders, military experts, and lay people are deciding what to do with the Taliban warriors and Al-Qaeda prisoners who were captured in the international war on terrorism. In November 2001, President George W. Bush startled some observers when he publicly announced the promulgation of an executive order for military tribunals, but a few months later the Department of Defense (DOD) made it clear that it was going to modify some of those rules in order to provide full and fair trials for defendants. The modified rules stipulated that any accused prisoners who appeared before potential tribunals would have the right to choose their own counsel, would have copies of the charges provided to them in their native language, and would have the right to obtain witnesses and documents needed for their defense. While the appellate review procedures established by the DOD guidelines would stay within the executive chain of command, the policy guidelines were written to balance the needs of military secrecy with the rights of individual defendants. Bush administrators made it clear that the guidelines ensured that suspected “terrorists” would receive the same legal protections given to any American soldiers who might appear before parallel courts-martial proceedings

Thanatourism, Caminata Nocturna, and the Complex Geopolitics of Mexico’s Parque EcoAlberto

This article provides readers with a critical analysis of Mexico’s Parque EcoAlberto. Utilizing some of the theoretical work of interdisciplinary scholars who are interested in the study of “thanatourism,” the authors illustrate how this park, with its Caminata Nocturna (night hike), is much more than simply a “dark” tourist attraction that deters those who might travel North to the U.S. border. This study shows how the indigenous Hñähñú in Mexico have to confront a host of symbolic and material forces that are sometimes hidden in the patriotic metanarratives that swirl around this park

Democratic Dissent and the Politics of Rescue during the Twenty-first Century’s “Inhospitable” EU Migration “Crisis”

This article uses critical approaches to examine the ways in which dissenters have objected to the European Union’s current “politics of rescue.” The authors argue that the term “hospitality” has been a key term in liberal theorizing about mobility since the Enlightenment, but that various neo-liberal “pull” theories, worries about securitization and the militarization of rescue efforts in the Mediterranean have converged in ways that have turned Europe into an “inhospitable” place for foreigners. The authors use three short case studies—of maritime captains’ and sailors’ rescue efforts, academic critiques of FRONTEX, and vernacular reactions to the iconic Kurdi image—to put on display the contradictions that exist when illiberal decisions are made by EU communities that are supposed to be democratically governed by hospitality principles. They also argue that the focus on the social agency of “traffickers” deflects attention away from the structural and colonial facets of these migration “crises.

What Does Rhetorical Theory Do? And Is That A Stupid Question?

This article reports on the 2002 National Communication pre-conference seminar. As part of the continuing dialogue among rhetoricians about the current state of rhetorical theory, the pre-conference seminar series offered an opportunity for rhetoric scholars to consider the functions served by rhetorical theory. The seminar opened with framing comments from co-leaders, followed by brief presentations from four featured speakers. These were followed by small group sessions in which participants explored the themes developed in their position papers

Détournement, Decolonization, and the American Indian Occupation of Alcatraz Island (1969–1971)

On November 20, 1969, eighty-nine American Indians calling themselves the “Indians of All Tribes” (IOAT) invaded Alcatraz Island. The group’s founding proclamation was addressed to “the Great White Father and All His People,” and declared “We, the Native Americans, reclaim the land known as Alcatraz Island in the name of all American Indians by right of discovery” (2). Tongue-in-cheek, the IOAT offered to purchase Alcatraz Island for “twenty-four dollars in glass beads and red clothe.” In this essay, I illustrate how the IOAT engaged in a rhetoric of détournement, or a subversive misappropriation of dominant discourse that disassembles and imitates texts until they clearly display their oppressive qualities. I argue that the Proclamation established a textual framework that calls for a skeptical and irreverent reading of dominant discourse. I conclude that strategic détournements suture dominant discourses to the moniker of colonialism and invite sympathetic audiences to engage in decolonization