Remonstrative Agitation as Feminist Counterpublic Rhetoric

Remonstrative Agitation as Feminist Counterpublic Rhetoric

Peitho Volume 20 Issue 2 Spring/Summer 2018

Author(s): Kyle Larson

Abstract: This article draws upon research with an Arab Muslim blogger on Tumblr to introduce “remonstrative agitation” as feminist counterpublic rhetoric. Farrah (the blogger’s chosen pseudonym) uses remonstrative agitation to challenge discursive and rhetorical imperialism, provoking accelerated circulation of counterdiscourse in response to impositions and harassment from white nationalists and white feminists. It functions as a performative, parrhesiastic rhetoric to claim rhetorical agency in the face of epistemic injustice while offering her counterpublic audiences discourse to learn from, relate to, and circulate. This article ultimately offers insights, methods, and visualizations for digital counterpublic rhetoric and future research. 

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