ABSTRACT
In a performative theorization of material rhetoric, the resolution of some problem or issue may not be needed. Instead, one can explore a space as a series of associations and meanings that, when networked, demonstrate some concept. To perform one aspect of a rhetoric of the network, for instance, I can allow such a performance to reveal what I have yet to learn. In that sense, I can write against a tradition of network scholarship (Manuel Castells, Eugene Thacker, Manuel DeLanda) devoted to exploring the social, economic, and political aspects of networks by decoding or breaking down problematic practices and representations for the purposes of producing a better state of being. Following a performative tradition of rhetorical theory aligned with Gregory Ulmer, Bruno Latour, and Marshall McLuhan, I work against contemporary theorists by performing a theory of networked rhetoric without a promise of something better. Rather, I propose an exploration of a material space, 8 Mile Road in Detroit, Michigan, within a larger network, Detroit, so that I might theorize one feature of a rhetoric of the network, decision making.
