Assembling Oregon

Typically, rhetoric is understood as the performance and study of persuasive language. Material rhetoric scholars, bolstered by fresh perspectives in philosophy and critical theory that re-assert the significance of materialism and ontology, question whether rhetoric, as a field, can tackle more than intentional, interpersonal symbolic communication. Material rhetorics ask how to theorize the persuasive power of physical spaces, technologies, materials, animals, plants, habits, and non-symbolic communication practices, among other concepts. The title of this collection references just some of the many material rhetorics that proliferate throughout the state of Oregon. Assembling Oregon includes chapters on a plethora of topics. Some focus on Corvallis, the town where Oregon State University is located, some analyze Portland, the hipster capital of the world, and some address topics significant to other locations throughout Oregon. Together, these chapters represent a range of material rhetoric investigations about the state. That said, the collection's title also references the concept of "assemblages" and how we can never simply encounter individual objects, but objects always already engaged in different relations. These complex networks of relations, or assemblages, are not only all around us, but part of us. By exploring the assemblages that exist throughout our state, we are able to recognize some of the ongoing relations that we take part in every day. Together, these chapters showcase the broad applicability of a material rhetorics approach and the range of investigative strategies available. They also highlight the kinds of topics open to investigation by students of material rhetorics. Perhaps most importantly, however, they also represent the hard work, thoughtful critiques, and insightful readings of students in the Rhetoric, Writing, and Culture program and Literature and Culture program at Oregon State University.