Papers by Jonathan Henson
Memory, Reconstruction, and Ethics in Memorialization
The Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 2019
The article examines the ethical choices that are implicit in acts of memorialization. By engagin... more The article examines the ethical choices that are implicit in acts of memorialization. By engaging literature on the rhetoric of memorials and pragmatist aesthetics, we argue that memorialization involves a range of important ethical choices in who is remembered, how they are remembered, and the experience the act of memorialization evokes in viewers. By using John Dewey's nascent account of memorial aesthetics, we construct an exploratory typology of the ways that memorials can use and evoke the experience of viewers. The means of experiential reconstruction are also found to involve important ethical decisions. We explore the usefulness of this typology in reference to two different memorials: Ambedkar Memorial Park in Lucknow, India, and the Memorial for the Unknown War Deserters and for the Victims of the National Socialist Military Justice System in Erfurt, Germany.
The Greek term kairos has been used extensively in the history of rhetorical studies to describe ... more The Greek term kairos has been used extensively in the history of rhetorical studies to describe speeches or events that occur at the "right time" or "opportune moment"; however, this definition does not do justice to the complexities of the historical concept. The purpose of this project is to re--investigate the historical definitions to provide a broader definition for kairos that can provide helpful tools for rhetorical studies, specifically rhetorical analyses of historical events. This project's expansion of kairos is twofold: first, it re--defines kairos as a function of secular conversion in specific moments and then, as constellation of events. To accomplish this, the project utilizes Dale Sullivan's conception of a kairotic rhetoric of conversion to analyze the impact of Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense on pre--revolutionary America. The second step of the expansion-kairos as a constellation of events-is analyzed through the investigation of the constellation of discourses that influence the processual development of American anti--communism at the end of World War II. By seeking this expanded definition of kairos, the goal of this project is to provide movement scholars with a new perspective with which to analyze their artifacts, and to give rhetorical scholars a new perspective on an old term.
Articles/Chapters by Jonathan Henson
Journal of Speculative Philosophy, 2019
This article examines the ethical choices that are implicit in acts of memorialization. By engagi... more This article examines the ethical choices that are implicit in acts of memorialization. By engaging literature on the rhetoric of memorials and pragmatist aesthetics, we argue that memorialization involves a range of important ethical choices in who is remembered, how they are remembered, and the experience the act of memorialization evokes in viewers. By using John Dewey’s nascent account of memorial aesthetics, we construct an exploratory typology of the ways that memorials can use and evoke the experience of viewers. The means of experiential reconstruction are also found to involve important ethical decisions. We explore the usefulness of this typology in reference to two different memorials: Ambedkar Memorial Park in Lucknow, India, and the Memorial for the Unknown War Deserters and for the Victims of the National Socialist Military Justice System in Erfurt, Germany.
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Papers by Jonathan Henson
Articles/Chapters by Jonathan Henson