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Relational Agency, Networked Technology, and the Social Media Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing Megan M

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Relational Agency, Networked Technology, and the Social Media Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing Megan M University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2015 Relational Agency, Networked Technology, and the Social Media Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing Megan M. Mcintyre University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Databases and Information Systems Commons, and the Rhetoric Commons Scholar Commons Citation Mcintyre, Megan M., "Relational Agency, Networked Technology, and the Social Media Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5742 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Relational Agency, Networked Technology, and the Social Media Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing by Megan M. McIntyre A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English with a concentration in Rhetoric and Composition College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Co- Major Professor: Carl Herndl, Ph.D. Co-Major Professor: Marc C. Santos, Ph.D. Meredith Johnson, Ph.D. Thomas Rickert, Ph.D. Date of Approval: May 27, 2015 Keywords: Twitter, agency, new materialism, digital rhetoric Copyright © 2015, Megan M. McIntyre Dedication For my father, who taught me how to tell a story and pursue my dreams. For my mother, who taught me to have faith and persevere and to be kind, stubborn, and resolute. For my brother, who taught me everything else. Acknowledgments To Dr. Marc Santos for his challenges and provocations and especially for his thoughtful feedback on all my work. You made me a better thinker, scholar, and writer. You introduced me to theory that changed my pedagogy and scholarship. This project is a testament to your insight. Thank you. To Dr. Carl Herndl for his support and feedback and for introducing me to Bruno Latour. Your first class changed my perspective and the second changed the trajectory of my career, all for the better. This project is a testament to your wisdom. Thank you. To Dr. Thomas Rickert for his work, which influences this project from beginning to end, and for his thoughtful questions. To Dr. Meredith Johnson for her mentorship and support throughout my time in the program and for her generosity with her time as I reach the end. To Dr. Dennis Lynch for his kindness and time. To Dr. Joseph Moxley, Dr. Dianne Donnelly, and Dr. Pat Maher for all the opportunities, support and advice. To Dr. Kate Pantelides for introducing me to Rhet/Comp and the Writing Center. You literally changed my life. To Laura Ewing for keeping me sane in graduate school. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend or colleague. To Danielle Farrar and Sandy Branham for picking up the slack and supporting me no matter what. To Kristen Gay for reading my work, for making me a better a reader, thinker, and friend. To Ellie Browning, Lauren Cagle, Sarah Beth Hopton, Dan Richards, Zac Dixon, and all my other amazing colleagues for making this a fantastic journey. Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ iv Abstract ............................................................................................................................................v Chapter One: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Project Overview .................................................................................................................1 Research Questions ..............................................................................................................3 Site Overview ......................................................................................................................3 Social Media Responses ..........................................................................................5 Tragedy and Twitter .................................................................................................5 Crowdsourcing Blame and Misidentification ..........................................................7 Technical Tools and Material Impacts .....................................................................8 A Note on Methodology ......................................................................................................9 Literature Review ...............................................................................................................10 Autonomous Agency .............................................................................................10 Agency and New Materialism ...............................................................................12 Technology and a Relational Definition of Agency ..............................................14 Conclusion .............................................................................................................16 Chapter Breakdown ...........................................................................................................16 Chapter Two: Nonhumans, Vitality, and Networked Agency ...............................16 Chapter Three: Relational Agency and the Emergence of #BostonHelp ..............17 Chapter Four: The Question of Intention: Repurposing #BostonMarathon ..........18 Chapter Five: Networked Responsibility and Reddit’s Hunt for the Bombing Suspects ............................................................................................18 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................19 Chapter Two: Nonhumans, Vitality, and Networked Agency .......................................................20 Tracing as a Methodology .................................................................................................20 Things Matter in Philosophy and Sociology ......................................................................24 New Materialism in Rhetoric .............................................................................................26 Digital Rhetoric and a More Robust Role of Nonhuman Actors .......................................31 Assembling Actors .............................................................................................................36 Following a Nonhuman ..........................................................................................38 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................43 Chapter Three: Relational Agency and the Emergence of #BostonHelp ......................................45 Introduction ....................................................................................................................45 Revising Our Theories of Technology ...............................................................................47 i Human Rhetoric Agency ........................................................................................47 Revising Subjectivity .............................................................................................49 Possibilities of an Agency Otherwise ....................................................................52 Assigned Agency and Dependent Agency .............................................................53 New Materialist Networked Agency .....................................................................56 The Problem of Autonomy ....................................................................................61 #BostonHelp and the Creation of an Agentive Network ...................................................63 Mapping #BostonHelp ...........................................................................................65 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................72 Chapter Four: The Question of Intention: Repurposing #BostonMarathon ..................................75 “Twitter for Business” .......................................................................................................76 @BostonMarathon Joins Twitter .......................................................................................78 Theoretical Background .....................................................................................................79 New Materialism: Rewriting Cause and Effect .................................................................85 Mapping #BostonMarathon ...............................................................................................87 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................100 Chapter Five: Networked Responsibility and Reddit’s Hunt for the Bombing Suspects ............103 A Brief Primer on Reddit .................................................................................................106 Tripathi’s Name Goes
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