Public Places

Sites of Political Communication

This book rhetorically and historically examines the contextual and experiential dimensions of a wide range of public places—from memorials to stadiums—that are rife with political implications. Fourteen public places ranging from the national to local, from 9/11 memorials to a baseball park are analyzed. The authors investigate the histories of these public spaces, examine their designs, and discuss their political implications in order to outline their role within the public sphere. This book begins with a loose theoretical framework for understanding public places as rhetorically drawn from extant scholarship, and concludes with a systematic means of exploring the allocation of power by public places. Recommended for scholars of communication studies, rhetoric, political science, and architecture.