Study on Strategies of Rhetorical Delivery

In this chapter, we examine a case concerning a Michigan State University student (Maggie) whose image, taken in 2005 on university grounds during a student protest for fair trade apparel, was unknowingly appropriated and remixed by the university in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. We argue that the appropriation of her image raises serious questions for rhetorical strategies of delivery, as well as emerging issues of intellectual property and copyright. Maggie’s case poses a question to legal studies and to rhetoric and composition; in this case, there are no immediate or easy answers, but we argue that the case example itself may serve as a useful pedagogical tool. First, we describe Maggie’s case, provide an overview of rhetorical velocity and remix, and then address intersections between copyright, rhetorical velocity, and the commons. Next, we overview legal issues arising from Maggie’s case—issues of free speech, privacy, orphan works, the role of the institution as parent, publicity/contractual rights, and fair use. We conclude with a discussion of how composing for recomposition relates to the legal concept of the commons, as well as a discussion of pedagogical implications.