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ABSTRACT
Drawing upon Foucault's notion of biopower and Böhme's theory of atmospheres, we analyze The Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (The CELL), a nonprofit institution in Denver, Colorado dedicated to preventing terrorism. Specifically, we argue that The CELL rhetorically induces visitors to submit to and actively participate in continuous surveillance by subjecting them to a strategic succession of atmospheres that affectively and emotively enlists their bodies in its cause. This largely material rhetoric utilizes the design aesthetics of controlled movement, simulation, interactivity, and pseudodialogue. We conclude by reflecting on the implications for rhetorical and security studies.
Acknowledgements
Brian L. Ott is Professor and Chair of Communication Studies at Texas Tech University. Hamilton Bean is Associate Professor of Communication and Director of the International Studies Program at the University of Colorado Denver. Kellie Marin is a PhD student in Communication Arts and Sciences at the Pennsylvania State University. The authors are grateful to the editor for his vision and strong editorial leadership. They also wish to thank Dr. Leah Ceccarelli for her feedback on a previous draft. An earlier version of this essay won the 2014 Wrage-Baskerville Award from the Public Address Division of the National Communication Association.