Citation

Hill IEJ. Commun. Crit. Cult. Stud. 2016; 13(4): 363-379.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, National Communication Association, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/14791420.2016.1173220

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper examines the dynamite at the 1886 Haymarket Square bombing trial and in the courtroom address of accused bomb conspirator August Spies. The analysis focuses on the crucial object of the Haymarket events--the dynamite bomb--as much as it focuses on Spies's words. I argue that the material presence of dynamite interacted with polysemy and paradox when Spies preached dynamite. Spies delved into the polysemy of the term dynamite by drawing attention to the word's multiple meanings, and he constructed turnaround arguments warranted by dynamite to reverse the accusation of conspiring to commit violence back onto the state.

Language: en