Keywords

counterstory, Gullah Geechee, Black rhetorics, cultural rhetorics, topos

Abstract

Counterstory as a method/ology has been used in a variety of disciplines to share experiences of individuals and communities whose voices have been historically silenced or suppressed. Utilizing this methodological framework, my study shares the stories of six Gullah Geechee descendants with ancestral roots in the unincorporated community of Nesmith in Williamsburg County, SC. Treating these minoritized and individual stories as experiential knowledge, I trace the counterstories as topoi to introduce and develop the theoretical concept that I call the rhetoric of opportunity, which refers to memories or stories that have come to motivate individuals toward or away from certain actions based on associated opportunities. More specifically, we can think of these stories in terms of topoi, or discourses that we return to in order to shape our futures. This project applies Aja Y. Martinez’s description of eight tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to classify the stories as counterstories and demonstrate their value as topoi in the rhetoric of opportunity for these storytellers. I assert that these storytellers describe the rhetoric of opportunity through their individual and collective experiences and through their visions for the future. Their descriptions are based on connected and recurring instances of identity and place. Drawing on the analysis, I also offer a model for mapping rhetoric of opportunity through a constellation of topoi which I suggest has theoretical and practical value for learners, educators, and organizational leaders.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Bowdon, Melody

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

Department of Writing and Rhetoric

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Identifier

DP0053190

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