The Intersection Of Image, Rhetoric, And Witnessing: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Abu Ghraib ...

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Wayne State University Dissertations
1-1-2010
The Intersection Of Image, Rhetoric, And
Witnessing: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Abu
Ghraib Prisoner Abuse Scandal
Elizabeth Jane Durham Smith
Wayne State University,
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Recommended Citation
Durham Smith, Elizabeth Jane, "The Intersection Of Image, Rhetoric, And Witnessing: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Abu Ghraib
Prisoner Abuse Scandal" (2010).Wayne State University Dissertations.Paper 85.
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THE INTERSECTION OF IMAGE, RHETORIC AND WITNESSING: A RHETORICAL
ANALYSIS OF THE ABU GHRAIB PRISONER ABUSE SCANDAL

by

ELIZABETH J. DURHAM SMITH

DISSERTATION

Submitted to the Graduate School

of Wayne State University,

Detroit, Michigan

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPY

2010

MAJOR: COMMUNICATION

Approved by:

________________________________________
Advisor Date

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________

________________________________________
© COPYRIGHT BY

ELIZABETH J. DURHAM SMITH

2010

All Rights Reserved
DEDICATION
Had it not been for these individuals, this journey would never have been undertaken or seen
through to fruition. Thus, it is with profound love and inexpressible gratitude that I dedicate this
dissertation project to them in equal measure.
Ruby Eileen Brotherwood
Aside from being my Grandmother, you took the role of mother, sister, friend and confidant
as well as being the most honest, courageous and integrity-driven person I have been honored
with knowing.
Ruby was a lighthouse during the stormiest times of my life—and an unwavering supporter of
all of my endeavors—whether I was a waitress, a hairdresser, a housekeeper—or, a PhD.
Ruby always told me, “Never let your spirit within you be taken by what you are now enduring”
although it was always you, my dear Ruby who fostered and nurtured that spirit—and at critical
junctures, it was your love alone that kept me afloat.
In the wake of her death on March 13, 2008, it became that self-same spirit that has guided
me to see through an opportunity that my Grandmother was never afforded —an advanced
education—given the generation she was born into, but more particularly, because she was a
woman.
In spite of being forced to leave school at the age of eleven, the accomplishment I now enjoy
is one that my Grandmother could have easily achieved had she been granted the opportunity as
Ruby was—and is—by far the smartest person I have ever met.
And although her loss has irrevocably altered my life in ways I continue to grapple with, I am
assured and comforted in knowing that she is beaming proudly at my achievement as she knew I
could attain this long before I realized that this dream was fully within my reach.
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Jeffrey John Smith
It is you who is the true love of my life as you have provided me the privilege to be truly
known to another person—to be vulnerable yet not unsafe.
It is you who has seen me at my weakest and my most frightened—and loved me in spite of
my frailties and inequities.
There has never been—and never will be—another person who has meant to me what you
embody—and I treasure all that we have shared since March 12, 2005.
Dr. Donald Nichols & Mrs. Alice Nichols
Doc—On the day I walk across the stage to be awarded my doctorate will be eleven years
almost to the day that I stepped into your classroom—and, unbeknownst to me at the time—
embarked on the journey I have now completed.
At that moment, you told me if I could dream it, I could do it—and, as this dissertation project
illustrates, I have brought my dream to fruition—a dream that would have, undoubtedly—failed
to have materialized without the catalyst of you.
Alice—You have blessed my life with a presence I never knew I lacked until your arrival.
You are my confidant, my guidepost, my “voice of reason”—and your unique brand of love has
cradled me in a wholly tumultuous year.
Doc & Alice—or, Doc & Mama to me—together you have graced me with the inexplicable
gift of having engaged parents—and at the mere age of 37, I have a “Mom & Dad” whose
unwavering faith and depth of love renders language inept given that the blessing of your
presence is both inexplicable and immeasurable.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
From the start, I must express the great difficulty that comes with acknowledging all who
have touched my life in ways that have aided in bringing me to this point. The following
persons, however, merit distinct mention given the myriad of gifts each has selflessly offered me.
First, I would like to acknowledge my Grandfather, who I knew only briefly before his
untimely death in September 1975. William Allan Brotherwood, an Oxford University Master’s
degree graduate, loved language and loved teaching—two passions I undoubtedly inherited from
him. Moreover, however, in being a Conscientious Objector in World War II—my Grandfather
resolutely took a stance that unfairly haunted him and my Grandmother throughout their lives—
a most principled stand of which I remain in awe. I do believe that he too is beaming proudly as
this dissertation project humbly attempts to follow in his very large footsteps.
As a gesture of goodwill, I acknowledge my family and extend specific recognition to my
father, Dr. Frederick Hambleton and my stepmother, Mrs. Barbara Hambleton.
Secondly, I must acknowledge Dr. Mary Garrett, my doctoral advisor. Mary was the very
first faculty member I met at my Department of Communication Graduate Orientation in
September 2003—and thus, it is fitting that she has been the person who has guided me to the
completion of my PhD. Mary—you deftly challenged me in ways that prompted great personal
and intellectual growth, thereby paving the way for me to produce this project, of which I am
profoundly proud. This is the chief element of why I will be able to join the ranks of rhetorical
scholars as without you, I would have undoubtedly never have fulfilled my dream of attaining
my doctorate.
I am grateful to my dissertation committee members for their many and varied efforts aiding
in the completion of this project: Dr. Sandy Pensoneau-Conway for your deep sensitivity and
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empathy as well as your keen eye for detail; Dr. James Cherney for joining the committee during
your first year in the department; Dr. Ken Jackson, whose graduate level course I took during the
Winter 2005 proved pivotal in relation to the theoretical backing running throughout this project
as well as his inordinate efforts on my behalf throughout my graduate studies; and Dr. Philip
Abbott, who kindly joined the committee and generously offered his immense knowledge to a
project that is thoroughly political, and thus one that necessitated his esteemed expertise, for
which I thank him.
By extension, I am grateful to Dr. William Trapani, my former advisor, who inspired me to
love rhetoric in ways that find articulation throughout this document. Particularly during my
first year, not only did I “stick with” graduate school, but I became entranced with the field of
rhetoric—especially poststructural rhetorical criticism—given Bill’s infectious love of rhetorical
theory as well as his unique brand of teaching unparalleled by any other academic setting to date.
Bill believed in my abilities long before I did and his fierce support of my academic pursuits
aided in the building of my own self-belief, for which I am inexplicably grateful.
In addition, I am grateful to my undergraduate mentor and former professor—a former
advisee of Dr. Mary Garrett—Dr. Valerie Palmer, who fully believed in my capabilities at a most
crucial juncture and who provided a benchmark of what I aim to achieve in the future. To a
similar end, I thank Dr. Kellie Hay who further prompted my application to graduate school in
early 2003, which was also during a time of great personal trial.
I also extend my warmest thanks to Dr. Loraleigh Keashly—Wayne State University
Department of Communication Graduate Studies Director—whose empathetic ear and
unwavering support has meant a great deal, particularly given the many obstacles life presented
over the last two years.
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Lastly, I am greatly indebted to the ardent support of Professor Jack Lessenberry, whose
insights on my work and on life have furnished me with a kind of generosity that fail to be
adequately detailed given his keen and astute wisdom earned through years of impassioned
dedication to revealing that which demanded unveiling.
The Wayne State University Graduate School, which generously awarded me a 2009 Summer
Dissertation Fellowship and provided me the fortuitous gift of unadulterated time at an especially
critical juncture. This served as a catalyst from which this dissertation project was launched and I
would specifically like to offer my sincere thanks to Carole Barduca whose enthusiasm and
support has particularly touched me. I must also express my gratitude to Cindy Sokol, whose
measured guidance aided in navigating through moments of “choppy waters.” Lastly, although
certainly not least, I offer my inexpressible thanks to Dean Mark Wardell for his efforts on my
behalf.
In equal measure, I offer my deepest thanks to the Wayne State University Humanities
Center, under the direction of Dr. Walter Edwards, for generously granting me the 2010 Edward
M. Wise Dissertation Fellowship. Again, this plenteous award came at a decisive moment in
time, allowing me not only the ability to complete the dissertation project, but additional time to
continue my research efforts. Both of these abundant opportunities were key in bringing the
dissertation project to fruition and words alone fail to convey the monumental nature of what
these awards meant to me from both a personal and a professional perspective.
Dr. Julie Borkin is certainly a most pivotal element in the completion of this journey. It was
Julie who spent weekends at the library writing alongside me as well as expended countless
hours listening to and aiding me in working through the myriad of hurdles—both personal and
professional—that arose over the last two years in particular. Not only did Julie provide me
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opportunities to “cut my teeth” teaching as a guest lecturer in her classes, but as Ruby battled
through the last years of her life, it was Julie who took innumerable classes for me so that I could
fly to England to be by my Grandmother. It is wholly impossible to detail all that Julie has so
selflessly given me and I am both privileged and honored to have the blessing of her friendship.
I must also express my gratitude to her sons, Trevor and Christopher and to her husband, Ken
Borkin for their love and support.
In like manner, I must acknowledge two colleagues—and dear friends—whose support is also
virtually impossible to fully detail. First, Marylou Naumoff—my “k.f.f.”—whose fierce love of
rhetoric and unending intellect have been both a source of inspiration and a source of coauthored
scholarship. Moreover, however, it is Marylou’s depth of friendship, untiring ear, incredible
support during Ruby’s illness and death as well as your immeasurably insightful advice that has
helped me weather many a storm. I am in awe of your strength given the untimely loss of your
Mother, Elizabeth Denise Naumoff, in October 2009 followed soon thereafter with the January
2010 birth of you and your husband Kevin’s amazing son, Atticus Elijah Naumoff Burg.
Marylou—you are truly an inexplicable gift and we are undoubtedly kindred spirits who were
meant to meet for innumerable reasons, which will—I hope—continue to bless both of us for
many, many years to come.
Second, I thank Neil Butt—a friend and colleague—and a man of great stature. During my
innumerable trips to England, Neil took classes for me, recorded classes we were both taking so I
would not miss the lecture as well as took inordinate amounts of time to simply listen as the
impending loss of my Grandmother was an event close to his heart as his own mother, too, was
traveling back and forth to England to nurse his Grandmother who passed in December 2008.
Further, during the final months of dissertation writing, Neil provided me great support and did
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so much to aid me in preparing for my dissertation defense. Neil—you have been one of my
most ardent supporters and I doubt I would ever be able to fully express my gratitude.
Moreover, Neil emulates a rare kind of integrity expressed in his depth of concern and his
boundless compassion for the trials of others—gifts that have blessed me with great solace at
points when life seemed especially bleak.
Additionally, I must thank Dr. Naoki Kambe and George Vitsaropoulous—two friends and
colleagues who, at the start of my graduate studies, not only provided me the gift of their
friendship but were also my “theory partners in crime” as we spent innumerable hours pouring
over the readings for classes together—without which, I would have lacked the immense insights
they brought to bear on texts that I have employed throughout this project and I greatly miss the
daily experience of their depth of friendship.
An acknowledgements section would be particularly incomplete without recognizing the great
gifts that my students have so generously bestowed. Over the last five years, I have been
gratuitously blessed with the honor of teaching scores of amazing students that beyond bringing
to fruition one of my dreams—teaching at the university level—they have also cemented my
view that the classroom provides one of the last bastions of boundless potentiality, particularly in
late modernity. Although all of my students have touched me, I must particularly note the
following classes, COM 2160 during the Fall 2007 term, COM 3300 and COM 1010 during the
Winter 2008 term given their grace, understanding and profound empathy during the last six
months of my Grandmother’s life and in the wake of her death. Also, COM 3300 and COM 1010
during the Winter 2009 term and COM 1010 during the Fall 2009 term were especially distinct
classes insofar as they represented all that the classroom truly offers and those classes were
particularly a great honor to have taught. In addition, albeit a lengthy list, I would like to name a
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