Toxic affirmation: The Nordic Waste scandal and the political pitfalls of affirmative materialisms in rhetorical criticism

Abstract

In recent years, rhetorical scholars have turned to study the materiality of rhetoric as well as the rhetoricity of material, often introducing a posthumanist or anti-anthropocentric stance rejecting mind-body dualism(s), while often also turning to affirmative frameworks as an alternative to criticism. Introducing the Nordic Waste scandal in Denmark in 2023, we point to the risk of toxically affirming the perspective of environmentally harmful corporations in rhetoric centering materiality and affirmation.

Keywords

• toxic affirmation
• new materialist rhetoric
• mind-body dualism
• Nordic Waste
• rhetorical criticism