ABSTRACT This essay develops the concept of material inertia, a lens for studying artifacts of material and spatial rhetorics with a focus on long durations. The essay uses the case study of the DeWitt Clinton High School building, constructed in 1906 in New York City and still in use at CUNY John Jay College, to demonstrate how friction between the building’s design and use is exacerbated over decades. The essay argues for reading long-lived spaces via material inertia to understand the rhetorical force of non-human actors across time, and calls for scholarship in material rhetorics to take specifically durational approaches.

中文翻译：

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物质惯性：公立学校建筑的空间修辞

摘要 本文提出了物质惯性的概念，这是一个研究物质和空间修辞人工制品的镜头，重点是长持续时间。本文以 1906 年在纽约市建造、至今仍在纽约市立大学约翰杰学院使用的德威特克林顿高中大楼为例，说明该大楼的设计和使用之间的摩擦在过去几十年中是如何加剧的。这篇文章主张通过物质惯性来阅读长期存在的空间，以理解非人类行为者跨越时间的修辞力量，并呼吁物质修辞学采取特定的持续性方法。