Feminist Rhetorical Practices: New Horizons for Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies

Studies in Rhetorics and Feminisms

by Jacqueline Jones Royster, Gesa E Kirsch, Patricia Bizzell (Foreword)

From two leading scholars in the field comes this landmark assessment of the shifting terrain of feminist rhetorical practices in recent decades. Jacqueline Jones Royster and Gesa E. Kirsch contend the field of rhetorical studies is being transformed through the work of feminist rhetoricians who have brought about notable changes in who the subjects of rhetorical study can be, how their practices can be critiqued, and how the effectiveness and value of the inquiry frameworks can be articulated.
To contextualize a new and changed landscape for narratives in the history of rhetoric, Royster and Kirsch present four critical terms of engagement—critical imagination, strategic contemplation, social circulation, and globalization—as the foundation for a new analytical model for understanding, interpreting, and evaluating feminist rhetorical inquiry and the study and teaching of rhetoric in general. This model draws directly on the wealth of knowledge and understanding gained from feminist rhetorical practices, especially sensitivity toward meaningfully and respectfully rendering the work, lives, cultures, and traditions of historical and contemporary women in rhetorical scholarship. Proposing ambitious new standards for viewing and valuing excellence in feminist rhetorical practice, Royster and Kirsch advocate an ethos of respect and humility in the analysis of communities and specific rhetorical performances neglected in rhetorical history, recasting rhetorical studies as a global phenomenon rather than a western one. They also reflect on their own personal and professional development as researchers as they highlight innovative feminist research over the past thirty years to articulate how feminist work is changing the field and pointing to the active participation of women in various discourse arenas and to the practices and genres they use. Valuable to new and established scholars of rhetoric, Feminist Rhetorical New Horizons for Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies is essential for understanding the theoretical, methodological, and ethical impacts of feminist rhetorical studies on the wider field.

Winner, 2014 Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award

Genres: Feminism

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Janel Atlas · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my very favorite books about feminist rhetorics from two of my favorite fem-rhet scholars.

[Nanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully introspective book that kept me engaged. I really enjoyed the authors’ personal reflections at the end of each chapter. I benefited from what they called “four critical terms of engagement for rhetorical assaying”: 1. Critical imagination 2. Strategic Contemplation 3. Social circulation 4. Globalization. They did a great job of explicating these terms in a chapter devoted to each.

I did, however, find the multiple metaphors and frameworks confusing. For example, there are 4 critical terms mentioned above, plus 4 interlocking themes, 3 traditional aspects of feminist rhetorical studies (rescue, recovery, (re)inscription), and a 3-fold “enhanced inquiry model”—not shown until the concluding chapter (should have shown up in the first chapter), a 4-fold metacognitive framework (dialectically, dialogically, reflectively, and reflexively), oh my gosh shoot me now! I kept having to remind myself WHICH “four interlocking themes” or framework was the point of the current sentence. Sometimes there was just TOO MANY words of explication such that I became lost in the analysis. This was probably my fault whereas another reader might have better powers of concentration. These are the reasons I give 4 instead of 5 stars...plus since there were no 5-pronged themes or frameworks 4 just seemed more appropriate. 😉🤭 And please help me understand what a terministic screen is, alas this word is just too cool (I know it’s Burkean, but still so unfamiliar).

Returning to praise for the book...the authors gave good examples as case studies to help SHOW, not just tell. Additionally, it was a “who’s who” on the vanguard of feminist rhetorical study as well as a synopsis of where it all started. I appreciated the ongoing literature review and found myself nodding in acknowledgement to texts I’ve also found helpful in my own understanding of feminist rhetorical research and pedagogy. In fact there are great pedagogical applications accompanying each chapter. Ultimately, I am encouraged by reading this book and inspired in my own scholarship. I find its tone incredibly humble, inclusive, and inviting (if sometimes verbose) while simultaneously rigorous in its expectations for future feminist scholarship.

[Jennifer Peña · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of my favorite aspects of this book include the authors' reflections on each of their major topics, pedagogical applications, and the lists of related texts, several of which I highlighted to possibly read later. The metaphor of assaying (used to introduce the authors' practice of rhetorical assaying) is a useful way of visualizing the type of analysis the authors propose throughout this text.

While I found that some of the ideas were repetitive, the authors' inclusions of examples from both their own and others' works provided deep insights into the research practices they promote and how they can be (and/or are currently being) put into practice; one of the most memorable examples for me was when Kirsch described her experience searching for records of Ellen Browning Scripps.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I’m just getting burnt out on exam books toward the end of my feminism list and am tired of reading whole books in one sitting and maybe this just was written 13 years ago and it shows, but this was tough to get through even tho it was helpful in a lot of ways.