With a broad conceptualization of rhetorical scholarship and theory in mind, editors Karen A. Foss, Sonja K. Foss, and Cindy L. Griffin have compiled essays and readings by feminist theorists whose work has relevance for rhetorical theory. This volume introduces readers to multiple feminist voices and perspectives and contextualizes theory as a way of framing experiences and events. The editors provide readers with an inclusive, accessible collection of readings by key contemporary feminist theorists as well as spirited, approachable introductions to their work and their lives.
Readings in Feminist Rhetorical Theory features and pays homage to the work of nine influential theorists: Cheris Kramarae, bell hooks, Gloria Anzaldúa, Mary Daly, Starhawk, Paula Gunn Allen, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Sally Miller Gearhart, and Sonia Johnson. As the editors explain in their Introduction, these feminist theorists are featured because they have sufficiently large bodies of work that constitute coherent theories about communication or rhetoric and contribute to the re-conceptualization and transformation of rhetorical constructs and theories.
The editors introduce each theorist historically and conceptually through a brief biography and a discussion of the key ideas in the pieces selected. The works of each theorist
· represent the general content and form of the theorist's body of work;
· span the time period over which the theorist has been writing, tracing the evolution of her ideas;
· directly address concerns relevant to rhetorical theory or symbol use;
· vary in terms of types of work (essays, poems, short stories) to capture the range of each theorist's genre.
Readings in Feminist Rhetorical Theory is ideal for students in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in Communication Studies, Women's Studies, and English and is an excellent companion volume to Feminist Rhetorical Theory.
Karen Foss (Ph.D., University of Iowa) is Regents’ Professor and until recently was Chair of the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico and has joined Stephen Littlejohn as a co-author on his bestselling textbook,Theories of Human Communication, 9th Edition. She has been at the University of New Mexico since 1993 and in that time served not only as a departmental chair but also as Director of Graduate Studies for the department and as Director of Women’s Studies. In 2005, she received the Gender Scholar of the Year award from the Southern States Communication Association and was named Presidential Teaching Fellow for 2004-2006. Her research interests include contemporary rhetoric and criticism, social movements and social change, and feminist perspectives on communication. In addition to her work on Theories of Human Communication, she has co-authored Women Speak: The Eloquence of Women’s Lives, Inviting Transformation: Presentational Speaking for a Changing World, Contemporary Perspectives on Rhetoric, Feminist Rhetorical Theory (SAGE 1999) and Readings in Feminist Rhetorical Theory (SAGE 2004). Dr. Foss regularly teaches feminist rhetorical theory; rhetorical criticism; rhetorical theory; women, agency, and change; and public speaking.
