| Title | : | Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope (Studies in Rhetorics and Feminisms) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0809336944 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780809336944 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 296 |
| Publication | : | Published September 4, 2018 |
Glenn’s rhetorical feminism offers an alternative to hegemonic rhetorical histories, theories, and practices articulated in Western culture. This alternative theory engages, addresses, and supports feminist rhetorical practices that include openness, authentic dialogue and deliberation, interrogation of the status quo, collaboration, respect, and progress. Rhetorical feminists establish greater representation and inclusivity of everyday rhetors, disidentification with traditional rhetorical practices, and greater appreciation for alternative means of delivery, including silence and listening. These tenets are supported by a cogent reconceptualization of the traditional rhetorical appeals, situating logos alongside dialogue and understanding, ethos alongside experience, and pathos alongside valued emotion.
Threaded throughout the book are discussions of the key features of rhetorical feminism that can be used to negotiate cross-boundary mis/understandings, inform rhetorical theories, advance feminist rhetorical research methods and methodologies, and energize feminist practices within the university. Glenn discusses the power of rhetorical feminism when applied in classrooms, the specific ways it inspires and sustains mentoring, and the ways it supports administrators, especially directors of writing programs. Thus, the innovative theory of rhetorical feminism—a theory rich with tactics and potentially broad applications—opens up a new field of research, theory, and practice at the intersection of rhetoric and feminism.
Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope (Studies in Rhetorics and Feminisms) Reviews
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In the introduction to Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope, Cheryl Glenn distinguishes between feminist rhetoric and rhetorical feminism by suggesting that “Feminist rhetoric is…a set of long-established practices that advocate a political position of rights and responsibilities” while rhetorical feminism “is a tactic…that is responsive to the ideology that is feminism and to the key strategy that is feminist rhetoric” (3; 4). Specifically, rhetorical feminism wants to reshape “rhetorical appeals” by emphasizing “experience…emotion…silence…and listening” (4). In effect, rhetorical feminism challenges intellectual hegemony by suggesting other ways, paths, and tools for acquiring knowledge and developing ideas. Truth cannot belong to logos alone.
Part of what makes rhetorical feminism so appealing is its de-centering effect. For example, what might happen if, in response to power, we champion silence and listening while acknowledging how fraught such tactics are in rhetorical spaces that overvalue speaking and logic? According to Glenn, these tactics have a telos: hope. Glenn writes, “Some Sister Rhetors also enact the tactic of rhetorical feminism, a set of practices that includes disidentification with hegemonic rhetoric; goals that are dialogic and transactional; attention to marginalized audiences; respect for vernaculars, experiences, and emotion; a reshaping of the rhetorical appeals; and uses of alternative delivery systems—all anchored in hope” (5). While Glenn’s understanding of hope feels utopian, as rhetorical feminism sees it, all of these rhetorical efforts work to manifest “the greatest good for all human beings” (5). Yet, I like Glenn’s theory of hope because while it is optimistic, it also understands the value of negative feelings. She writes, “Rhetorical feminism might well consider the emotion of disappointment—not as a sentiment of weakness or subordination but rather as a judgment, an action, an inquiry that leads directly to hope. Disappointment is a meditation on hope” (93).
But there are problems with Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope, most notably, Glenn’s valorizing of political figures like Hillary Clinton. Glenn describes Clinton’s 2000 New York Senatorial campaign as distinctly feminist thanks, in part, to Clinton’s emphasis on listening: “She [Clinton] committed herself to listening to the concerns and recommendations of her constituents rather than talking at large groups of them” (21). This ignores Clinton’s unmistakable anti-feminist rhetoric regarding Monica Lewinsky. On the whole, however, Rhetorical Feminism and This Thing Called Hope is an excellent introduction to critical feminist principles and rhetorical positions.
