Anglo-American Feminist Challenges to the Rhetorical Traditions: Virginia Woolf, Mary Daly, and Adrienne Rich

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this lucid and innovative work, Krista Ratcliffe successfully extrapolates rhetorical theories from three feminist writers not generally thought of as rhetoricians. Ratcliffe's skillful use of her methodology demonstrates a new model for examining women's texts. Her work situates Woolf's, Daly's, and Rich's feminist theories of rhetoric within current conversations about feminist pedagogies, particularly the interweavings of critical thinking, reading, and writing. Ratcliffe concludes with an application to teaching. This well-reasoned and convincing study will appeal to a widely varied audience: women in rhetoric and composition who feel that traditional theories do not speak to them; teachers of rhetorical history who want to explore gender concepts; composition teachers who want to become more aware of gender differences and pedagogical strategies to accommodate these differences; literary theorists and speech communication scholars who wish to track new methodologies for examining gender concerns; women's studies scholars who want to continue the examination of how language constructs and reflects patriarchy; and other students and scholars who simply are interested in theories of rhetoric, feminism, and pedagogy.

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