This volume explores how women in the fields of rhetoric and composition have succeeded, despite the challenges inherent in the circumstances of their work. Focusing on those women generally viewed as "successful" in rhetoric and composition, this volume relates their stories of successes (and failures) to serve as models for other women in the profession who aspire to "make it," too: to succeed as women academics in a sea of gender and disciplinary bias and to have a life, as well. Building on the gains made by several generations of rhetoric and composition scholars, this volume provides strategies for a newer generation of scholars entering the field and, in so doing, broadens the support base for women in the field by connecting them with a greater web of women in the profession. Offering frank discussion of professional and personal struggles as well as providing reference materials addressing these concerns, solid career advice, and inspirational narratives told by women who have "made it" in the field of rhetoric and composition, this work highlights such common concerns as: dealing with sexism in the tenure and promotion process, maintaining a balance between career and family, struggling for scholarly and/or administrative respect, mentoring junior women, finding one's voice in scholarship, and struggling to say "no" to unrewarded service work The profiles of individual successful women describe each woman's methods for success, examine the price each has paid for that success, and pass along the advice each has to offer other women who are beginning a career in the field or attempting to jumpstart an existing career. With resources and general advice for women in the field of rhetoric and composition to guide them through their careers-as they become, survive, and thrive as professionals in the discipline - this book is must-have reading for every woman making her career in the rhetoric and composition fields.

This volume explores how women in the fields of rhetoric and composition have succeeded, despite the challenges inherent in the circumstances of their work. Focusing on those women generally viewed as "successful" in rhetoric and composition, this volume relates their stories of successes (and failures) to serve as models for other women in the profession who aspire to "make it," too: to succeed as women academics in a sea of gender and disciplinary bias and to have a life, as well. Building on the gains made by several generations of rhetoric and composition scholars, this volume provides strategies for a newer generation of scholars entering the field and, in so doing, broadens the support base for women in the field by connecting them with a greater web of women in the profession. Offering frank discussion of professional and personal struggles as well as providing reference materials addressing these concerns, solid career advice, and inspirational narratives told by women who have "made it" in the field of rhetoric and composition, this work highlights such common concerns as: dealing with sexism in the tenure and promotion process, maintaining a balance between career and family, struggling for scholarly and/or administrative respect, mentoring junior women, finding one's voice in scholarship, and struggling to say "no" to unrewarded service work The profiles of individual successful women describe each woman's methods for success, examine the price each has paid for that success, and pass along the advice each has to offer other women who are beginning a career in the field or attempting to jumpstart an existing career. With resources and general advice for women in the field of rhetoric and composition to guide them through their careers-as they become, survive, and thrive as professionals in the discipline - this book is must-have reading for every woman making her career in the rhetoric and composition fields.

This collection of essays investigates the historiography of rhetoric, global perspectives on rhetoric, and the teaching of writing and rhetoric, offering diverse viewpoints. Addressing four major areas of research in rhetoric and writing studies, contributors consider authorship and audience, discuss the context and material conditions in which students compose, cover the politics of the field and the value of a rhetorical education, and reflect on contemporary trends in canon diversification. Providing both retrospective and prospective assessments, Rhetoric and Writing Studies in the New Century offers original research by important figures in the field.

In this feminist investigation into the art of preaching--one of the oldest and least studied rhetorical traditions--Roxanne Mountford explores the relationship between bodies, space, race, and gender in rhetorical performance and American Protestant culture. Refiguring delivery and physicality as significant components of the rhetorical situation, "The Gendered Pulpit: Preaching in American Protestant Spaces "examines the strategies of three contemporary women preachers who have transgressed traditions, rearranged rhetorical space, and conquered gender bias to establish greater intimacy with their congregations.
Mountford's examinations of the rhetoric inherent in preaching manuals from 1850 to the present provide insight into how "manliness" has remained a central concept in American preaching since the mid-nineteenth century. The manuals illustrate that the character, style, method of delivery, and theological purpose of preachers focused on white men and their cultural standing, leaving contemporary women preachers searching for ways to accommodate themselves to the physicality of preaching.
Three case studies of women preachers who have succeeded or failed in rearranging rhetorical space provide the foundation for the volume. These contemporary examples have important implications for feminist theology and also reveal the importance of gender, space, and bodies to studies of rhetoric in general. Mountford explores the geographies of St. John's Lutheran Church and the preaching of Rev. Patricia O'Connor who reformed rhetorical space through the delivery of her sermons. At Eastside United Church of Christ, Mountford shows, Rev. Barbara Hill employed narrative styleand prophetic utterance in the tradition of black preaching to address gender bias and institute change in her congregation. The final case study details the experiences of Pastor Janet Moore and her struggles at Victory Hills United Methodist Church, where the fractured congregation could not be united even with Pastor Moore's focus on theological purpose and invention strategies.