Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference CFP: U of Dayton

Proposal Deadline: February 1, 2017   

The Department of English, together with Program in Women’s and Gender Studies, the College of Arts and Sciences, and University Libraries at the University of Dayton (UD) invite proposals for the Eleventh Biennial Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference to be held at UD October 4-7, 2017.

Our conference theme, Rhetorics, Rights, (R)evolutions, draws attention to the significance of our field, of history, and of rhetorical practices at a time in which human rights – especially among women and people of color – are threatened on a daily basis. Meanwhile, civic discourses and public forms of democratic deliberation are in a state of upheaval as arguments based on reasoning and evidence matter little in the face of might-makes-right ideological triggers. Our theme draws attention to

• the local, national, and global uses of feminist rhetorical practices for social justice, advocacy and activism;
• the realities, problems, and possibilities of rhetoric as a human right;
• the ways feminist scholarship and social advocacy overlap;
• the roles feminist rhetorical practices and education play in democratic participation;
• and the past and future of the CFSHRC and Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference as an organization advancing human rights.

This meeting also marks the 20th year of the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference, and our conference theme marks this milestone. As participants consider together the past, present and future paths of the great variety of feminisms, rhetorics, and social practices of our scholarship, we also invite participants to consider the historical, contemporary, and future trajectories of the conference in particular. Thus, the theme of the conference is meant to explore the broad impact of the history of the Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference, relations between the conference and activism within and outside of the academy, and how the Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference might shape future directions of scholarship, teaching, and activism.

For more information or to submit a proposal, visit the conference web site.