At the Conference Presentation Workshop on September 28, 2017, three TCU graduate students about to head to the Feminism and Rhetorics Conference next week practiced their presentations in front of a supportive audience of faculty and fellow students. We discussed the presenters' timing, slides/visuals, and potential questions presenters may receive from the audience. 

Rachel Chapman Daugherty presented on "Intersecting Identifications: A Feminist Rhetorical Analytic Framework," She asked the question, "how can we understand the rhetorical interactions between the intersections of our identity?" 

Sean McCullough argued for a rhetorical understanding of touch in Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. He used image theory to talk about the embodied discursive entanglements in the text.

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​Lastly, Tim Ballingall summarized part of his dissertation in talking about the advice columns of Ruth Millette between the years of 1937-67. He argued for a focus on the rhetorics of motherhood, particularly as evidenced in the public writing done by Millette and other advice columnists.

​All in all, a productive and interesting time was had by all! Thanks to our presenters and those who provided them with feedback. Good luck at FemRhets, presenters! Make us proud!

Join us for the first RCRG meeting of the semester! We will be reading "The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge" by Abraham Flexner, alongside "Composing a Rhetorical Education for the Twenty-First Century: TakingITGlobal as PedagogicalHeuristic

On August 31, 2017, WBH had its first meeting of the year, where we heard from those who recently attended summer institutes and conferences. Dr. Joddy Murray and Kayla Sparks attended the Digital Humanities Summer Institute in Victoria, B.C., last June. Dr. Murray presented on what he learned at the Open Access and Open Social Scholarship workshop. More presses are moving in the direction of open access publication, but young scholars need to be intentional about their publication priorities, especially when publishing their first book. Kayla Sparks talked about the ways feminist scholarship and digital humanities both enhance and challenge each other. She also reflected on the encouraging open and non-hierarchical community created in her workshop.

Rachel Chapman Daugherty attended the Writing Historical Histories workshop at the RSA Summer Institute in May. At this workshop, led by Cheryl Glenn and Jessica Enoch, scholars of all levels brought projects at all stages of development, and the workshop time was spent in hard work and helpful discussions about process and product .

Nick Brown presented at the Kenneth Burke Society conference in June, where Dr. Ann George gave a keynote address. He talked about the different presentation styles evident at an interdisciplinary conference, specifically between English and Communication scholars. Dr. George summarized her keynote in which she talked about the relevance of Burke's theories to the women's movement, particularly contemporary feminist protests. In her address, Dr. George used a feminist rhetorical style, even donning the pink knit hat that she wore during the Women's March in January.

Dr. Richard Enos finished the meeting with some wise advice for future conference and workshop participators: remember, potential employers are often in the audience. So, practice beforehand and present confidently! All presenters did excellent jobs of demonstrating what opportunities are available in the summer and reflecting on what they took away from these experiences. We plan to continue the pattern of frequent TCU attendees at summer institutes and conferences!