Rachel Chapman
Degree and Focus Area
PhD, Rhetoric and Composition, focus on feminist rhetoric and pedagogy
Previous degrees/universities
MA in English, Oklahoma State University
BA in English, Oregon State University
Describe your research and its purpose/applications
My dissertation, “Defining Women’s Activism: Feminist Arguments for Membership and Memory in the Women’s March Archives,” develops the concept of “coalitional rhetoric” to theorize the relationship between alliance-building practices, membership, and memory as represented in the archives. I argue that coalitional rhetoric extends social movement rhetorics into the domain of archival construction—submission or selection criteria for acquisition practices that circulate selective histories. Through my analysis of public archives and the official Women’s March archives, I demonstrate how this new site for archival analysis illustrates the influence of archivists on coalitional memory. Drawing from rhetorical theory, communication, social movement rhetoric, and feminist rhetorical theory, my concept of coalitional rhetoric offers a robust analytic lens to address central questions regarding social movements, such as what argumentative strategies encourage group connections and how individuals connect across difference. I reveal how coalitions use rhetorical strategies through the archives to connect membership and memory, deploying archival construction to create and circulate unified histories for public memory.
Publications
“Intersectional Politics of Representation: The Rhetoric of Archival Construction in Women’s March Coalitional Memory.” Peitho: Journal of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition, vol. 22, no. 2, 2020. [forthcoming]
“GlobalEX: Creating a Collaborative Initiative for Enhancing Cross-Cultural Engagement.” Innovative Higher Education, vol. 44, no. 6, Dec. 2019, pp. 1-15. [co-authored with Catherine Wehlberg, Sarah Ruffing Robbins, and Ashley Hughes; peer-reviewed]
“Rethinking the Oxymoron: Situating Campbell’s ‘Rhetorics of Women’s Liberation’ in Waves of Feminist Rhetorical Practices.” Reinventing Rhetoric Scholarship: 50 Years of the Rhetoric Society of America, edited by Roxanne Mountford and Dave Tell, Parlor Press, Fall 2019. [in press]
“Identifying Yourself in the Research Process.” A Guide to Writing and Research at Oklahoma State and Beyond, edited by Ron Brooks, Jessica Fokken, and Benjamin Smith, Fountainhead, 2015, pp. 99-109.
“C5: Building a Body: Intersections of Technology, Literacy, and the Body in Online Spaces.” Digital Rhetoric Collaborative, 26 July 2015. www.digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org/2015/07/26/c5-building-a-body-intersections-of-technology-literacy-and-the-body-in-online-spaces/
Conference presentations
(selected) “Interrogating Political Commonplaces in Research through Frame Analysis.” CCCC: Conference on College Composition and Communication. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2020.
“Circulating Archival Activism: The Construction of Memory in the 2017 Women’s March.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Harrisonburg, VA, 2019.
“Cultivating Administrative Reciprocity for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at a PWI.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Harrisonburg, VA, 2019.
“Distance as Dynamic Method: Using Rhetorical Circulation to Study Networked Social Movements.” CCCC: Conference on College Composition and Communication. Philadelphia, PA, 2019.
“Rethinking the Oxymoron: Campbell’s ‘Rhetoric of Women’s Liberation’ and the Women’s March on Washington ‘Vision’ for Feminist Action.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference. Minneapolis, MN. May 2018.
“Enacting Intersectional Methodology: Three Sites of Feminist Rhetorical Resistance.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference. Minneapolis, MN. May 2018.
“Languaging towards Translingualism: A Roundtable Discussion on Transforming Relationships between International and U.S. Domestic Student Writers.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. Kansas City, MO. March 2018.
“A Call to Arms: Why Reciprocal Classroom Research Matters for Social Justice.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Dayton, OH. October 2017.
“Igniting Feminist Rhetorical Revolution through Intersectionality: An Interactive Session.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Dayton, OH. October 2017.
“Feminist Seeking Classroom Research: Tracing Studies of Feminist Pedagogy in Writing Courses.” Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2017 (Portland, OR)
“Negotiations of Identity and Power: Researching Academic Women and Conducting a Feminist Rhetorical Practice.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference, May 2016 (Atlanta, GA)
“Academic Women’s Clothing Choices and Perceptions of Identity.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference, October 2015 (Tempe, AZ)
“Terms of Engagement: Mapping Methods of Feminist Historiography.” With Hillary Coenen. Computers and Writing Conference, May 2015 (Menomonie, WI)
“Marks of Professionalism: Invisible Guidelines, Identity, and the Academic Gaze.” Conference on College Composition and Communication Conference, March 2015 (Tampa, FL)
“Identifying with a Contested Rhetor: Aspasia’s Rhetorical Validity and Feminist Historiographic Research.” Thomas R. Watson Conference, October 2014 (Louisville, KY)
Why TCU English?
TCU offered a supportive, dynamic environment to study rhetoric and develop myself as a teacher-scholar. Many rhetoric and composition faculty use feminist approaches to their teaching, research, and administration, and that environment has been ideal for me to thrive as a feminist rhetorician. The spirit of collaboration and camaraderie in this program has made a lasting, positive impression on my life and career.
What interests you about being involved in WBH?
I love the collaborative, encouraging atmosphere at TCU, and I think WBH embodies that attitude! It's exciting to discuss the latest scholarship with peers and professors. I love that we invite outside scholars to learn from, and that our workshops provide feedback for professional opportunities like conferences and institutes.
Fun Fact?
I love hiking, but most of all in the winter!
PhD, Rhetoric and Composition, focus on feminist rhetoric and pedagogy
Previous degrees/universities
MA in English, Oklahoma State University
BA in English, Oregon State University
Describe your research and its purpose/applications
My dissertation, “Defining Women’s Activism: Feminist Arguments for Membership and Memory in the Women’s March Archives,” develops the concept of “coalitional rhetoric” to theorize the relationship between alliance-building practices, membership, and memory as represented in the archives. I argue that coalitional rhetoric extends social movement rhetorics into the domain of archival construction—submission or selection criteria for acquisition practices that circulate selective histories. Through my analysis of public archives and the official Women’s March archives, I demonstrate how this new site for archival analysis illustrates the influence of archivists on coalitional memory. Drawing from rhetorical theory, communication, social movement rhetoric, and feminist rhetorical theory, my concept of coalitional rhetoric offers a robust analytic lens to address central questions regarding social movements, such as what argumentative strategies encourage group connections and how individuals connect across difference. I reveal how coalitions use rhetorical strategies through the archives to connect membership and memory, deploying archival construction to create and circulate unified histories for public memory.
Publications
“Intersectional Politics of Representation: The Rhetoric of Archival Construction in Women’s March Coalitional Memory.” Peitho: Journal of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition, vol. 22, no. 2, 2020. [forthcoming]
“GlobalEX: Creating a Collaborative Initiative for Enhancing Cross-Cultural Engagement.” Innovative Higher Education, vol. 44, no. 6, Dec. 2019, pp. 1-15. [co-authored with Catherine Wehlberg, Sarah Ruffing Robbins, and Ashley Hughes; peer-reviewed]
“Rethinking the Oxymoron: Situating Campbell’s ‘Rhetorics of Women’s Liberation’ in Waves of Feminist Rhetorical Practices.” Reinventing Rhetoric Scholarship: 50 Years of the Rhetoric Society of America, edited by Roxanne Mountford and Dave Tell, Parlor Press, Fall 2019. [in press]
“Identifying Yourself in the Research Process.” A Guide to Writing and Research at Oklahoma State and Beyond, edited by Ron Brooks, Jessica Fokken, and Benjamin Smith, Fountainhead, 2015, pp. 99-109.
“C5: Building a Body: Intersections of Technology, Literacy, and the Body in Online Spaces.” Digital Rhetoric Collaborative, 26 July 2015. www.digitalrhetoriccollaborative.org/2015/07/26/c5-building-a-body-intersections-of-technology-literacy-and-the-body-in-online-spaces/
Conference presentations
(selected) “Interrogating Political Commonplaces in Research through Frame Analysis.” CCCC: Conference on College Composition and Communication. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2020.
“Circulating Archival Activism: The Construction of Memory in the 2017 Women’s March.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Harrisonburg, VA, 2019.
“Cultivating Administrative Reciprocity for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at a PWI.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Harrisonburg, VA, 2019.
“Distance as Dynamic Method: Using Rhetorical Circulation to Study Networked Social Movements.” CCCC: Conference on College Composition and Communication. Philadelphia, PA, 2019.
“Rethinking the Oxymoron: Campbell’s ‘Rhetoric of Women’s Liberation’ and the Women’s March on Washington ‘Vision’ for Feminist Action.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference. Minneapolis, MN. May 2018.
“Enacting Intersectional Methodology: Three Sites of Feminist Rhetorical Resistance.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference. Minneapolis, MN. May 2018.
“Languaging towards Translingualism: A Roundtable Discussion on Transforming Relationships between International and U.S. Domestic Student Writers.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. Kansas City, MO. March 2018.
“A Call to Arms: Why Reciprocal Classroom Research Matters for Social Justice.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Dayton, OH. October 2017.
“Igniting Feminist Rhetorical Revolution through Intersectionality: An Interactive Session.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference. Dayton, OH. October 2017.
“Feminist Seeking Classroom Research: Tracing Studies of Feminist Pedagogy in Writing Courses.” Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 2017 (Portland, OR)
“Negotiations of Identity and Power: Researching Academic Women and Conducting a Feminist Rhetorical Practice.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference, May 2016 (Atlanta, GA)
“Academic Women’s Clothing Choices and Perceptions of Identity.” Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference, October 2015 (Tempe, AZ)
“Terms of Engagement: Mapping Methods of Feminist Historiography.” With Hillary Coenen. Computers and Writing Conference, May 2015 (Menomonie, WI)
“Marks of Professionalism: Invisible Guidelines, Identity, and the Academic Gaze.” Conference on College Composition and Communication Conference, March 2015 (Tampa, FL)
“Identifying with a Contested Rhetor: Aspasia’s Rhetorical Validity and Feminist Historiographic Research.” Thomas R. Watson Conference, October 2014 (Louisville, KY)
Why TCU English?
TCU offered a supportive, dynamic environment to study rhetoric and develop myself as a teacher-scholar. Many rhetoric and composition faculty use feminist approaches to their teaching, research, and administration, and that environment has been ideal for me to thrive as a feminist rhetorician. The spirit of collaboration and camaraderie in this program has made a lasting, positive impression on my life and career.
What interests you about being involved in WBH?
I love the collaborative, encouraging atmosphere at TCU, and I think WBH embodies that attitude! It's exciting to discuss the latest scholarship with peers and professors. I love that we invite outside scholars to learn from, and that our workshops provide feedback for professional opportunities like conferences and institutes.
Fun Fact?
I love hiking, but most of all in the winter!
