Anglo-American Feminist Challenges to the Rhetorical Traditions

“Anglo-American Feminist Chal­lenges demonstrates that both rhetoric and composition studies are concerned with the composition of subjects and cultures in language. Ratcliffe’s book thus truly joins rhetoric with composition studies, raising and answering questions that drive each field: How does language compose subjects and cultures? How can we use language to compose subjects and cultures differently? How can rhetoric and composition studies be a way to theorize our own positioning in relationship to an Other? What possibilities are available and unavailable to us and our students in canonical and noncanonical discourses? Ratcliffe’s pro­vocative study demonstrates that feminist work on writing and language must inform and transform rhetoric and composition studies.”—JAC “While Ratcliffe ends with a familiar nod to composition studies, her work is, nevertheless, after a much larger revolution, one that transcends any particular site. That revolution is the ongoing effort to define a more interdisciplinary scope for rhetoric. Her rereadings suggest that there are other rereadings to be done of theorists whose work has not been recognized as rhetoric but who could lead us out of the relentlessly gender- and ethnicity-blind canon of rhetoric we have inherited. Her work also shows that these new theories could inspire a broad range of work: composition pedagogy, political activism, cultural work beyond the academy, critique and study of other academic fields, and enriched analysis of public discourse.”—Rhetoric Review "I’m impressed with the ground-breaking work this author has done. I believe this book has the potential to be a significant contribution to the new field of feminist studies in composition and rhetoric. There is a need to transform existing traditions through feminist readings."—Susan Jarratt, Miami University