TODAY - Educated Hope and the Politics of Grace in Women’s Liberation Rhetoric by Jacqueline Rhodes, PhD - March 19, 5 to 6pm

What does it mean to show grace to history, especially when that history is problematic? Exploring the case of Shulamith Firestone and New York Radical Women, (key feminists from the late 1960s US women's liberation movement) Rhodes delves into such topics as intersectionality, gender norms, and feminist rhetorical method in order to complicate the easy reclamation or the simple dismissal of uncomfortable histories. Finally (and most important) Rhodes explores the notion of “grace” as it applies to historical/rhetorical method. Grace—or a kindly but intentional strategy of reading that allows for misstep, discomfort, or even passionate disagreement—serves as what José Esteban Muñoz might call a practice of educated hope: instead of focusing on what “ought to be” at the expense of “what could be,” grace can transform past problems into current theory and practical political action. 

Wednesday, March 19,  5 - 6 p.m.,  Kelley Center Presentation Room

The event is co-sponsored by Core Writing and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.