FOUR Upcoming Awards: Call for Nominations!

Coalition Friends,

While we are not even halfway through April, I know that June and July will come quickly, so I want to make sure that you have these FOUR upcoming award deadlines on your radars:

  1. The 2023 Presidents Dissertation Award (6/15 deadline)
  2. The Lisa Ede Mentoring Award (6/15 deadline)
  3. The Shirley Wilson Logan Diversity Scholarship Award (7/7 deadline: requires acceptance to Feminism & Rhetorics Conference)
  4. The Nan Johnson Graduate Student Travel Award (7/7 deadline; requires acceptance to Feminisms & Rhetorics Conference)

I encourage you nominate yourself or others for the Presidents Dissertation Award and the Lisa Ede Mentoring Award, and I hope that, after acceptance notices come out for the 2023 Feminisms & Rhetorics Conference, you will consider applying for the Nan Johnson and/or Shirley Wilson Logan Awards! Details about each of the awards follow.

2023 PRESIDENTS DISSERTATION AWARD

The CFSHRC Presidents Dissertation Award is given to the author(s) of a recently completed doctoral dissertation that makes an outstanding contribution to our understanding of feminist histories, theories, and pedagogies of rhetoric and composition. This award is adjudicated every year and carries a $200.00 honorarium. The award will be conferred at the 2023 Feminisms & Rhetorics Conference, September 30 – October 3, at Spelman College in Atlanta.

Please see the award description for eligibility criteria, previous award winners, and application details. Applications are due June 15, 2023.

LISA EDE MENTORING AWARD

The Lisa Ede Mentoring Award is presented biennially in odd years to an individual or group with a career-long record of mentorship. In this case, “mentoring” can include formal and informal advising of students and colleagues; leadership in campus, professional and/or local communities; and other activities that align with the overall mission and goals of the Coalition. The award carries an honorarium of $200 per person or $500 for a group of three or more people and is announced at the Feminisms & Rhetorics Conference.

Please see the award description for eligibility criteria, previous award winners, and nomination/application details. Applications are due June 15, 2023.

SHIRLEY WILSON LOGAN DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

The Shirley Wilson Logan Diversity Scholarship is presented biennially in odd years to encourage feminist scholarship (particularly historical in nature) by graduate scholars from diverse and historically un or underrepresented groups.

The award is given to first-time presenters at the Feminisms & Rhetorics conference. The award includes both a monetary award ($500 each for up to 6 awardees) and participation in a specially designated session at the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference.

Please see the award description for eligibility criteria, previous recipients, and application details. Applications are due July 7, 2023.

NAN JOHNSON OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD

The Nan Johnson Outstanding Graduate Student Travel Award is presented biennially in odd years to graduate students working in the field of composition and rhetoric and it recognizes outstanding scholarship and research in the areas of feminist pedagogy, practice, history, and theory.

The award is designed to enable students to attend the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference by providing $200.00 travel stipends plus conference registration. The awards will be announced at the 2023 Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference.

See the award description for eligibility criteria, previous recipients, and application details. Applications are due July 7, 2023.

Please feel free to contact me (sharerw@ecu.edu) with any questions. I look forward to receiving your nominations and applications!

-Wendy Sharer, Immediate Past President and Awards Coordinator

FemRhet 2023: Awards Committees Volunteers Needed

Hello Coalition!

By now you have likely seen the exciting CFP for Feminisms and Rhetorics at Spelman College, September 30- October 3. In anticipation of this amazing event, the Coalition needs your help reviewing submissions for a handful of awards to be presented in Atlanta.Are you able to help by serving on an award committee? If so, please follow this link and complete the brief survey of interest: https://forms.gle/oj8JZG7vUct5yiAo9Awards to be made at FemRhet 2023 are described briefly below. More details about each award, including submission and past recipient information, can be found on the CFSHRC website’s Awards page: https://cfshrc.org/awards/.

  • The 2023 Presidents Dissertation Award is given to the author(s) of a recently completed doctoral dissertation that makes an outstanding contribution to our understanding of feminist histories, theories, and pedagogies of rhetoric and composition. This award is adjudicated every year and carries a $200.00 honorarium. 
  • The Shirley Wilson Logan Diversity Scholarship Award is intended to encourage feminist scholarship (particularly historical in nature) by graduate scholars from diverse and historically un or underrepresented groups.  The award will be given to first-time presenters at the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference and includes both a monetary award ($500 each for up to 6 awardees) and participation in a specially designated session at the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference.
  • The Nan Johnson Graduate Student Travel Award is presented biennially in odd years to graduate students working in the field of composition and rhetoric and it recognizes outstanding scholarship and research in the areas of feminist pedagogy, practice, history, and theory. The award is designed to enable students to attend the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference by providing $200.00 travel stipends plus conference registration.
  • The Lisa Ede Mentoring Award is presented biennially in odd years to an individual or group with a career-record of mentorship, including formal and informal advising of students and colleagues; leadership in campus, professional, and/or local communities; and other activities that align with the overall mission and goals of the Coalition. The award carries an honorarium of $200.00 per person or $500.00 for a group of three or more people and is announced at the biennial Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference.

My thanks in advance for your willingness to help, and feel free to contact me at sharerw@ecu.edu if you have questions. -Wendy Sharer, Immediate Past President and Awards Coordinator

MENTORS NEEDED: CFSHRC Online Mentoring Program

In response to continued interest, the Coalition is again offering our online mentoring program this year. A version of the announcement below about the program went out in early September, and we received many responses, but we received several more requests for mentors than we can accommodate based on the number of people who volunteered to serve as mentors.  If you are able to serve as an online mentor, please contact Wendy Sharer (sharerw@ecu.edu), Immediate Past President, at your earliest convenience.  

We welcome all who are interested, but we have particular need for scholars who can help in the following research and professional development areas:

  • Article and/or book preparation, including dissertation-to-publication advice
  • Time management and work/life balance
  • Rhetorics of science, health, and medicine
  • Feminist pedagogy
  • Digital rhetorics/writing
  • Administration/moving into administrative roles

My sincere thanks in advance for your assistance!

-Wendy Sharer, Immediate Past President

___________________________________________________________

CFSHRC Online Mentoring Program, 2022-2023

Whether you are new to the program or are returning to it, the online mentoring arrangement is a way for us to share knowledge about research, teaching, activism, and professional development by matching mentor-mentee pairs who will collaboratively establish a schedule whereby the mentee can make good progress on an agreed-upon project (i.e., job market/prepping application materials; planning research projects/fieldwork; writing/revising materials for publication; developing a syllabus; applying for grants; etc.) within six months or less. Mentors and mentees may continue to work together beyond one six-month cycle if desired.

We want to be as flexible as possible so that mentoring pairs can figure out what works best for them, but we do offer some suggestions for getting started:

  • Determine which specific project you would like to work on with a mentor, or whether you would like help with less tangible things, such as gaining confidence in coursework or dealing with challenges in your workplace.
  • Determine how long you plan to commit. You may wish to start with a six-month commitment, and see how it goes.
  • Determine how often you would like to check-in with your mentor/mentee. Do you want to engage weekly, bi-weekly, monthly? What makes the most sense for your goals and schedules?
  • Determine which medium works best for your relationship (Zoom, WebEx, Facetime, email, phone, etc.).

Feel free to direct any questions to sharerw@ecu.edu.

All best,

Wendy Sharer,
Immediate Past President

CFSHRC 2022 Volunteer Survey

Today, April 15th, marks the end of my term as President of the Coalition. The CFSHRC has accomplished a lot in the past 2 years, in spite of a global pandemic that prevented us from meeting in person. I cannot thank everyone who contributed to our many initiatives and events enough!! I am very excited to see where our new Advisory Board and Executive Board, headed by President Jessica Enoch, will take us next.

As we move forward, I hope all Coalition members and supporters will continue generously offering their time, effort, and brilliance to existing and emerging Coalition initiatives. To this end, I ask that you take a few moments to complete the 2022 CFSHRC Volunteer Survey (https://forms.gle/m5bTAaPRLYaahZje7). We have many possibilities—of varying types and time commitments—available for you to engage with our work, and we *need* your support to make that work happen!

Please complete the survey by no later than Wednesday, May 4th.

With much gratitude,

Wendy Sharer,  Immediate Past President

The Coalition Seeks an Archivist/Historian (apply by April 20, 2022)

CFSHRC Archivist and Historian: Call for Applicants

The Coalition invites applications for the position of Archivist and Historian. The person in this role will oversee the curation, organization, navigation, and promotion of the Coalition’s administrative archive, which contains meeting minutes, organizational correspondence, and other similar documents related to the Coalition as well as the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference and Peitho journal.

Position description: The CFSHRC Archivist and Historian will take responsibility for building and maintaining the Coalition’s archives in both digital and, as relevant, analog forms. This work will include ongoing collection and curation of administrative documents from members of the CFSHRC Executive and Advisory Boards, the Conference Site Hosts for the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference, and the editorial team of Peitho. The Archivist and Historian will also actively pursue the acquisition of relevant materials from past and present CFSHRC members.

Building on the substantial, foundational work of our first Archivist and Historian, Alexis Ramsey-Tobienne, the Archivist and Historian will also oversee the organization and searchability of the materials currently included in the Coalition’s digital archive and will design and implement initiatives to publicize materials held therein and to educate current and future members of the Coalition about the organization’s challenges and accomplishments.

Appointment and eligibility: The CFSHRC Archivist and Historian will be selected by a committee established by the CFSHRC President and will serve a 2-year term that will conclude in April 2024, with the option of reapplication and reappointment for a total of three, two-year terms served. This role will have Ex Officio status on the Advisory Board unless the individual appointed is already an elected Advisory Board member. All CFSHRC members are eligible to apply except next term’s officers (including the Member-at-Large). Applicants must be current members of the Coalition. To confirm membership status, please contact Coalition Treasurer Jane Greer at treasurer@cfshrc.org.

To apply: By Wednesday, April 20th, email a cover letter and current CV to outgoing Coalition President Wendy Sharer at (sharerw@ecu.edu). In the cover letter, please explain

  • your interest in the position,
  • your ideas for fulfilling the role,
  • your qualifications, including (but not limited to) relevant experience with archival work and scholarship.

Potential applicants are welcome to send preliminary questions to Wendy Sharer (sharerw@ecu.edu).

 

Call for Nominations: 2022-2024 CFSHRC Advisory Board (2/4 Nomination Deadline)

The Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition seeks nominations for its active Advisory Board for the 2022-2024 term. Both peer- and self-nominations are encouraged.The Coalition, founded in 1989, fosters inquiry in feminist histories, theories, and pedagogies of rhetoric and composition. As a network of diverse teachers and scholars, the Coalition promotes intersectionality, collaboration, and communication in the following areas:

  • the advancement of feminist research and pedagogy across histories, locales, identities, materialities, and media;
  • the education and mentoring of feminist faculty and graduate students in scholarship, research methods, praxis, and the politics of the profession.

As an organization of dedicated individuals and groups, we seek to cultivate a dynamic, intellectually challenging, and professionally nurturing community. We welcome and sustain all who do feminist work, inclusive of all genders, sexualities, races, classes, nationalities, religions, abilities, and other identities, in their research and/or classrooms.Most importantly, we are a busy and growing organization, offering many opportunities for involvement. Advisory Board members contribute to the Coalition in ways such as the following:

  • serving on organizational committees (e.g., standing committees as well as award and ad hoc committees);
  • serving on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed, quarterly journal Peitho;
  • liaising with the conference organizers of our biennial Feminisms and Rhetorics conference;
  • facilitating mentoring tables at the Coalition’s annual 4Cs session; and
  • attending scheduled Advisory Board meetings during the 2022-2024 term

Notes about Process:

  • To make a nomination, please send the nominee’s name, current institutional affiliation, and e-mail contact information. I will then reach out to the candidate to ask for supporting materials. Supporting materials include: a letter explaining their interest in serving on the AB and a CV. In the case of self-nominations, nominees will submit these materials to me.
  • Nominees need not already be members of the Coalition, but they will be asked to join upon accepting their nomination.

Please submit all nominations and self-nominations to Jess Enoch (jenoch1@umd.edu) by Friday, February 4th. Supporting materials will be due Monday, February 14th.

With thanks,

Jessica Enoch

Vice-President, CFSHRC

Annual Coalition Wednesday Evening Event: Online, 3/23, 6-8 PM (Eastern)

The Coalition is pleased to announce that we will host our annual “Wednesday Evening Event” via Zoom again this year. While we were not able to fit the session into the limited schedule for the now virtual Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), we hope you will join us for an engaging evening of discussion about the guiding values and priorities of feminist scholars, teachers, and activists in the field. Details are below.

Note that registration, which is free, is required. Registrants will receive a program for the event via email as the date nears.

REGISTER HERE: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpceigpzovH9RcfIwLsWfzCvdqbd6Loqwr


What do we really value?

Creating a Shared Values Statement to Guide Inclusivity

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

6:00-8:00 PM, via Zoom

with Chicago-based facilitator Julia Perkins, Founder and Chief Strategist, MBMD Strategic Consultants

Julia Perkins

Peitho Seeking Short Memorial Pieces on bell hooks (deadline 2-28)

The Coalition mourns the passing of bell hooks on December 15, 2021. In recognition of her immeasurable legacy, the editorial team at Peitho, the journal of  the Coalition, invites short memorial pieces for the winter 2022 issue. Contributions might reflect on how hooks influenced feminist teaching, research, activism, and more.

 

Reading Lisa Ede: A Tribute (Call for Presenters)

The Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition is pleased to announce “Reading Lisa Ede: A Tribute,” an April 2022 webinar dedicated to the scholarly legacy of Dr. Lisa Ede. The webinar will be held in mid- to late April. A specific date will be set after presenters are identified.This message is a call for presenters.Lisa Ede in front of bookshelf

The impetus for this event is Lisa’s own way of working. Here is just one example: In Situating Composition (2004), she invites us to reconsider our collective approach to making sense of and telling stories about our field. She asks—or wonders or dares: “Can scholars find ways to resist the tendency for taxonomies to totalize and to sever the connection between scholarly texts and materially embodied experiences? What if it were a common scholarly practice to read against the grain of—as well as with—taxonomies?” (104). 

In this spirit, we invite all colleagues who engage with Lisa’s scholarship, reading with and against the grain, to contact us. We are eager to hear from colleagues at all career stages, students through staff, independent scholars, community practitioners, and retirees. We also welcome examples drawn from all kinds of work, including completed or in-progress undergraduate research, graduate theses and dissertations, scholarly books and articles, pedagogical materials, and public- and community-facing resources. All genres, media, and modes are welcome. 

To make a nomination or self-nomination, send Jess Restaino and Jenn Fishman the following information: 

  • Your name
  • Your current institutional affiliation, academic or otherwise
  • Your current professional role 
  • If you are nominating someone, please offer their name, institutional affiliation, and their current professional role
  • A brief, 250-word description of your (or your nominee’s) engagement with Lisa’s scholarship, including the text(s) and passages you address as well as the genre, title, and audience of your own work. 

We welcome nominations that engage Lisa’s scholarly publications, including her textbooks and collaborative works, her conference presentations, and her public writing. Please contact Jess and Jenn with questions.

Nominations are due February 1st; notifications will be made by February 15th.

Call for Nominations: Graduate Student Representatives to the Executive and Advisory Boards / due January 15th

Join the 2022–2024 Leadership Team! Call for Nominations, due January 15th. 

Dear Coalition Friends,

A new term of service begins in April 2022, and the CFSHRC Advisory Board is now accepting nominations for our three graduate student representatives: one to serve on the Executive Board (EB), and two to serve on the Advisory Board (AB). All terms are two years in length, and can be renewable if a representative is still in graduate school when their first term completes. (Once graduate students complete their terms or are no longer eligible for re-appointment, they may apply to join the Advisory Board through the regular election process, which occurs biennially in even years.)

Members of both the EB and AB have voting rights, attend regular business meetings, can chair and serve on various committees, adjudicate awards, lead and enact special initiatives, and generally help guide the direction of the organization, though the Executive Board position typically involves a greater commitment of time and labor. Unique to the EB position is an opportunity to co-chair a standing committee on graduate student engagement in the CFSHRC.

For Executive Board nominations, please send the following to Tarez Graban, CFSHRC Immediate Past President, at tarez.graban@gmail.com, by January 15, 2022:

  • current CV
  • brief (2-3 paragraph) statement indicating your prior experiences with the CFSHRC and/or vision for serving on the CFSHRC’s executive board.

For Advisory Board nominations, please send the following to Jessica Enoch, CFSHRC Vice President, at vice-president@cfshrc.org, by January 15, 2022:

  • current CV
  • brief (2-3 paragraph) statement indicating your prior experiences with the CFSHRC and/or vision for serving on the CFSHRC’s advisory board.

A more formal description of advisory and executive board roles can be found in our bylaws here: https://cfshrc.org/about-us/#by-laws.

Come join us! There is always much work to do, and we need you!