It is with great sadness that we post the following obituary, sent only moments ago by Andrea Lunsford. Andrea was the first to notify the Coalition membership of Nan’s passing, and has been in Columbus, Ohio with Nan’s family, attending to the news. – Tarez Graban

Nan Johnson, professor of English emerita at The Ohio State University, passed away peacefully on August 31, 2019, surrounded by her family and dear friends. Nan was born in Greeley, Colorado in 1951. At just one month old, she found herself aboard an Army transport aircraft headed to Germany where she, her mother Jean, and her older brother Robb joined dad Hugh who was assigned to a U.S. Army post-WW II EOD (Explosive Ordinance Division). After being posted all over the world, the family settled in Leavenworth, Kansas where Nan graduated from high school and later received a BA and MA from Kansas State University. Her growing interest in the field of rhetoric and literacy coupled with her not-so-hidden desire to become a rock star took her to California where she received a second MA and a Ph.D. at the University of Southern California, studying with the legendary Ross Winterowd and Marjorie Perloff. In 1981, she joined Andrea Lunsford in the University of British Columbia English Department, where she taught courses in the history of rhetoric and advanced writing. From 1990 until her retirement in 2018, she was professor of English at The Ohio State University, helping to build one of the most distinguished graduate programs in rhetoric and composition in the country.

Dear All,

The central terminal of the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa is architecturally significant. Some of the walls are constructed of polished geologic stone as if to mark the origins of the continent, and on some of these stone walls the traveler will see a carving or marquee with an African proverb. The attribution of these proverbs is interesting – sometimes they are unknown, sometimes they are far too broadly attributed, and at other times they are mis-attributed but have become woven into the postcolonial discourses of an African country nonetheless. Regardless of its origins, this particular proverb has come to my mind repeatedly over the past few months, as an indication of how the Coalition’s idea of feminist scholarship has informed – and continues to inform – the work of the field at large: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

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As our coalition expands, we are delighted that the number of our awards have also expanded to celebrate the outstanding work of our members at all stages of their careers. Join us as we celebrate the winners recognized the 2017 Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference. Additionally, we hope that you will consider nominating yourself or someone you know for our upcoming awards: the Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award and the Feminist Research Grant.  Read more