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.

Webinar: Asian Women and the Model Minority Myth in North America (1/18/21)

Please join us for this important event, a part of the Coalition’s Feminist Scholarship Webinar Series!

Tuesday, January 18, 4:30-6:00 PM Eastern Time

Registration is required. Please register using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtceqgpz4sGNOboyD3F_P2tBVrFAOnCqEM


From the recent mass shooting in Atlanta, to the high profile case of Brock Turner, to the historic discrimination against Asian women in North American immigration policy, violence against Asian women is part of the legacy of racism and white supremacy in the United States and Canada. One of the stereotypes that this legacy draws upon is the Model Minority myth, which is the idea that Asians are quiet good minorities who exceed at all levels: academically, economically, professionally. This panel explores and reflects on the harm created by the Model Minority myth in shaping constructions of gender/sexuality of Asian women.

Session Leaders:

Dr. Kim Hong Nguyen Dr. Kim Hong Nguyen (she/they): Moderator, Associate Professor Communication Arts University of Waterloo

 

 

 

Dr. Thy PhuDr. Thy Phu (she/her)Distinguished Professor of Race, Diaspora and Visual Justice in the Department of Arts, Culture, and Media at the University of Toronto, Scarborough

 

 

Dr. Jennifer Sano-Franchini Dr. Jennifer Sano-Franchini (she/her): incoming (2022) Gaziano Family Legacy Professor of Rhetoric and Writing Studies at West Virginia University

 

 

Nisha Shanmugaraj Nisha Shanmugaraj (she/her)fourth year PhD Candidate in Rhetoric at Carnegie Mellon University, Winner of the Coalition’s Shirley Wilson Logan Diversity Scholarship Award

 

 

Dr. Shui-Yin Sharon Yam Dr. Shui-Yin Sharon Yam (she/her)Associate Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies at the University of Kentucky

Peitho 24.1 (Fall 2021) Now Live!

"Sunrise at the International Space Station" from NASA. Image description: a vertical rectangle showing a dramatic sunrise, with the bottom half of the image black. The sunrise is shown as bands of color: red, orange, yellow, with the sun at the right side of the image. Above the sun is a gradient blue sky with a light blue band surrounding the sun and progressively darker blue toward the top of the image. In the bottom left corner is the word Peitho in a sans-serif font in a sunrise gradient. Underneath that are the words "Volume 24.1 Fall 2021."The most recent issue of Peitho (Volume 24.1, Fall 2021) is now live! Please take some time to enjoy tributes to the late Lisa Ede (contributed by Michael J. Faris, Jessica Restaino, Asao B. Inoue, Vicki Tolar Burton, Tim Jensen, Kristy Kelly, Sarah Tinker Perrault, Ehren Helmut Pflugfelder, and Rachel Daugherty), articles by Zosha Stuckey, Emily January Petersen, Breanne Matheson, Megan J. Busch, and Ashley Canter, Recoveries and Reconsiderations by Mary LeRouge, Jacyln Fiscus-Cannaday, Susan Ghiaciuc, Cathryn Molloy, and Vanessa Rouillon, and Nanette Rasband Hilton’s review of Opportunities for Feminist Research in Rhetoric and Composition edited by Jessica Enoch and Jordynn Jack. 

Many thanks to the Editorial Team that made this issue possible: Co-Editors Rebecca Dingo and Clancy Ratliff, Associate Editor Temptaous Mckoy, and Editorial Assistants Kelli Lycke Martin, Stacie Klinowski, Ashley Canter, and Stacy Earp.  

Online Event! “Let’s Talk about Mentoring: A Feminist Approach to Compassion and Care in Academic Spaces” (Tues. 11/9, 4-5:30 PM EST)

The Coalition is very pleased to present the first event in our 2021-2022 Feminist Scholarship Webinar Series! Read below for details, and don’t forget to register by November 2nd!


Image including the details of the Event. The title is "Let’s talk about mentoring: A feminist approach to compassion and care in academic spaces." The date and time are: Tuesday November 9, 2021 1pm PST/4pm EST -2:30pm PST/5:30pm EST

***Please register for the event by Tuesday, November 2nd
Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvcumtqDsoHt1DNhwJamnw_6ZZvL_XfCp1 

Join our charla to explore how feminist mentoring can help shape academia into a compassionate and caring place for BIPOC students and faculty. Drawing on our award-winning work on comadrismo, a feminist mentoring approach based on kinship and care, this webinar provides space for reflection, conversation, and practical takeaways to facilitate the success of underrepresented populations.

 

One week before the webinar, participants will be invited to read the article and participate in s Slack discussion facilitated by Sonia and Ana. Drs. Ribero and Arellano are winners of the 2021 Kathleen Ethel Welch Outstanding Article Award for “Advocating Comadrismo: A Feminist Mentoring Approach for Latinas in Rhetoric and Composition,” published in Peitho (21.2, 2019).

Your session leaders from left to right: Ana Milena Ribero, Sonia Arellano, Mallory Henderson, Genevieve Garcia de Mueller

Feminisms and Rhetorics 2023: Call for Site Hosts

The Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric & Composition (CFHSRC) is pleased to invite proposals for hosting for the 2023 Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference. The CFSHRC’s Conference Committee and Executive Board seek hosts who are committed to creating a conference that is antiracist, inclusive, and accessible. We welcome interdisciplinary, as well as cross-institutional, collaborative hosting arrangements.

Proposals should be submitted to Jessica Enoch, Coordinator of the CFSHRC Conference Committee, at vice-president@cfshrc.org, by December 1, 2021.

What are we looking for in a site proposal?
Proposals for the 2023 conference should

  • explain plans to “front themes of antiracist activism and center the work of feminists of color,” in keeping with the CFSHRC summer 2020 resolution.
  • identify ways to amplify the voices of disabled scholars and emerging scholars
  • articulate possibilities for antiracist, inclusive conferencing practices through conference planning, featured events, conference themes, and programming
  • address how conference organizers will engage the complexity of their conference location, e.g., acknowledging racist or other exclusionary practices that inform the history of the campus and/or the local community
  • describe strategies to ensure accessibility for all conference participants
  • discuss steps to promote affordability: how will the costs of travel, lodging, food, etc. be approached in order to keep registration costs manageable for those who have limited or no funding? Feminisms and Rhetorics has traditionally drawn around 400 registrants and the conference has been held in the fall, historically starting on a Wednesday and running through Saturday afternoon. In the interest of affordability, we are happy to consider alternative time frames moving forward. Details about previous conferences, along with a hosting FAQ, can be found on our website: https://cfshrc.org/femrhet-conference-call-for-hosts/

Proposal Components
While there is no set format, we encourage proposers to address the following areas:

Conferencing Plans

  • Possible theme(s)
  • Potential keynote speakers and/or featured sessions
  • Ideas for special events and/or social events, particularly programming that amplifies scholars of color, disabled scholars, and emerging scholars
  • Ideas for programming that welcomes participants new to the Coalition and Feminisms and Rhetorics. Applicants might consider programming that moves beyond presenting formal papers to programming around mentorship, community-building, community outreach, pedagogical investments, mentoring, etc.

Venue Information

  • Location: institution, cross-institutional, town/city, region
  • Facilities: meeting rooms, exhibition space, technical resources
  • Possibilities for community outreach and/or engagement with historical-present-day complexity of the site

Conference Details

  • Tentative dates for the conference and for submission of abstracts/proposals from potential presenters
  • Rationale for date selection and opportunities that come with these dates

Accessibility

  • Access to local interpreters and CART services
  • Connection to/collaborations campus/institutional accessibility office
  • Identification of possibilities and opportunities to welcome and amplify the work of disabled scholars
  • See note about Access Coordinator and Coalition Conference Committee below

Travel, Accommodations, and Commitments to Affordability

  • Distance from international airport/s
  • Estimated travel costs from a range of major cities
  • Access by bus, cab, coach, train, etc. and costs
  • Travel between conference venue and accommodation
  • Lodging: university/hotel options, location in relation to conference venue, capacity, costs per person/night, discount rate options
  • Meal options and costs
  • Attention to affordability and cost-savings

Organization and Support

  • Conference committee participants: Details about organizers, responsibilities, administrative support, etc.
  • Institutional support: Level and nature of possible department/institution involvement and funding
  • Additional support: Details of funds, facilities, sponsorship or other involvement from additional organizations

What can the CFSHRC offer site hosts?
Beginning with the 1997 “From Boundaries to Borderlands” conference at Oregon State, the Feminisms and Rhetorics conference has been a centerpiece of the Coalition, serving as an intimate, dynamic, and engaging gathering place for feminist scholars to exchange ideas, build community, and create support networks. To support the teams who make these conferences possible, the Coalition provides the following for FemRhet site hosts:

  1. $2000 seed money, which does not need to be returned later, to conference hosts;
  2. Funding for offsetting costs for graduate students (25% of any proceeds from the previous FemRhet conference). Conference hosts are to use these proceeds specifically to reduce expenses of attending the conference for graduate students;
  3. Flexibility for scheduling the conference. As noted, Feminisms and Rhetorics has traditionally been a fall conference. We recognize that such scheduling may mean higher costs, particularly given greater demand on campus and community resources during the semester. Thus, we ask only that, when determining possible dates for the conference, potential site hosts  be sensitive to the dates of other, similar conferences;
  4. Assistance from our newly established Conference Committee to help ensure  an antiracist, accessible, and inclusive conference experience for all. This committee will work with the Feminisms and Rhetorics Host Committee. Assistance from the Conference Committee includes
    • Funding and arranging for the training of a conference Access Coordinator. The Access Coordinator will be selected by and become a member of the local site host committee. Their work will involve coordinating the majority of access services for the conference, including an accessibility guide for the conference.
    • Providing guidance and support for inclusive conferencing practices such as  an antiracist, inclusive, anti-ableist proposal review process and the selection and engagement of featured speakers or sessions.
    • Creating a Rapid Response Team (RRT) tasked with collecting feedback and responding, in a timely fashion, to grievances relating to antiracism, inclusion, or accessibility during the conference.

The Conference Committee is happy to speak with potential site hosts. Please direct any questions about hosting or the site host proposal process to Jessica Enoch, Coordinator of the CFSHRC Conference Committee, at vicepresident@cfshrc.org.

Fellowship Pods Registration Now Open! Register by 7-19

Hello Coalition!

I am writing to open the registration process for the Fellowship Pods Program. This program is intended to help foster community-building among the Coalition’s membership. You can find more details about the program, which will run from July 2021 through May 2022, here: https://cfshrc.org/announcing-the-fellowship-pods-program/

Steps to register for the program:

  1. If needed, activate or renew your Coalition membership here: https://cfshrc.org/membership-join/ If you are financially unable to become a member at this time but still wish to participate in the Fellowship Pods Program, please let me know.

  1. Read the list of themed pods here:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/151iFr7TDQVmofsHttyj2dFsBiXrhOXIssGXJy00DgHg/edit?usp=sharing (Remember: You can choose to join a pod without a pre-established focus. Joining a pod without a pre-established focus will allow you and your pod members to collectively decide how you will spend your time together.)

  1. Complete and submit the registration form: https://forms.gle/WJgAS2oavvrm5yQ79

The deadline to register for the program is July 19.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions and concerns you have about the program or registration process. Also, thank you so much to everyone who proposed a themed pod. Unsurprisingly, your suggestions are amazing.

Sincerely,
Mudiwa
mpettus@mec.cuny.edu

BIG NEWS from Peitho

I’m happy to share two exciting happenings from Peitho!

  1. Peitho 23.3 is now live! Access it HERE!!! Big thanks to the Peitho editorial team–Jen Wingard, Temptaous McKoy, and Rachelle A.C. Joplin–for putting together this excellent issue and to Abigail Morris at East Carolina University for getting it formatted and posted to the website.
  2. We are thrilled to introduce Kelli Lycke as the new Peitho Web Coordinator! Kelli joins incoming editors Clancy Ratliff and Rebecca Dingo and continuing Associate Editor Temptaous McKoy to round out your next Peitho editorial team.
    image of Kelli Lycke, incomimg Peitho Web Coordinator

    Kelli Lycke

    Currently, Kelli is a second-year PhD student in the Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English program at the University of Arizona. Her research interests include public monuments, memorials, and other commemorative material texts. Kelli also enjoys experimenting with film and web texts as compositions, as well as teaching students how to use technology in new and interesting ways. When she’s not working or studying, she plays board games and bicycles with her two pitbulls. In her role as the Web Coordinator, she hopes to establish great relationships with prospective authors.

All best,

Wendy Sharer, President CFSHRC

Announcing the Fellowship Pods Program

I am happy to announce that the Coalition has established The Fellowship Pods Program, a non-hierarchical fellowship program to foster community-building among its membership. The program is designed to respond to members’ calls for a re-imagining and re-structuring of coalition networks that have fostered a culture of elitism and bias. Distinct from the Coalition’s existing mentoring programs that offer guidance regarding professionalization and publication, the Fellowship Pods program will provide space for members to think, organize, and revel with other members around collectively chosen topics and shared interests.

The Coalition hopes that the Fellowship Pods Program will help

  • disrupt charismatic models of leadership in the Coalition
  • encourage participants to establish and maintain relationships with the Coalition membership beyond the confines of Feminism and Rhetorics conferencing, and
  • foster membership collaboration on research, teaching, and community engagement & social justice projects 

The program will run from July 2021 through May 2022. In July, program participants will be assigned to a pod (small group of Coalition members), and, in their first meeting(s), members will determine the anticipated topics and activities that will animate their pod’s year-long dialogue and/or collective action. 

THE ASKS:

  1. If you are interested in the Fellowship Pods Program, please email me (mpettus@mec.cuny.edu) and then anticipate receiving an email from me later in the month that provides more information about the initiative, including details about the enrollment process. Note that, to register and participate, you will need to be a member of the Coalition. You can join the Coalition via our website. Rates are $10/year for graduate students and $25/year for faculty (other membership categories and options are available on the website as well). If you are financially unable to become a member at this time but still wish to participate in the Fellowship Pods Program, please let us know.
  2. The Coalition hopes that much of the community-building in the pods will happen organically, so pod members are asked to determine the focus of their fellowship in conversation with each other. Additionally, I want to honor requests that space for identity-based, career-focused, and other themed-pods, including pods based on hobbies and crafts, be created. Therefore, if you would like to join a pod with a pre-established focus, please email me the specific theme and a brief description of the pod you would like established by June 21, 2021. I will advertise these themed-pods during the general enrollment period so that other program participants may elect to join them, if they desire. 

(Note: If you do not wish to join a pod with a pre-established focus, your first action for the program will be to complete the enrollment process later in the summer.)

Please feel encouraged to email me with any questions and concerns. I am serving as the coordinator of the program during its first year, and I welcome all feedback about the program. 

Sincerely,

Mudiwa Pettus (she/her)
CFSHRC Executive Board Member-at-Large
Assistant Professor of English
Medgar Evers College, CUNY
mpettus@mec.cuny.edu