#FemRhet2017 Recap: Day 1

By Sweta Gyanu Baniya and Rachel Chapman

The 11th Biennial Feminisms and Rhetorics Conference 2017 (#FemRhet2017) with the theme Rhetorics, Rights, and Revolution has kicked off at the University of Dayton (UD), Ohio on Oct 04, 2017. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the FemRhet conferences. More than 400 scholars from various institutions have gathered at the UD for the #FemRhet2017 conference this year.

The conference began with manuscript mentoring this morning. Junior scholars including graduate students provided drafts of all kinds of ongoing projects before the conference, and mentors volunteered their time and expertise to these projects in progress.

#FemRhet2017 started with a strong group of three sessions today. Presenters addressed a wide range of feminist issues, but also spoke to the need for public and academic feminism in the United States and worldwide.

 

#TeamFemRhet showed up strong to support these first day presenters!

Audience members shared their excitement for upcoming feminist collections, building on the important work from previous #FemRhet conferences!

The Women’s March on Washington was a common topic for presenters on Wednesday, and we’re excited to see such useful and generative analyses of public feminism in action. Jen Nish looked at the Global Women’s March as a revision of the US-centered Women’s March. Katelyn Burton Prager analyzed the notorious Women’s March pussy hats as a form of craftivism and feminist identification.

We also saw wonderful moments where colleagues and friends reunited in panels and at today’s events. We count ourselves lucky to be part of such a wonderful Coalition!

Here is the storify of the Day 1 of #FemRhet2017 on Twitter! https://storify.com/Sunkesharee/femrhet2017-day-1

As we look forward to the conference keynotes and other amazing events to come, we hope that you will continue to tweet with us! Coalition building starts here, #TeamFemRhet!