List of female rhetoricians

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Within the field of rhetoric, the contributions of female rhetoricians have often been overlooked. Anthologies comprising the history of rhetoric or rhetoricians often leave the impression there were none. Throughout history, however, there have been a significant number of women rhetoricians.

Contents

Re∙Vision—the act of looking back, of seeing with fresh eyes, of entering an old text from a new critical direction—is for women more than a chapter in cultural history: it is an act of survival. -Adrienne Rich

The following is a timeline of contributions made to the field of rhetoric by women.

Before Common Era

14th century

  • "Letter 83: To Mona Lapa, her mother, in Siena" (1376)

15th century

  • Letter to Bibulus, Sempronius, Defense of the Liberal Instruction of Women (1488)

17th century

  • Women's Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed by the Scriptures (1666)
  • sections of The Worlds Olio (1655)
  • Orations of Divers Sorts (1662)
  • The Female Academy in Playes (1662)

18th century

Nineteenth century

  • Life Among the Piutes (1883)

Twentieth century

  • Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions(1983)
  • Marilyn: Norma Jean (1986)
  • Revolution from Within (1992)
  • Moving beyond Words (1993)
  • Supremacy Crimes (1999)

Sources

  • Available Means: An Anthology of Women's Rhetoric. Ed. Richie, Joy & Kate Ronald. Pittsburgh: University Press, 2001.

References