Feminist Research In The History Of Rhetoric By Patricia Bizzell

In her text, “Opportunities for Feminist Research in the History of Rhetoric,” Patricia Bizzell references historical figures along with personal experiences to discuss the lack of feminist research in the history of rhetoric and outlines three approaches that will help diminish the issue. Bizzell’s purpose throughout the piece is not only to make the audience aware of the issue, but to ensure that the audience understands the issue’s importance and the possible approaches that may be worth exploring. Through her work, she argues that there is needed research on women and rhetoric due to the fact that its history is overpowered by the “traditional white-male elite.” (50). Bizzell claims that three approaches worth exploring are to be “resisting readers” by noticing aspects of the canonical texts that were originally supposed to go unnoticed by readers, recovering female authored texts which employ traditional rhetorical strategies, and locating work by women that has not previously

For example, as an attempt to persuade the readers into being a resisting reader, Bizzell introduces examples of the white, elite male hovering over the history of rhetoric and immediately discusses that there is no rhetorical equivalent to a Jane Austin or Emily Dickinson when comparing the highest-ranked rhetoricians. She uses this as a doorway to lead the reader into the issue and provides a possible solution to the issue by including the example of herself being a resisting reader. She discusses how while reading The Praise of Folly by Erasmus, she created her own argument regarding Folly’s character even though that was not what the author had intended. (52). By using herself as an example, Bizzell helps persuade her audience into noticing the fragments in texts, looking into the details of various texts and analyzing the mannerisms of the women