Composing Women’s Civic Identities during the Progressive Era: College Commencement Addresses as Overlooked Rhetorical Sites

College Composition and Communication Feb 2010

Composing Women’s Civic Identities during the Progressive Era: College Commencement Addresses as Overlooked Rhetorical Sites

Suzanne Bordelon

Abstract

This essay examines women’s commencement addresses presented from 1910 to 1915 at Vassar College. These addresses are significant because they reveal the students’ rhetorical education and the “available means” upon which these women drew in developing a public voice. By prompting reflection and the potential for change, the commencement addresses also demonstrate the civic importance of epideictic rhetoric.

Journal: College Composition and Communication
Published: 2010-02-01
DOI: 10.58680/ccc20109958
Open Access: Closed
Topics: rhetorical theory multilingual writers voice and style

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