History/criticism of rhetoric of feminism from 19th century to present. This course examines the rhetoric of feminism over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and introduces students to the key concepts, debates, and contributions emerging from the feminist movement. We will explore classic texts to discover how feminists have constructed arguments on behalf of women, and students will craft their own arguments in relation to feminist claims. We will also interrogate why certain articulations of feminism become prominent and who gets to speak for women as a group. Topics covered include the existential nature of Woman; the politics of housework; social contract theory and the sexual contract; biopower; and the sex, gender, sexuality matrix. As a writing intensive course, the class is designed to enhance your critical reading and writing skills. Reading may appear to be a straightforward activity requiring no special attention or training; in fact, the kind of reading expected in academic contexts is a skill that must be learned and practiced. Likewise, writing effective arguments in lucid prose is a competence that requires instruction and exercise. Thus, these two scholarly challenges - close reading and argumentative writing - are fundamentally linked: to write persuasively, one must be able to analyze the substance of arguments as well as their rhetorical structure. Throughout this course, we will develop our skills in these vital academic areas.