Dear feminist colleagues,
In short: You want to do this.
The tl;dr: In honor of the upcoming anniversary of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition, we invite all mid- to late-career feminist scholars in rhetoric and composition to share advice with current and future colleagues via this form. We will include everyone who completes the form by 8/28 in our proposal for an article-length contribution to the Summer ‘27 special issue of Peitho, due 9/1.
Truly, all mid- and late-career feminist colleagues are invited to participate, including retirees and independent scholars. The career math is up to you. Feminists of all definitions, positionalities, and professional affiliations within rhet-comp are welcome—and encouraged—to join us.
Please, too, feel welcome to share this invitation with feminists in your professional networks.
In detail: The catalyst for our current CFP was a 4C26 roundtable, “Feminist Faculty Leadership: Real Talk,” organized by Jenn Fishman and Mary P. Sheridan with Darci Thoune, Michelle Baylor Robinson, Sheila Carter Todd, and Shevaun Watson (H.3, p.206). The title was no lie. We delivered critical reflections on the leadership we have contributed as feminist faculty, and our talk was real, at times raw. It was also theory-based and rich with not only research and scholarship but also receipts, starting with the collective experiences we six brought to the table. We earned our PhDs in the late 90s and throughout the 00s, and together we have served in leadership roles of various kinds at more than a dozen 4-year colleges and universities, inclusive of PWIs, HSIs, and HBCUs; SLACs and flagships; regional comprehensives and prestige privates.
But that’s just where we started. Our session was attended by a good 40 or more colleagues who brought—and bravely, generously shared—additional perspectives. Together, we gave voice—or, really, voices—to some of the many ways our commitments to feminist leadership did and did not align with where we work, who (else) we are, and what (else) we want or need, professionally and otherwise.
For the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Coalition of Feminist Scholars in the History of Rhetoric and Composition, we—Darci, Jenn, and Mary P.—want to reorient, and we invite you to join us. For an article in the Summer ‘27 special issue of Peitho, let’s take up the mantle of “academic aunties" and create a compendium of examples and advice to support feminist scholars’ resilience for the next 40 years. To that end, we invite everyone who considers themself a mid- or late-career feminist scholar in rhetoric and composition to share 250-400 words of advice, inspiration, instigation, caution, or ____________ (fill in the blank). Whatever you choose, plan to ground your contribution in ways that make it legible as an extension of your experience and labor, intellectual, emotional, and otherwise. We welcome concrete details, citations, and illustrations. (Citations are not part of the word count; send high-quality images separately via email.)
Everyone who completes the form by 8/28 will be included in the proposal we submit on 9/1. If our contribution is accepted, we will go through one round of (anticipated modest) revisions, which we will request by 10/1 and expect back by 11/1. If our proposal is not accepted, we’ll regroup and try again with another publication.
Reach out to any and all of us with questions—
Darci, Mary P.