Rethinking Ethos

Labels traditionally ascribed to womenmother, angel of the house, whore, or bitchsuggest character traits that do not encompass the complexities of womens identities or empower womens public speaking. Rethinking Ethos: A Feminist Ecological Approach to Rhetoric redefines the concept of ethosclassically thought of as character or credibilityas ecological and feminist, negotiated and renegotiated, and implicated in shifting power dynamics. Building on previous feminist and rhetorical scholarship, this essay collection presents a sustained discussion of the unique methods by which womens ethos is constructed and transformed. Editors Kathleen J. Ryan, Nancy Myers, and Rebecca Jones identify three rhetorical maneuvers that characterize ethos in the feminist ecological imaginary: ethe as interruption/interrupting, ethe as advocacy/advocating, and ethe as relation/relating. Each section of the book explores one of these rhetorical maneuvers. An afterword gathers contributors thoughts on the collections potential impact and influence, possibilities for future scholarship, and the future of feminist rhetorical studies. With its rich mix of historical examples and contemporary case studies, Rethinking Ethos offers a range of new perspectives, including queer theory, transnational approaches, radical feminism, Chicana feminism, and indigenous perspectives, from which to consider a feminist approach to ethos.