L. Greene, The Discourse of Hysteria: The Topoi of Humility, Physicality, and Authority in Women's Rhetoric

GREENE, Logan, The Discourse of Hysteria: The Topoi of Humility, Physicality, and Authority in Women's Rhetoric, Lewiston / Ceredigion, Mellen Press, 2009, 240 p.

ISBN  978-0-7734-4843-8  

RÉSUMÉ

This study analyzes the rhetorical strategies of five women, (Hildegard of Bingen, Margery Kempe, Aphra Behn, Sojourner Truth, and Hélène Cixous), from different historical periods. The author finds commonalities constituting a discourse of hysteria, deriving from and making productive use of women's historical position at the margins of institutionalized power in our culture.

TABLE DES MATIÈRES

Foreword by Prof. Teena A.M. Carnegie, Eastern Washington University
1. Prolegomenon to a Theory of Women's Rhetoric
2. A New History of Rhetoric
3. The Redemptive Function of the Hysteric
4. The Power of Humility: Hildegard of Binge
5. The Power of Hysteria: Margery Kempe
6. The Sexualization of Hysteria: Aphra Behn
7. A New Sign: Sojourner Truth
8. Écriture féminine: Hélène Cixous
9. A Theory of Women's Rhetoric
Notes
Works Cited
Index

BIOGRAPHIE

Logan Greene is Assistant Professor in the English Department at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, where she teaches medieval literature and rhetoric. She has a master's degree in Medieval Studies from the University of Oregon and completed her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Writing at the University of New Mexico.