EXPLORING TEXTS AND CONTEXTS IN THE AMERICAN WOMAN'S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT BY

An undergraduate course in rhetorical criticism at Wilkes University incorporated a major component on the rhetoric of the American Woman's Suffrage Movement. Considerable tf.me was devoted to critiquing "traditional " approaches to rhetorical criticism from a feminist perspective and to questioning the appropriateness of various methodologies for conducting criticism of the rhetoric of diverse groups. The relationship between rhetorical texts and historical contexts was a sustained theme throughout the course. Five major critical methodologies, including situational, argument, neo-Aristotelian, genre, and dramatistic perspectives were used to explore the rhetoric of women's suffrage. Additionally, students gained insight into historical context by conducting textual analyses. Emphasis was placed on locating and reading original texts and doing close textual analyses as a means of comprehendin