Critical Rhetoric| Privileged Vulnerability: Embodied Pedagogy as Critical Rhetorical Praxis

Authors

  • Danielle M. Stern Christopher Newport University
  • Katherine J. Denker Ball State University

Keywords:

critical rhetoric, embodied pedagogy, critical communication pedagogy, feminism, misogyny, empathy

Abstract

Contextualized within the space/place of the classroom, in this article we use autoethnographic, narrative inquiry as a method built on a foundation of critical rhetoric and feminism as intersecting orientations. This study demonstrates how critical rhetoric as an orientation provides liberatory opportunities for our pedagogy at this historical moment of cultural forces intervening in a misogynistic culture that antagonizes feminist inquiry. Through our embodied and privileged vulnerability, our stories emerge, which can lead to empathy and transformation. In the case of knowledge production of and about feminism(s), embodied pedagogy—revealed via critical rhetoric—positions educators and students as cocreators and critics of discourse and lived, bodily experiences, inside and outside the classroom.

Author Biographies

Danielle M. Stern, Christopher Newport University

Danielle M. Stern (Ph.D., Ohio University) is an Associate Professor of Communication at Christopher Newport University. Her research engages the role of feminism and social justice in transforming popular culture and pedagogy. Her more than 20 scholarly articles have been published in various journals and edited books. (757-594-7131)

Katherine J. Denker, Ball State University

Associate ProfessorBall State University

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Published

2020-02-01

Issue

Section

Special Sections