Feminist Rhetorical Theory in Program Building: “Saturday Tapes” with Janice Lauer

This article presents the preliminary findings of a research project that aims to document one of the earliest and most successful Rhetoric and Composition graduate programs in the country, started by Dr. Janice Lauer Rice at Purdue University. Using interview tapes housed in the Janice M. Lauer special collections at Purdue University, we use a case study approach to identify the strategies she used to persuade and navigate relationships with reluctant colleagues. The “Saturday Tapes” are a collection of recordings that capture six separate interviews with Lauer about distinct topics related to her career as an administrator, a mentor, and a scholar. Specifically, we analyze Interview #1 of the Saturday Tapes, which interviews Lauer about the founding of the rhet-comp graduate program at Purdue. Our findings indicate and we subsequently argue that, in this interview, Lauer used non-identification and empathy without coercion or erasure of difference with her colleagues in order to build the program all the while maintaining departmental collegiality. Further, we assert that Lauer’s disidentification with conventional Rhetoric and her strategic use of feminist rhetorical principles were key in the development of a successful Rhetoric and Composition graduate program. In the spirit of feminist rhetorical practices, we open up possibilities regarding what this approach could lend to the future of Rhetoric and Composition.