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The American Delsarte Movement and The New Elocution: Gendered Rhetorical Performance from 1880 to 1905

Suter, Lisa Kay

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, English: Composition and Rhetoric.
This dissertation analyzes the American Delsarte movement—a largely white, upper- and middle-class women’s performance phenomenon from the 1880s to 1905—as well as Delsartists’ work in creating what they called the “New Elocution.” Scholars of rhetorical history such as Nan Johnson and Robert Connors have touched on the Delsartists in their research and have begun the work of analyzing women’s participation in the American elocutionary movement; nevertheless, extensive turf remains wholly unexplored concerning women’s study of oratory in this era, in particular, considering why these women thought it the most vital discipline to study. My research therefore consists largely of a recovery project, bringing archival evidence to light and arguing that in the midst of what elocutionists called this “oratorical Renaissance,” American women were flocking in surprisingly large numbers to the study of expression and elocution—not as a “social grace,” as Leila McKee, one President of a woman’s college of oratory put it in 1898, but as a means of “social power.” Turn-of-the-century women believed that this power was theirs for the taking if they knew how to speak with more eloquence and confidence in public; this motive has been overlooked, I argue, as has the means by which women meant to procure oratorical ability—by the study and practice of what I term “rhetorical performance.” This dissertation defines and analyzes the concept of rhetorical performance as it occurred within three different Delsarte-influenced sites: competition in oratorical contests, the demonstration of elocutionary skill via public recitals, and finally the use of rhetorical drama to advance arguments regarding women’s rights.
Dr. Cindy Lewiecki-Wilson, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Dr. Katharine Ronald, PhD (Committee Co-Chair)
Dr. Katie Johnson, PhD (Committee Member)
Dr. Charlotte Newman Goldy, PhD (Advisor)
159 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Suter, L. K. (2009). The American Delsarte Movement and The New Elocution: Gendered Rhetorical Performance from 1880 to 1905 [Doctoral dissertation, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1250536860

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Suter, Lisa. The American Delsarte Movement and The New Elocution: Gendered Rhetorical Performance from 1880 to 1905. 2009. Miami University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1250536860.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Suter, Lisa. "The American Delsarte Movement and The New Elocution: Gendered Rhetorical Performance from 1880 to 1905." Doctoral dissertation, Miami University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1250536860

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)