American Prophets: Religion & Rhetoric in the Early Woman’s Rights Movement
Scholars Lisa Marie Gring-Pemble and Martha Watson join us online to discuss their book Your Daughters Will Prophesy: Religion and Rhetoric in the Nineteenth-Century Woman’s Movement. Their work explores how nineteenth-century women used the Bible to claim their voice on the moral questions of their day.
This program is presented in conjunction with the AWM’s special exhibit American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture, a powerful new exhibit that takes you on the ultimate exploration through spirituality and storytelling. American Prophets is supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative.
The event is free and online; registration is required.
Your Daughters Will Prophesy: Religion and Rhetoric in the Nineteenth-Century Woman's Movement book coverMore about Your Daughters Will Prophesy:
Caught between their identity as Christians and social norms that silenced them, American women used scripture to claim moral and then rhetorical agency. They reinterpreted familiar biblical passages, recovered previously ignored stories about women, and contested passages used to circumscribe women’s activities. By strategically adopting a rhetorical posture of dissent, these women became prophetic voices in American society.
In Your Daughters Will Prophesy, Lisa Marie Gring-Pemble and Martha Watson analyze the argumentative resources four women—Jarena Lee, Sarah Moore Grimké, Lucretia Coffin Mott, and Frances Willard—used to counter gendered restrictions and gain access to platform and pulpit, catalyzing what became known as the woman’s movement.
Praise for Your Daughters Will Prophesy:
“In this well-written and accessible book, Lisa Marie Gring-Pemble and Martha Watson reveal how four of the most influential nineteenth-century US women wrestled with scripture and the Christian tradition to justify their public speaking and activism.” —Kristy Maddux, University of Maryland, author of Practicing Citizenship: Women’s Rhetoric at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair
“Most people—inside and outside of academia—would not consider the possibility that activists might look to scripture to make the case for women’s rights. Your Daughters Will Prophesy counters this assumption with a detailed history of the ways in which nineteenth-century female reformers used the Bible as a rhetorical resource.” —Patricia Davis, Northeastern University, author of Laying Claim: African American Cultural Memory and Southern Identity
About the authors:
LISA MARIE GRING-PEMBLE is an associate professor at George Mason University. She is author of Grim Fairy Tales: The Rhetorical Construction of American Welfare Policy, and her writing has appeared in journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Speech and Rhetoric and Public Affairs.
MARTHA WATSON is author and editor of several books, including Lives of Their Own: Rhetorical Dimensions in Autobiographies of Women Activists. She is a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/3403078-0
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3403078-2
