Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Humanities Center Continues Spring Symposia with Lecture on March 4

Thursday, February 26, 2015, By Sarah Scalese
Share
College of Arts and Sciencesspeakers

Gesa E. Kirsch, professor of English and director of the Valente Center for Arts and Sciences at Bentley University, will deliver a public lecture titled “The Power of Social Networks: Rhetorical Agency and Civic Activism among 19th-Century Women Physicians” on Wednesday, March 4, at 2:15 p.m. in the Killian Room (500) in the Hall of Languages.

Gesa Kirsch

Gesa Kirsch

During her lecture, Kirsch, the Jeannette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities, will explore the rhetorical strategies, social networks and civic activism of a group of 19th-century California women physicians. Drawing on several case studies and the rarely examined Woman’s Medical Journal, she will trace how women created and maintained social networks that enabled their intervention in arenas of society that were often restricted or off-limits. Kirsch will argue that we can better understand the rhetorical agency of early women physicians by examining how their work circulated across time, generations and geographical boundaries, evidence of which remains today in public policy, advocacy work and professional organizations.

Gerald R. Greenberg, the Humanities Center’s interim director and senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, says Kirsch is exactly the type of scholar the Jeannette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professorship seeks to attract.

“Since this professorship was established, we’ve been fortunate to host a diverse array of extraordinary scholars, and Professor Kirsch is no exception. The humanities are the backbone of a Syracuse University liberal arts education and exposing our students to prominent scholars is critical to preparing them to be citizens of the world,” Greenberg says.

An eminent scholar in rhetoric and writing studies, Kirsch has published eight books and more than 30 scholarly articles. Her research interests include feminist rhetorical studies, ethics and social responsibility, contemplative practices, qualitative research methodology, archival research and environmental rhetoric. She has won the James Braddock Award for the best article in College Composition and Communication and the Winifred Bryan Horner Outstanding Book Award for “Feminist Rhetorical Practices: New Horizons for Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy Studies” (co-authored with Jacqueline Jones Royster). In 2013, she won the Excellence in Scholarship Award from Bentley University in recognition of her accumulated record of scholarly productivity and leadership in the discipline.

“It has been a tremendous honor having someone of Professor Kirsch’s caliber visiting the Syracuse University campus,” says Patrick W. Berry, assistant professor of writing and rhetoric and co-organizer of the March 4 event. “Her research prowess, extensive publishing track record and interactive approach to teaching serve as an inspiration to all of us, particularly to the students who aspire to be part of the academy someday.”

Kirsch earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. She’s previously held faculty positions at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, University of Oregon, Eugene, and Wayne State University.

The public lecture is organized and presented by the SU Humanities Center. Co-sponsors include the Writing Program and the Departments of Women’s and Gender Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences; the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies in the College of Visual and Performing Arts; Hendricks Chapel; the Hendricks Chapel Wellness Fund; and the Contemplative Collaborative. For more information, contact Berry at pwberry@syr.edu or 315.443.1912.

 

  • Author

Sarah Scalese

  • Recent
  • Ian ’90 and Noah Eagle ’19 Share a Love of Sportscasting and Storytelling (Podcast)
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By John Boccacino
  • Rock Record Illuminates Oxygen History
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • What Can Ancient Climate Tell Us About Modern Droughts?
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By News Staff
  • Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members
    Thursday, June 5, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’
    Wednesday, June 4, 2025, By Joanna Penalva

More In Campus & Community

Blackstone LaunchPad Founders Circle Welcomes New Members

Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad welcomed 34 graduates of the Class of 2025 as new members of the Founders Circle. They were selected in recognition of launching or leading ventures at the University while students, as well as contributing to…

Neal Powless Inducted Into American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame

You could say that lacrosse is in Neal Powless’s blood. Powless G’08, the University ombuds, is a member of the Onondaga Nation Eel Clan. He is the son, grandson and brother of legendary lacrosse players. Powless picked up a lacrosse…

The Milton Legacy: Romance, Success and Giving Back

Growing up, Stacey Milton Leal ’75 and Chris Milton heard countless stories about how Syracuse University brought their parents together in what would turn out to be a fairy tale romance with a happy forever ending. So it was no…

Syracuse University Libraries’ Information Literacy Scholars Produce Information Literacy Collab Journal

Earlier this month, Syracuse University Libraries’ Information Literacy Scholars published their first open access information literacy journal, Information Literacy Collab (ILC). It is available on SURFACE, the University’s open access institutional repository. ILC is a diamond open-access publication by and…

Trip to Atlanta Gives Falk Students ‘Real-World’ Opportunities and Connections

The city of Atlanta is home to professional sports franchises in major leagues: Atlanta United FC (Major League Soccer), the Braves (Major League Baseball), Dream (WNBA), Falcons (NFL), and Hawks (NBA). Atlanta also features professional teams in lacrosse, rugby, and…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.