Topic: A Woman Teacher of Rhetoric in Ancient China: Ban Zhao and Her Impact on Modern Gender Perceptions

Abstract: Dr. Hui Wu's speech is about how Ban Zhao, author of Lessons for Women, taught rhetoric to young women in ancient China through redefining the concept of yin-yang and practicing yin-yang rhetoric in her instruction. Examining Ban’s teaching of women's empowerment in their traditional motherly and wifely roles, the speaker will also relate Ban's impact on modern Chinese literary women’s perception of gender relations and social responsibilities as writers.

Hui Wu (pronounced as Whay Woo) holds a Ph.D. in English with a specialization in rhetoric/composition and comparative studies of rhetoric and communication from Texas Christian University. Before joining UT Tyler, she served as Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Writing, Director of the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Education Project funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and the Founding Executive Director of the UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas at the University of Central Arkansas.

Register: https://democracy.psu.edu/fall-2020-events