In an effort to save money (and to sell out to corporate America), I just received a few boxes of books from Barnes and Noble. These comprise most of the books I will be reading next semester for my course work. I’m a bit afraid of how I will possibly get through all of these in 15 short weeks; luckily, I have read at least two of these already. Really, when I contemplate this, I’m not sure why anyone in their right mind signs up to do this to themselves?? But nonetheless, the reading looks fascinating, and there is no turning back at this point (unless I decide to drop out).

The courses I am taking are the following: a seminar in rhetoric, feminism, and agency; a seminar in rhetoric and ethics (focusing on classic, modern, and postmodern); and finally, a seminar in feminist research methods. Here is the book list as stands; I’m still waiting on a few more to arrive as well as some course packets to be printed:

• The Grounding of Modern Feminism, Nancy F. Cott
• Masculine Domination, Pierre Bourdieu
• Gender Trouble, Judith Butler (I love this book.)
• The Sexual Contract, Carole Pateman
• Testimonio, John Beverley
• Politics of Piety, Saba Mahmood
• Playing with Fire, Sangtin Writers and Richa Nagar
• Defining Reality: Definitions and the Politics of Meaning, Edward Schiappa
• Ethics and Infinity, Emmanuel Levinas
• Rhetoric Retold, Cheryl Glenn
• Working Feminism, Geraldine Pratt
• I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala, trans. Ann Wright
• Heracles’ Bow: Essays on the Rhetoric and Poetics of Law, James Boyd White
• Language is Sermonic, Richard Weaver
• The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning, Albert R. Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin