Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Rhetoric and Technical Communication (MS)

College, School or Department Name

Department of Humanities

Advisor

Ann Brady

Abstract

African women’s emerging visibility as social and political actors has received a lot of attention in the past two decades. Scholars have explored women’s political movements and sociocultural activism from various perspectives to expose their contributions to social change. Although this scholarship has expanded to incorporate multiple voices as well as expose the contemporary strategies of resistance women engage in to overcome difficult challenges, there seems to be little research on ordinary women as they also confront their daily challenges in hope of improving their situations. This research takes up this gap by exploring a Ghanaian woman’s resistance in the face of medical adversity and the outcomes that emerged. I employ the concept of metis, taking definitions from scholars such as Flynn et al., Detienne and Vernant, Dolmage, and Hawhee, to examine how the woman negotiated her situation to bring it to the attention of health authorities and the general public. I use rhetorical analysis to interpret, analyze, and evaluate the rhetorical actions that took place in response to the issue. Through this research, it becomes evident that metis plays an important role in allowing us to better understand the ways women, especially the marginalized, resist oppression. The study also broadens our knowledge of African women’s strategies of resistance to include metistic strategies that the vulnerable employs to effectively negotiate adverse circumstances.

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