Michelle C. Smith
Author and scholar of rhetoric and gender studies; author of Utopian Genderscapes: Rhetorics of Women's Work in the Early Industrial Age (Southern Illinois UP, 2021), and the featured guest discussing women's labor in 19th-century intentional communities.
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Nov 9, 2025 • 59min
Michelle Christine Smith, "Utopian Genderscapes: Rhetorics of Women's Work in the Early Industrial Age" (Southern Illinois UP, 2021)
Michelle C. Smith, an author and scholar specializing in rhetoric and gender studies, dives into her book exploring intentional communities like Brook Farm, Harmony Society, and Oneida. She discusses how these communities redefined women's labor amid industrialization and how their legacies shape contemporary gender dynamics. Highlights include varying approaches to domestic work and childcare, gendered ecologies across societal roles, and the nuanced success of these historically significant movements. Smith also hints at her forthcoming work on WWII gendered labor, promising more insights into evolving feminist histories.
Nov 9, 2025 • 59min
Michelle Christine Smith, "Utopian Genderscapes: Rhetorics of Women's Work in the Early Industrial Age" (Southern Illinois UP, 2021)
Michelle C. Smith, an author and scholar of rhetoric and gender studies, explores women's labor in 19th-century intentional communities. She highlights the unique dynamics at Brook Farm, Harmony Society, and Oneida Community, discussing how these spaces addressed the value of women's work amidst industrialization. Smith challenges conventional notions of 'failure' in utopian communities and reveals their lasting impact on labor practices, childcare, and birth control. She also previews her upcoming research on the myths surrounding Rosie the Riveter, aiming to reshape historical narratives.
