Madeleine de Scudery's Conversational Salon with Ladies of the 1980s

An imagined rhetorical situation in the digital realm

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Why 1980s?

Censor the body and you censor breath and speech at the same time. Write yourself. Your body must be heard.

-- Cixous

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Scudery's Rules for Conversation

1. Be witty and urbane

2. Harmony is favored over discord

3. Eloquence should appear natural not contrived

4. Conflicting viewpoints are handled graciously with "Complaisance," a virtue that enables its possessor to remain affable while managing and containing disputes

5. No one monopolizes the conversation

6. No one should remain silent, and each participant's contribution should be roughly equal

7. One's style and content should be chosen with an eye to the occasion

8. Don't talk about your love life all the time, that includes your kids

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WHAT: Imagined rhetorical discourse in a conversational salon during which Scudery attempts to lead a group of women not used to following

WHY: Because of the compelling possibilities of what these ladies might say to each other

WHERE: An imagined digital space anytime, anywhere, a place that looks a lot like Enchanted Rock near Austin if we wore togas with Spanx underneath as we took in the view of a nearby lake (refer to title photo above)