Sarah Kornfield – författare

Why is the metaphor of the "Founding Fathers" so insidious—and how does it impact American politics?American politicians routinely invoke the metaphor of the "Founding Fathers" when referring to the men who supposedly set the United States on a path to greatness. On average, the term "Founding Fathers" is uttered by a congressional member every single day that Congress is in session. Why is this metaphor repeated constantly—and what effect does it have on policy? In Invoking the Fathers, communication scholar Sarah Kornfield links this rhetorical strategy to the rise of patriarchal white supremacy and Christian nationalism in the United States.Using the House and the Senate as the objects of her study, Kornfield traces the trope of fatherhood across congressional discourse and theorizes a rhetoric of sovereignty in which the founders' most obvious heirs—white Christian men—inherit America and its governance. Congressional politicians use this metaphor in four ways: to supposedly advocate for rights and liberties, to demand checks and balances, to celebrate American exceptionalism, and to call for bipartisan politics. These four situations are all, at their core, disputes over what kind of nation America is or should be. Metaphors are not harmless, Kornfield argues, and this one is particularly pernicious: the fatherhood metaphor is taken up and violently embodied by men's rights groups, white supremacist groups, and Christian nationalists. Ultimately, the book demonstrates how this gendered metaphor creates and reinforces a legislative system in which some are considered more equal than others.

The women on television series are spectacularly feminine. They are the most beautiful doctors, lawyers, detectives, scientists, queens, fashion-writers, moms, Victorian ladies, and witches ever seen. Focusing on series that celebrate empowered women from mainstay crime dramas such as Bones (2005-2017) and The Rookie: Feds (2022-2023) to teen dramas, with series such as Sex Education (2019-2023) and Charmed (2018-2022), to romance series such as Bridgerton (2020-), this book analyzes the onscreen portrayals of femme, femininity, and feminism. Specifically, this book maps the televisual trends that objectify femininity and those that visualize femininity as subject, working to demonstrate how televisual style constructs femininity through its onscreen portrayals.

Offers deeply researched entries on nearly 200 essential people, events, organizations, laws, concepts, and issues that have defined US feminist movements, from the founding era through today. US feminist movements are defined by persistence, bravery, and a steadfast belief in the fundamental worth of girls and women. These carefully curated entries delve thoughtfully into topics of significant public and scholarly interest in the realms of feminism, women's rights, and gender dynamics in both public and private spaces. Featured here are the activists and ideas that have challenged--and in many instances prevailed over--inequities in US society, from key figures such as Angela Davis and Betty Friedan to significant events such as the Women's March on Washington in 2017 and the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. America's feminist movements have fundamentally changed the lives of millions of people of every sex, gender, race, ethnicity, faith, and sexual orientation. This resource shows how feminist movements have also been integral in championing the many women who have made pioneering contributions in fields ranging from science and medicine to politics and advocacy. It also casts an unflinching light on the issues that women continue to face every day in fighting for equality in the home, workplace, classroom, and popular media in the 21st century. Authored by feminist scholars, activists, and practitioners, this is an essential first stop for readers looking for a comprehensive introduction to US feminism’s most relevant milestones and the concepts needed to contextualize its history and chart its future.