The Pragmatic Elements of Stance and Engagement in “Dear Ijeawele” by Chimamanda Adichie
Abstract
This work examines the notions of stance and engagement in Chimamanda Adichie’s celebrated work, Dear Ijeawele. Adichie’s letter, serving as a guide for raising a feminist daughter, presents an opportune lens through which to analyze her stance and engagement with feminist themes. Drawing upon a comprehensive literature review, this study analyzes selected passages from Dear Ijeawele to identify Adichie’s position, beliefs, and attitudes towards gender equality and the empowerment of women. The paper also investigates the rhetorical strategies employed by Adichie to engage her readers, such as personal anecdotes and persuasive language. By situating the analyzed passages within the broader context of the book, the study evaluates the relationship between Adichie’s stance and engagement and the overall objectives of Dear Ijeawele. Comparative analysis with other feminist texts and Adichie’s previous works further enriches the exploration of her approach. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of Adichie’s literary contributions and shed light on the impact of her writing in promoting feminist ideals and challenging societal norms.
References
Adichie, C. N. (2003). New Husband. The Iowa Review, 33(1), 53-66. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/20155216.
Adichie, C. N. (2017). Dear Ijeawele, or a feminist manifesto in fifteen suggestions. Vintage. Retrieved from https://harambee.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/dear-ijeawele-or-a-feminist-manifesto-in-fifteen-suggestions.pdf.
Al-Rickaby, A. K. (2020). A critical discourse analysis of stance and engagement markers in English and Arabic newspaper opinion articles in 2016. Journal of University of Babylon for Humanities, 28(4), 182-194. Retrieved from https://www.iasj.net/iasj/download/9c29625a02818813.
Alvesson, M. (1996). Communication, power and organization (1st ed.). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&lr=&id=UwGw9BFshrQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA13&dq=Alvesson,+M.+(1996).+Communication,+power+and+organization+(No.+72).+Walter+de+Gruyter.&ots=xKRVa6dWYJ&sig=_SQowAWR2VBnZpY1dXvL6stcEnU&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Alvesson%2C%20M.%20(1996).%20Communication%2C%20power%20and%20organization%20(No.%2072).%20Walter%20de%20Gruyter.&f=false.
Ashcraft, K., & Mumby, D. K. (2003). Reworking gender: A feminist communicology of organization. Sage Publications.
Barry, P. (2017). Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester University Press.
Bastalich, W., Franzway, S., Gill, J., Mills, J., & Sharp, R. (2007). Disrupting masculinities: Women engineers and engineering workplace culture. Australian feminist studies, 22(54), 385-400.
Blau, S. (2003). The Literature Workshop: Teaching Texts and Their Readers. Heinemann.
Bumiller, K. (2008). In an abusive state: How neoliberalism appropriated the feminist movement against sexual violence. Duke University Press.
Buzzanell, P. M. (Ed.). (2000). Rethinking organizational and managerial communication from feminist perspectives. Sage.
Davis, A. Y. (2004). Black women and the academy. In The Black studies reader (pp. 103-112). Routledge.
DeMarchi, M. L. (2014). Avenging women: an analysis of postfeminist female representation in the cinematic Marvel’s Avengers series. College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences Theses and Dissertations, 167.
Duncan, M. C. (2009). Gender warriors in sport: Women and the media. In Handbook of sports and media (pp. 247-269). Routledge.
Fearon, J. D., & Laitin, D. D. (2000). Violence and the social construction of ethnic identity. International Organization, 54(4), 845-877.
Foss, K. A., Foss, S. K., & Griffin, C. L. (1999). Feminist rhetorical theories (Vol. 1). Sage.
Gerhard, J. (2001). Desiring revolution: Second-wave feminism and the rewriting of twentieth-century American sexual thought. Columbia University Press.
Han, Y. (2019). Revisiting Interpretation and Literature Teaching: Teacher’s Stance and Engagement. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 9(4), 375-381.
Höberth, U. E. (2012). Gendered heroes?: Male and female hero construction in JK Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone” and Philip Pullman’s “Northern lights”. MA Thesis, Universität Wien.
Humm, M. (2021). The dictionary of feminist theory. Edinburgh University Press.
Humm, M. (Ed.). (1992). Modern feminisms: Political, literary, cultural. Columbia University Press.
Jasper, J. M., Young, M. P., & Zuern, E. (2020). Public characters: The politics of reputation and blame. Oxford University Press.
Jiwani, Y. (2011). Discourses of denial: Mediations of race, gender, and violence. UBC Press.
Lorber, J. (2001). Gender inequality. Los Angeles, California: Roxbury.
Manning, P. (2000). News and news sources: A critical introduction. Sage.
McKay, J., Messner, M. A., & Sabo, D. (Eds.). (2000). Masculinities, gender relations, and sport (Vol. 11). Sage.
McRobbie, A. (2008). The aftermath of feminism: Gender, culture and social change. Sage.
Pluckrose, H., & Lindsay, J. A. (2020). Cynical theories: How activist scholarship made everything about race, gender, and identity—and why this harms everybody. Pitchstone Publishing.
Rosenblatt, L. M. (1995). Literature as Exploration. The Modern Language Association of America.
Shu, S. H. (2013). Literary Engagement and Creative Writing: A Phenomenological Study. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 4(1), 104-110.
Snyder, R. C. (2008). What is third-wave feminism? A new direction essay. Signs: Journal of women in culture and society, 34(1), 175-196.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1995). The mass media today: discourses of domination or diversity? Javnost-The Public, 2(2), 27-45.
Walker, R. (2001). Becoming the third wave. Identity politics in the women’s movement, 3(13), 78-80.
Wood, R. M., & Thomas, J. L. (2017). Women on the frontline: Rebel group ideology and women’s participation in violent rebellion. Journal of Peace Research, 54(1), 31-46.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Taiwo Racheal Olaleye
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The author fully assumes the content originality and the holograph signature makes him responsible in case of trial.
