2018 Call for Proposals:

How Do We Define Ourselves?

Utah Valley Convention Center

Provo, Utah

June 15-16, 2018

As a group of interdisciplinary faculty, we have struggled to answer that question for several years. Professional communication is an umbrella term that is often used to unite courses like speech, technical communication, business communication, and editing in departments of English, business, engineering, linguistics, speech, and writing studies. Our research includes theory, pedagogy, and practice on topics ranging from medical and scientific rhetoric and visual rhetoric to rhetorical business practices and war memorials.

The inclusiveness of professional communication often feels liberating. We are a living example of Bakhtin’s idea of heteroglossia: a diversity of voices, perspectives, and interests. The thread that unites us is a theoretical frame on rhetoric and an interest in applying it to contemporary problems and projects. And yet it sometimes feels like we never quite belong. How do we define ourselves if we’re doing so many different things at once?

At this inaugural symposium, we are bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars who study, teach, and practice what we are calling applied rhetoric. We invite scholars of rhetoric and professional/business/technical communication to join us for a two-day symposium. We will begin laying the foundation of a new annual gathering that focuses on the study of applied rhetoric in its many forms.

In the morning sessions, participants will work together to define applied rhetoric, to create goals for the organization in this emerging interdisciplinary field, and to plan future symposia and conferences. In the afternoon sessions, participants will present their research. In the evening session, participants will discuss collaborations and interdisciplinary research projects.

The outcome of the symposium will be a mission statement for the field of applied rhetoric, a plan for future meetings, and a foundation for a new interdisciplinary organization.

To submit a proposal, visit http://tiny.cc/appliedrhetoric

Proposal deadline: April 20, 2018

Decision notification: May 4, 2018

Questions? Contact Rebecca Pope-Ruark (rruark@elon.edu) or one of the other members of the planning committee.

Applied Rhetoric Symposium Committee

Sandy French, Radford University

Ashley Patriarca, West Chester University

Rebecca Pope-Ruark, Elon University

Jacob Rawlins, Brigham Young University

Matthew Sharp, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Jennifer Veltsos, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Quinn Warnick, Virginia Tech

Thanks to the College of Humanities at Brigham Young University for hosting this event.