[Commlist] CfP: Rhetoric as Strategic Thinking

Call for Papers

8th Rhetoric in Society Conference
Rhetoric as Strategic Thinking
Eberhard Karls University, 1–3 June 2023
Tübingen, Germany

Organized by the Rhetoric Society of Europe in collaboration with the
Institute for General Rhetoric and the Institute for Media Studies at 
Tübingen University
http://ris8.org/

We are very happy to announce that proposals are now invited for panels, 
papers, roundtables, and other forms of presentation to be delivered at 
Rhetoric in Society 8, which is the biannual conference organized by the 
Rhetoric Society of Europe. The conference is scheduled to take place 
from June 1st to 3rd, 2023 at Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, 
Germany.
We are planning a real conference with face-to-face conversations and 
in-person meetings on our campus and in town. Yet, the incalculable 
nature of the COVID-19 pandemic obliges us to remain precautious. 
However, we are optimistic and very much looking forward to welcoming 
you in Tübingen.

We invite proposals for:
- Papers or panels which speak directly to the conference theme 
(explained below);
- Papers or panels which address general issues related to the theory, 
analysis & practice of rhetoric in society;
- Other kinds of presentations such as roundtables, world cafés or debates.

PLEASE NOTE:

If you already submitted a paper for the planned and postponed 
conference in 2021, you have two options:
- You are either invited to submit your original proposal once again.
- Or you are of course invited to submit a new proposal in case you 
would like to change the subject or the focus of your proposal.
In any case you will be obliged to submit again. Already submitted 
papers will not be included in the reviewing process for the conference 
in 2023.
If you did not submit a paper for the planned conference in 2021, please 
feel encouraged and welcome to submit a proposal now.

Rhetoric as Strategic Thinking

With its focus on ‘strategy’ and ‘strategic thinking,’ the Rhetoric in 
Society 8 conference discusses the ways we define rhetoric as a specific 
form of communication, argumentation, persuasion, or mediation. 
Strategic thinking as a complex cognitive activity involves the mental 
representation of a goal as well as an understanding of the ways and 
means to achieve this goal through communicative action. Rhetors are 
expected to imagine a number of possible scenarios before deciding on a 
specific strategy and even to adjust this strategy during a campaign or 
even during a single speech. As Quintilian famously put it in his 
Institutio oratoria (II, 13, 2, transl. Butler): “If the whole of 
rhetoric could be thus embodied in one compact code, it would be an easy 
task of little compass: but most rules are liable to be altered by the 
nature of the case, circumstances, time and place and by hard necessity 
itself. Consequently, the all-important gift for an orator is a wise 
adaptability since he is called upon to meet the most varied 
emergencies.” The bellicose metaphor of the commander (strategos) is 
often used in ancient rhetorical theories to conceive of the orator’s 
ability to adjust a strategic plan to specific circumstances or specific 
audiences. Like the commander, Quintilian’s orator has to find answers 
“in the circumstances of the case.” (Institutio oratoria, II, 13, 5, 
transl. Butler)

The conference endeavors to discuss rhetoric as strategic thinking in 
order to both define and question a key characteristic of rhetorical 
communication––one that has recently gained significance in the public 
eye due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the verbal rearmament of 
public discourse. The conference intends to explore different concepts 
from different disciplinary backgrounds, such as argumentation, 
strategic maneuvering, imagination and mental simulation, rhetorical 
agency, situational rhetoric, literature and linguistics, political 
theory, communication and media studies, organizational 
rhetoric/communication, public relations, philosophy of language and 
many more. We would also like to discuss the blurring boundaries between 
rhetoric and other forms of strategic communication such as 
manipulation, propaganda, populism, or warfare, to assess the strategies 
applied by human and non-human actors in scripted or artificial media 
environments, and to explore the conditions responsible for the success 
or failure of rhetorical strategies and tactics in societies that are 
increasingly coping with polarization, radicalization, and deception.

General papers

We also invite proposals for papers and panels more generally concerned 
with the theory, practice or analysis of rhetoric. This may include, for 
example, historical scholarship, theoretical analysis and contemporary 
cultural or political critique; work grounded in political theory, 
philosophy, languages and linguistics, argumentation, literary studies, 
communication studies, composition, media studies, psychology, 
sociology, history, cultural studies and more. Papers might be 
comparative, national or transnational in focus, concerned with 
particular orators, ideologies or movements and focus on spoken, written 
or audio-visual communication.
Alternative presentations
We welcome proposals for forms of presentation other than panels and 
papers. This might include: roundtables addressing key rhetorical 
themes, works or phenomena; debates between contending positions; other, 
novel and effective ways of communicating research findings, claims and 
arguments.

How to submit a proposal

Please submit your paper proposals by September 30th, 2022 to 
(ris8 /at/ rhetorik.uni-tuebingen.de)
We will inform you about our decision in November 2022.
Please do not submit more than two proposals. Panel proposals should not 
comprise more than four individual papers.

Individual Paper Proposals

All individual paper proposals must be written in English and submitted 
to the Committee with the following information:
- Title
- Author name
- Email address
- Affiliation
- Abstract (300 words maximum)


Session Proposals

Session Organizers should submit session proposals written in English to 
the Committee with the following information:
- Session title
- Session abstract of 300 words maximum
- List of participants including chair, presenters and discussants (if 
applicable), their email addresses, and the names of the institutions 
that they are associated with
- The related paper abstracts (300 words maximum/ paper)

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