[Commlist] Call for Chapters: The Yuck Factor: The Rhetoric of Disgust

*Call for Chapters: /The Yuck Factor – The Rhetoric of Disgust/*

Diana Willis, SUNY Oneonta 
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-willis-3a194045/>, 
(diana.willis /at/ oneonta.edu) <mailto:(diana.willis /at/ oneonta.edu)>

Overview:

Food evokes visceral reactions ranging from extreme pleasure to disgust. 
But when individuals do not like something, their responses often veer 
towards labeling it weird, disgusting, or wrong — reactions now 
amplified on social media.

Rhetorical strategies are central to social media, where content 
creators need to persuade audiences to keep watching, scrolling, and 
engaging. But what are the implications of such rhetoric when mediated 
content centers on disgust?

This proposed edited collection invites rhetorical analyses centered on 
disgust, particularly through a constitutive rhetoric lens, though 
alternate theoretical foundations are also welcome. This edited volume 
seeks to explore the ways rhetorical disgust is manifested in media, 
from TikTok to YouTube, Instagram, and beyond (including 
streaming/broadcast television). It invites scholars (including 
students), journalists, and practitioners to contribute chapters that 
offer insight into how rhetoric directed at food/foodways, lifestyle, 
fashion, relationships, etc., is shaped by disgust.

This book proposal is being developed in response to strong interest 
expressed by Palgrave Macmillan.

**

*Suggested Thematic Areas: *

Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  * Ethical dimensions of disgust
  * Disgust as othering
  * How identity is discussed and negotiated in relation to disgust
  * Portrayals of disgust in media
  * Journalism
  * Performances
  * Political discourse
  * Museums, theatres, theme parks
  * Social media: content creation, travel influencers, forums, mukbang,
    etc.

This volume is intended for an academic audience, including 
undergraduate and graduate students and scholars focused on the fields 
of rhetoric and communication studies, media studies, food studies, 
cultural studies, and popular culture.

Submission Guidelines:

  * Abstracts: Interested contributors should submit an abstract of
    400-500 words, along with a chapter title and 5-6 keywords. Also
    include a bio of ~100 words.
  * Submission Process: Submit your abstract as a Word document to
    (diana.willis /at/ oneonta.edu) <mailto:(diana.willis /at/ oneonta.edu)> by
    Monday, September 15, 2025. Authors of selected abstracts will be
    notified by Friday, October 3, 2025.
Timeline:

Abstract Submission Deadline: September 15, 2025

Notification of Acceptance: October 3, 2025

Proposal Submission to Publisher: October 27, 2025

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