[Commlist] CfP Rhetoric as Strategic Thinking

Call for Papers
8thRhetoric in SocietyConference
RhetoricasStrategicThinking
EberhardKarlsUniversity,26–28 May 2021
Tübingen, Germany
Organized by the Rhetoric Society of Europe in collaboration with the
Institutefor General Rhetoric and the Institute for Media Studies at 
Tübingen University
http://ris8.org/ <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 
atRhetoric in Society 8, which is the biannual conference organized by 
the Rhetoric Society of Europe. The conferenceis scheduled totake place 
from May 26thto 28th2021 at EberhardKarlsUniversity in Tübingen, Germany.
The incalculable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic obliges us to remain 
precautious. As the safety of our conference participants is of highest 
concern, we ought to point out that in an event of the pandemic 
extending into thelate springof 2021, the conference will be postponed. 
However, we remain optimistic and encourage you to submit your papers 
and panels and are looking forward to welcoming you in Tübingen.
Weinviteproposals 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 insociety;
  * Other kinds ofpresentationssuch as roundtables, world cafésor debates.

Rhetoricas StrategicThinking
With its focus on ‘strategy’ and ‘strategic thinking,’ theRhetoric in 
Society 8conference discusses the ways we define rhetoric as a specific 
form of communication, argumentation, persuasion,ormediation. Strategic 
thinking as a complex cognitive activity involves the mental 
representation of a goal as well as an understanding of theways and 
means to achieve this goalthroughcommunicative action. Rhetors are 
expected toimaginea number ofpossible 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 
hisInstitutiooratoria(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 thecase, 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) 
isoften 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 oratorhas tofind answers “in 
the circumstances of the case.” (Institutiooratoria, II, 13, 5, transl. 
Butler)
The conference endeavors to discuss rhetoricasstrategic thinking in 
order to both define and question a key characteristic of rhetorical 
communication. It does so by exploring different concepts from 
differentdisciplinary backgrounds, such as argumentation, strategic 
maneuvering, imagination and mental simulation,rhetorical agency, 
situational rhetoric, literature and linguistics, political theory, 
communication and media studies, organizationalrhetoric/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, or 
populism, 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 international in focus, concerned 
withparticular 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 mightinclude: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 
(bySeptember30th2020toris8 /at/ rhetorik.uni-tuebingen.de)
Conference organizers: Prof. Dr. Olaf Kramer, Prof. Dr. Dietmar Till, 
Dr. Anne Ulrich (Institute for General Rhetoric; Institute for Media 
Studies, University of Tuebingen, Germany)
We will inform you about our decisionDecember 1st2020.
Please do not submit more than two proposals. Panelproposals 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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