[Commlist] CfP: Rhetoric as Strategic Thinking

*Call for Papers (deadline extended to October 31st 2020) *

8th Rhetoric in Society Conference

Rhetoric as Strategic Thinking

Eberhard Karls University, 26–28 May 2021

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/ <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 May 26th to 28th 2021 at Eberhard Karls University 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 the late spring of 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.

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.

*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. It does so by exploring 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, 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 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 October 31st 2020* to 
(ris8 /at/ rhetorik.uni-tuebingen.de) <mailto:(ris8 /at/ rhetorik.uni-tuebingen.de)>

We will inform you about our decision in December 2020.

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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