Welcome to ASHR
The American Society for the History of Rhetoric (ASHR) offers rhetoricians multiple points of entry and enthusiasm. It is fitting that the word “society” should lead this welcome, since rhetoricians understand better than most the importance of gathering with others for a common purpose; moreover, being a rhetorician today (as in plenty of other days) can be a dispiriting business, and sociality helps. The common purpose this particular society sustains is the study of rhetoric as a historically situated cultural practice. Accordingly, ASHR’s programming—from panels organized for its annual NCA unit, to papers given at its biennial symposia, to articles published in its journal—promotes discussion about strains and domains of rhetoric in all historical periods, cultural contexts, and theoretical guises.
Upcoming Events
2026 ASHR Symposium at RSA
We will hold the 2026 ASHR Symposium just prior to the Rhetoric Society of America conference in Portland, Oregon (May 21-22, 2026). The 2026 ASHR Symposium theme, “Rhetorical History’s Past, Present, and Future,” invites scholars to recognize this legacy and to reflect on the theories, methods, and critical practices that define its scope and purpose. We are currently reviewing proposals.
First Friday Forums Spring 2026
“Movement” is often associated with social change, migration, circulation, and collective action—but for scholars of the history of rhetoric/rhetorical history, movement also names the ways rhetoric travels across time, space, media, institutions, and publics. As the National Communication Association’s upcoming conference theme invites scholars to think with and through movement, this forum asks: what does movement mean for the history of rhetoric and rhetorical historiography? This First Friday Forum explores movement as a historical, rhetorical, and methodological concept. Panelists and participants will consider how rhetoric moves through bodies and borders, texts and technologies, traditions and transformations, institutions and publics. How do rhetorical forms migrate, mutate, and reappear across historical moments? How do ideas, arguments, and genres travel across cultural and political contexts? And how might attention to movement reshape the ways we narrate rhetorical pasts, identify historical actors, and understand continuity and change? By exploring these themes, this session aims to open conceptual and practical pathways for scholars preparing work for NCA and beyond.