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.

Recent Events

2026 ASHR Symposium at RSA

Our 2026 Symposium, took place May 21-22, 2026, just prior to the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA) Biennial Conference in Portland, Oregon.

You can view the 2026 ASHR Symposium Program and paper abstracts here.

In addition to four panels of competitively accepted papers, the 2026 ASHR Symposium hosted a set of research roundtable discussions on Thursday afternoon (May 21) and feature a spotlight roundtable panel discussion on “Rhetorical History’s Past, Present, and Future” on Friday morning (May 22). All symposium attendees were also invited to attend an evening reception on Thursday, May 21 to celebrate the fifty-year partnership between ASHR and ISHR.

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