News from ASHR

The American Society for the History of Rhetoric’s editorial search committee (Jordan Loveridge, Dave Tell, Ekaterina Haskins) invites applications for the next editor of Journal for the History of Rhetoric (JHR). Published by Penn State University Press, JHR publishes quality scholarship on all aspects of rhetoric, in all historical periods, with reference to all intellectual, national, and cultural communities. The journal not only welcomes contributions from scholars who take diverse historical approaches to the study of rhetoric, it also seeks to broaden the realm of historical inquiry into rhetoric by publishing essays that investigate topics, texts, and controversies that have not typically been included in the canon of rhetorical history. JHR’s scholarly scope includes, but is not limited to, argumentation; public address; rhetorical criticism and discourse; the history of rhetorical instruction and pedagogy; historical perspectives on rhetorical theory; the history of rhetoric and social movements; and the relationship between rhetoric and other disciplines and cultural institutions. 

The editor will be appointed to a three-year, renewable term. The editor will be responsible for assembling and appointing a review board, supervising the manuscript review process, and preparing manuscripts for final production. The new editor will work closely with current editor Ned O’Gorman to navigate the transition as they become acquainted with JHR’s publication process. In addition to overseeing all editorial matters associated with JHR, the editor also serves as an officer and Steering Committee of the American Society for the History of Rhetoric (ASHR). 

While the committee welcomes applications from candidates at many career stages, we ask that all applicants hold tenure-line positions. 

Additionally, the committee believes that institutional support is essential for the editor-elect and a central component of the journal’s success. As such, we ask that applicants provide evidence of institutional support as part of their application materials. Typical support includes 1 course release/year and graduate assistance. In addition, ASHR will provide a one-time research and travel stipend of $3,000 to support the editor’s research agenda and engagement with the discipline upon appointment. 

Please forward applications and address any questions to ASHR President Jordan Loveridge (j.t.loveridge@msmary.edu). Applications should include an abridged curriculum vita and short cover letter that speaks to the applicant’s qualifications and editorial vision, as well as the potential for institutional support.  Deadline for applications: April 30, 2024. The search committee will recommend an editor-elect in May 2024. 

ASHR is excited to encourage its members (and others) to participate in this year’s Douglass Day Transcribe-a-Thon on February 14! 

In support of this year’s event, we encourage our members (and others) to consider the reflection of Dr. Kirt Wilson, former RSA President and Head & Associate Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences at Penn State:

You can register for this year’s event here. 

More information on this year’s event can be found here.

ASHR is excited to encourage its members (and others) to participate in this year’s Douglass Day Transcribe-a-Thon on February 14! 

In support of this year’s event, we encourage our members (and others) to consider the reflection of Dr. Susan Jarratt, former ASHR President and Professor Emerita of University of California, Irvine:

You can register for this year’s event here. 

More information on this year’s event can be found here.

At this year’s meeting of the National Communication Association in New Orleans, ASHR hopes to have a number of panels and engaging conversations. Please review the ASHR CFP here and consider submitting! We look forward to seeing you this fall in Louisiana!

ASHR is excited to encourage its members (and others) to participate in this year’s Douglass Day Transcribe-a-Thon on February 14!

In support of this year’s event, we encourage our members (and others) to consider the reflection of Dr. Glen McClish, former ASHR President and Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric & Writing Studies at San Diego State University:

You can register for this year’s event here.

More information on this year’s event can be found here.

Dear ASHR Members,

In preparation for our annual business meeting in a few weeks (more to come on that, soon!), we are soliciting nominations for several ASHR leadership positions.

If you or a colleague are interested in getting more involved in the organization, please consider nominating yourself (or a colleague!) for one of these positions using this Google form. Nominations are due by Monday, November 6.

If you have additional questions, please contact ASHR Vice President Jordan Loveridge at j.t.loveridge@msmary.edu.

Please join us for a diverse and exciting array of ASHR panels at the upcoming National Communication Association (NCA) Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. More information, including the full ASHR at NCA program, can be found here.

Interested in or planning on attending the RSA conference in Denver next year? Please consider submitting a proposal for ASHR’s 2024 Symposium! More information is available here.

JHR welcomes your reviews and suggestions for reviews! In an effort to facilitate more conversations about recent books, we are now offering the new Scholars-in-Dialogue format, which is an opportunity for a discussion-based engagement with a new book. Two (or three at most) scholars agree on a set of questions to consider and produce a dialogic exchange, offering their perspectives and addressing each other’s points. They work together to engage with the book’s contributions (and/or weaknesses) from different perspectives, from an assessment of its historiographical approach (if appropriate) to possible pedagogical implications. This format works best for the type of scholarship that charts new directions or offers new paradigms to the field. The review is intended to stimulate an open-ended conversation about the book. 

In addition, please take a look at our website to see the variety of review formats we accept; submissions are highly encouraged. 

Dear ASHR members:

Long-time and now former treasurer of ASHR, associate professor of Communication Studies at the University of Georgia, and award-winner author of Peculiar Rhetoric: Slavery, Freedom, and the African Colonization Movement, Dr. Bjørn Stillion Southard inaugurates our two-week amplification of the Douglass Day transcribe-a-thon with a short video about the power of transcribing documents pertaining to the freedom struggle of 19th-century African Americans.

This year, the event, organized by faculty and students affiliated with Penn State’s Center for Black Digital Research, is centering the recently digitized papers of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, who, among other accomplishments, was one of the first Black women to start a newspaper. In fact, Provincial Freeman was digitized recently by Penn Libraries and is open to all.

If you’d like to participate virtually in the transcribe-a-thon, please register with the Douglass Day organizers!

Sincerely,

ASHR’s IDEA Committee