Vol. 2, No. 2
May 2011
"Value Added"
e-Newsletter of the Rhetorical Theory and Criticism Interest Group
Central States Communication Association
Edited by John "Jack" A. Jones, University of Illinois at Chicago
jajones@uic.edu
Item 1. Hurrah! The CSCA Convention arrives March 6-10, 2011. The Rhetorical Theory and Criticism Interest Group is sponsoring 12 outstanding panels.
Be sure to attend each of these: 1103, 1203, 1303, 1403, 1603, 2203, 2303, 2503, 3203,
3303, 3403, 3503, 3603
Don’t miss Panel 3203 which brings experts from China, India, the Middle East, and Europe to discuss international reactions to President Obama’s Cairo Speech and the implications for rhetorical criticism. His Libya speech will also be brought into focus.
Don’t miss Panel 3603 which includes our top senior paper: “Virginity for Sale: Problematics of Prostitution and the Value of Virginity in Public Discourse”
Jennifer C. Dunn, Dominican University
Tennley A. Vik, Ohio University
Don’t miss Panel 3303 which includes our top student paper: “Women’s Sexuality and the State: The Problem of Articulation and Performance in ‘Lust, Caution’”
Hua Su, University of Iowa.
Item 2. Be sure to attend our Business Meeting on Saturday, 12:30-1:45. We have important issues to discuss, election of a new secretary, installation of our new chair and vice chair.
Item 3. Be sure to visit our Interest Group Table at the President’s Reception, Friday evening. Meet other rhetorical theorists and critics.
Item 4. A very special thanks to Ryan Shepard and Stephanie Young for outstanding service to our Interest Group. Without them, I would have found it nearly impossible to put together the panels. For every emergency, they jumped in to serve with honor and grace.
Item 5. Minutes for Business Meeting.
Central States Communication Association
Rhetorical Theory and Criticism Division
Business Meeting Notes from April 16, 2010
Recorded by Ryan Shepard
1. Opening
a. Jack Jones called the meeting to order.
b. Minutes approved.
2. State of the Conference
a. No information on this provided yet
b. We have still been unsuccessful in getting CSCA to change "Interest Groups" to "Divisions"
c. Top Papers
i. Top Paper awarded to Jeffrey Thomas of Spalding University for "Discursive constructions of global climate change: Some inconvenient truths regarding 'the inconvenient truth' about An Inconvenient Truth."
ii. Top Student Paper awarded to Ryan Shepard for "Explaining the revolution: Vernacular discourse and the tipping point in America's 2006 midterm elections."
3. Officers
a. Jack Jones is the new Chair of the Interest Group
b. Ryan Shepard is the new Vice-Chair
c. Stephanie Young of Southern Indiana University was elected Secretary
4. The Division Newsletter
a. Jack distributed it before the conference, and everyone acknowledged seeing it
b. Jack calls for more contributions to future newsletters
4. Dr. Christie Beck Addresses the Division
a. Says thank you for everybody's help with CSCA St. Louis
b. Asks for anything that the division wants to discuss with the Executive Committee
i. Members of the interest group ask how we can switch from being called an interest group to a division
ii. Another request is made to have all newsletters posted online
6. An Update on the By-Laws
a. Katherine Hatfield is leading an effort to create a constitution for the IG
b. We are seeking volunteers to help with this drafting
c. There is agreement that we should start discussion of the constitution in the next newsletter
7. Looking Ahead to CSCA 2011 in Milwaukee
a. The new theme is "Home." Ideas for panels include subjects on:
i. Private property
ii. Earth
iii. Homeland security
iv. Contested space
v. Public/private spheres
vi. Our home within the discipline
vii. Homelessness
viii. Home pages
ix. Classic rhetorical theory
b. Everyone agrees that we should continue to search for ideas by requesting more feedback in the next newsletter
c. Sheets of paper are passed around to have people sign up to volunteer as reviewers or chairs for next year
8. New President of CSCA Scott Myers enters the room
a. Distributes new leadership form to be filled out
b. Announces program planners meeting on Saturday
c., Agrees to look into changing "Interest Groups" to "Divisions"
9. Discussion About Creating a Named Award
a. A request is made to name the top student paper award and to distribute Interest Group money as a prize
b. After some discussion, some think we could distribute $50 like other divisions, or offer a plaque to winners of the top student paper award
c. There is brief discussion about who the award should honor. David Zarefsky and Karlyn Kohrs Campbell are offered as options, but the meeting concludes with a call for requesting more nominations.
d, Agreement is reached that the award should be given to the top student paper, should come with a prize to be determined, and that the next newsletter should ask for more discussion on who should be honored.
10. Ideas for Increasing Attendance Next Year
a. Some note that attendance this year has been somewhat low
b. Some ideas for Milwaukee:
i. Create more partnerships with other divisions, including Public Relations, Kenneth Burke, Women's Caucus, Media Studies
ii. Trying harder to introduce each other at meetings
iii. More publicity at the conference (flyers, etc)
iv. More senior scholar panels like the "How to Get Published" panel
v. Hold Business Meeting directly after top papers panel
11. Adjourn
A SPECIAL THANKS TO KRISTI SCHOLTEN FOR HER HARD WORK IN PLANNING THE PROGRAM!!!
**Send e-newsletter ideas, interesting events, topics to John "Jack" A. Jones, Editor, University of Illinois at Chicago, jajones@uic.edu.