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RSA 2018 - Pre-Conference Workshops now Accepting Applications! Deadline January 15, 2018
The Co-Chairs of the 2018 Biennial RSA Conference invite you to apply for the exciting pre-conference events that will take place on May 30 and 31, in Minneapolis. Similar to 2016, RSA has developed original programming and partnered with the International Society for the History of Rhetoric (ISHR) to provide attendees with opportunities for professional development, career advancement, and training. The application portals for the following events are now OPEN:
* 2018 RSA/ISHR Seminar on “The Sublime: Longinus and Beyond”
* 2018 RSA Career Retreat for Associate Professors
* 2018 RSA Leadership Workshop
* 2018 RSA Workshop for Contingent Faculty
Review of applications for these events will begin on December 1, 2017. We encourage you to apply early; however, reviews will continue through January 15, 2018. Notification of acceptances will take place by early February.
Detailed descriptions of each pre-conference workshop appear below.
In addition, registration is open and the hotel is accepting reservations. The please click the following links for those details:
## RSA/ISHR Seminar on “The Sublime: Longinus and Beyond”
Wednesday, May 30, and Thursday, May 31, 2018
Why are we overwhelmed when listening to a powerful speech? That is the question that Longinus raises in On the Sublime, one of the most enigmatic rhetorical treatises to survive from antiquity. The Greek author is unknown, the date is uncertain, and we do not know the addressee, but the treatise had a great impact on the history of aesthetics, philosophy and rhetoric. In this seminar, Casper de Jonge from the University of Leiden, will lead a discussion of Longinus’ On the Sublime and its relevance to modern rhetoric. The first session will focus on the concept of the sublime, and the structure and unity of the work. The second session will concentrate on the date and intellectual context of the work. In the third session we will discuss applications of the sublime in modern rhetoric: participants are invited to choose one example of sublime rhetoric from any period or tradition, which we will analyze from a Longinian perspective.
## 2018 RSA Workshop for Contingent Faculty
Thursday, May 31, 2018
The primary focus of this session is helping contingent faculty find and/or enhance their ability to do research/scholarship. Depending on the needs of participants, we can help think through issues such as: developing a trajectory that's manageable given heavy teaching loads; accessing research funds, even on campuses that withhold them from contingent faculty; establishing collaborations and networks for scholarly activity; choosing and framing scholarly activities in pursuit of and independently of tenure-track positions; taking advantage of flexibility that contingent positions afford; and more. Secondarily, given time and interest, the facilitators are experienced labor activists and organizers who can help contingent faculty strategize and advocate for improved working conditions.
## 2018 RSA Career Retreat for Associate Professors
Wednesday, May 30 and Thursday, May 31, 2018
The Career Retreat for Associate Professors is an initiative of the RSA to reach out to associate professors seeking to complete a scholarly project and achieve promotion to full professor. Following tenure, many RSA members suffer from isolation at their home institutions that can make completing scholarly projects difficult. Advice and support on advancement issues often disappears, and a host of new obligations often compete for our attention.
With a special invitation for women and underrepresented minorities, the 2018 Career Retreat offers the opportunity to work with a senior member of the RSA who has agreed to serve as a Career Mentor to:
* Learn how to “read” your own institution,
* Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your current curriculum vita,
* Develop an action plan to achieve promotion to full professor, and
* Confer with a writing workgroup designed to sustain you once the Retreat is completed.
Following the Retreat, your writing workgroup will be asked to keep in touch on a monthly basis and check in with your Career Mentor every few months. Writing workgroups are expected to continue for at least 18 months.
Retreat Leaders:
Cheryl Geisler, Simon Fraser University
Lynee Lewis Gaillet, Georgia State University
Kate Adams, Loyola University New Orleans
Leah Ceccarelli, University of Washington
The Career Retreat is open to all associate professors. Women and underrepresented minorities are particularly encouraged to apply.
Please apply no later than January 15, 2018. Notification will be sent by February 15. Space is limited to 25 participants.
Questions about the Career Retreat can be directed in email to Cheryl Geisler, cgeisler@sfu.ca. See you there!
## 2018 RSA Leadership Workshop
Wednesday, May 30, and Thursday, May 31, 2018
In this day and a half workshop, participants who are on a leadership trajectory and who are interested in preparing for the “next step” will engage with seminar leaders, past workshop participants and fellow colleagues to explore the rhetorical basis of leadership and the impact of a rhetorical understanding of leadership on day to day practice and decision making. Specifically, participants will learn how to look within to assess their strengths as leaders, and to look outward to assess their perceptions of their organizations and how those perceptions – along with the material structures and exigencies of organizations – influence their leadership style and decision-making. The first day of the workshop will be devoted to completing and discussing various assessment instruments, group activities, case studies, and readings. An alumni panel featuring past workshop participants will join the workshop the second morning followed by a final round of guided reflection, responses, and planning in relation to the specific leadership roles and challenges participants have articulated throughout the workshop.
The seminar leaders are Professor Victoria Gallagher of North Carolina State University and Professor David Kaufer of Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Gallagher has held a number of administrative and leadership positions both at her university and in professional associations, including serving as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at NC State (2008-2015), and serving as President of the Southern States Communication Association (2017-18). Dr. Kaufer served 15 years as Department Head of English at Carnegie Mellon, is a former member of the RSA Board and an RSA Fellow.
Apply Here: 2018 Workshop in Leadership
