The Canadian Society for the Study of Rhetoric
The CSSR 2017 Call for Papers is currently in review & translation.
Please start to plan your presentation proposal. It is due January 15, 2017.
Consider your travel plans to attend the conference at Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada, from May 30 to June 1, 2017. Congress usually offers low-cost campus accommodation as well as hotel and airline discounts. Congress registration fees will be available at reduced early-bird rates until March 31.
More information is on our Conference page.
Our association’s meeting dates at the 2017 Congress in Toronto are as follows: / Nous avons été informés que les dates de notre colloque au Congrès de 2017 à Toronto sont :
The Congress as a whole starts May 26 and ends on Friday June 2. / Le congrès dans son ensemble commence le 26 mai et s’achève le vendredi 2 juin.
You can see the dates for all the Congress associations here: / Vous trouverez les dates pour toutes les sociétés du congrès ici : http://www.congress2017.ca/sites/default/files/sites/default/uploads/conference-schedule-2017-en.pdf
Our CSSR/SCÉR association and 2017 conference will be described thus on the Congress website:
Rhetoric is the study of strategic communication through the lens of “rhetorical” theories and perspectives. Rhetorical theory, criticism, and pedagogy provide insight and instruction into how people communicate effectively (or ineffectively) and ethically (or unethically) in order to inform, persuade or delight their audiences. Rhetoric is actively performed in all media and situations, all cultures and languages, whether or not rhetors (communicators) are conscious of using rhetoric. Rhetoric is not limited to “public discourse,” although much of rhetorical study has focused on public discourse.
Our conference at the Congress in 2017 will have some sessions focused on the topic of “Rhetoric and Interdisciplinarity / Disciplinarity.” We have chosen this theme because we are well aware that rhetoric and rhetoricians find their home in a wide variety of academic disciplines and institutions in Canada and beyond. We would like to understand how disciplinarity or interdisciplinarity affects the study and teaching of various kinds of rhetoric in various institutional locations, both historically and today.
(Sorry, no French translation yet)
The CSSR/SCÉR 2017 Call for Proposals (CFP) is currently in development, and it will need to be translated into French before circulation, hopefully by November.
Submissions will be due by January 15, 2017.
The CFP will be very similar to the 2016 (last year’s) call for proposals, except for the more detailed description of the year’s theme for special sessions and the keynote speaker info.
We always welcome topics on any theme in rhetorical studies, not just presentations that fit our theme for the year.
Students are always welcome to present.
We hope you will start planning your presentation proposal soon!
The 2017 conference of the Canadian Society for the Study of Rhetoric / Société Canadienne pour l’Étude de la Rhétorique will once again be held as part of the Canadian Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. / La conférence 2017 de la Société Canadienne pour l’Étude de la Rhétorique / Canadian Society for the Study of Rhétorique se déroulera, une nouvelle fois, dans le cadre du Congrès des sciences humaines du Canada.
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Ryerson University. / Lieu: Toronto, Ontario, Université Ryerson
Date: TBA (on 3 DAYS between May 27-June 2) / Dates: à préciser (3 JOURS entre le 27 mai et le 2 juin)
This year, we are especially interested in presentations that explore through research and scholarship how “rhetorical studies” has been located within or among various disciplines in Canada and abroad, historically, today, and perhaps potentially in the future. In what contexts is/was rhetoric a discipline, and/or to what degree is/was it seen as innately interdisciplinary? How is rhetoric’s inter/disciplinarity defined not only by academic politics and structures, but by broader social contexts and ideologies? What kinds of rhetorical strategies are used to articulate the relation of rhetorical studies to various other fields of study? And ultimately, why or how does its inter/disciplinarity matter? — How have certain professions, roles, communities, and projects benefited from, or suffered with or without a disciplinary/interdisciplinary study of rhetoric? How does rhetoric’s inter/disciplinarity potentially strengthen or weaken the quality, diversity, identity and visibility of “rhetorical” scholarship, education, and practice, in Canada and beyond?
Cette année, nous sommes particulièrement intéressés par les communications qui font état de la recherche sur la manière dont les « études rhétoriques » se situent au sein et au travers de différentes disciplines au Canada et à l’étranger, et ce, historiquement, aujourd’hui, et potentiellement dans le futur. Dans quels contextes la rhétorique a été/est toujours une discipline et/ou dans quelle mesure elle est/était considérée comme intrinsèquement interdisciplinaire ? Comment l’interdisciplinarité de la rhétorique est-elle envisagée, non seulement par les politiques et structures académiques, mais également dans des contextes sociaux et dans des idéologies plus larges ? Quels types de stratégies rhétoriques sont mises en œuvre pour articuler la relation entre les études rhétoriques et d’autres champs d’étude ? Et enfin, pourquoi cette inter/disciplinarité est-elle importante, et comment cette importance se manifeste-t-elle ? – Comment certaines professions, postes, communautés et projets ont pu tirer bénéfice d’une approche disciplinaire/interdisciplinaire de la rhétorique ? Comment ont-ils été fragilisés par cette approche ou, au contraire, par l’absence d’une telle approche ? Comment l’inter/disciplinarité de la rhétorique peut renforcer ou affaiblir la qualité, la diversité, l’identité et la visibilité des études, de l’éducation et de la pratique de la « rhétorique », au Canada et ailleurs ?
As usual, we will also welcome presentations on all topics, themes and aspects of rhetorical studies. / Les propositions relatives à tous les aspects de la rhétorique restent, comme toujours, bienvenues, et ceci, quel que soit le champ d’étude envisagé.
Call for Proposals: to be distributed in Fall 2016, with proposals due by January 15, 2017 / Appel à propositions : diffusion prévue à l’automne 2016 ; les propositions de communications seront attendues pour le 15 janvier 2017.
The award this year went to / Le prix est décerné cette année à
Lyuba Encheva, Ryerson University
“The Grammar and Rhetoric of Gamification”
Abstract: This paper examines the political implications of the “mechanization of work” within games and the concept of “work” as the end result of a game. I engage in a close reading of Michael Hugos’ 2013 book Enterprise Games through Burkean dramatism. The examination of rhetorical devices in the book unveils a contradiction at the core of the “gamification” concept: it rests on the presumption that players’ engagement or “intrinsic motivation” can be externally stimulated.
Résumé : Cet article analyse, d’une part, les implications politiques de la « mécanisation du travail » eu égard à la problématique des jeux, et, d’autre part, le concept de « travail » en tant que résultat final d’un jeu. Pour ce faire, l’auteur conduit une lecture suivie de l’ouvrage de Michael Hugos, Enterprise Games, paru en 2013, à travers le « dramatisme » propre à Kenneth Burke. L’examen des dispositifs rhétoriques exposés dans le livre dévoile une contradiction au cœur de la notion de « ludification » (gamification) : elle repose sur la présomption suivant laquelle l’engagement ou la « motivation intrinsèque » des joueurs peuvent être stimulés de l’extérieur.
We welcome Lyuba Encheva to submit her complete, revised paper for publication in Rhetor, the Society’s journal. / Nous serons heureux d’accueillir la version révisée de l’article de Lyuba Encheva pour publication dans un prochain numéro de Rhetor, la revue électronique de notre Société.
Congratulations! / Félicitations!
It’s conference season for many of us, and good presentations are a rhetorical art.
I would like to recommend this short article re-distributed by email today by the University Affairs magazine:
Also of interest from University Affairs: