Workshop 10: Rhetoric and Mindfulness

Leaders: Jeremy Engels (Pennsylvania State University)

Mindfulness has become incredibly popular in North America during the twenty-first century.
How might this ancient practice, first developed by Buddhists in what is now northern India and
southern Nepal over two millennia ago, speak to the concerns of rhetorical studies—and what can
rhetorical scholars add to the contemporary cultural conversation on mindfulness? These are the
questions we take up in this workshop. Our shared goal in this workshop is to understand how
mindfulness might contribute to rhetorical studies and how rhetorical scholars might contribute to
contemporary conversations about mindfulness. Together we will investigate how mindfulness practice
can aid rhetorical practice by challenging the inner workings of the attention economy. We will study
theories and histories of mindfulness, illuminating the curious blind spot that exists in relation to
language and symbol use in many contemporary conversations about meditation—hence building a
case for the importance of the type of work we do as rhetorical scholars. And we will practice
mindfulness meditation, focusing, in particular, on mindfulness of language. This workshop will
introduce participants to a number of mindfulness resources and practices they can use in the
classroom and engage in their scholarship. My hope is that it will jumpstart new, cutting edge research
on mindfulness and rhetoric, as well as build collaborations that will enrich that research.

Note from the organizers:
As per previous workshops, there may be pre-reading and pre-work required before June. Your leaders will reach out to you some time after registration with additional details.

There will be no A/V equipment available in this workshop. The workshop leaders encourage participants to bring charged devices with their preferred hardware and software pre-loaded, especially for any participants who have accessibility needs. You should indicate any accessibility needs on your registration form.