2026 Conference Theme: Rhetorical In/Dignities

22^nd Biennial Conference of the Rhetoric Society of America

Conference Co-Chairs: Lisa A. Flores, Noor Ghazal Aswad, Jordynn Jack, Kesha James, Michele Kennerly, Marina Levina, Amy Wan

When we gathered in 2024, we did so with emphasis on Just Rhetoric, refusing dismissive attitudes toward rhetoric’s power and insisting on rhetoric’s role in building just worlds. In 2026, we will turn our attention to Rhetorical In/Dignities, asking what it might mean to locate the histories and futures of rhetorical studies through in/dignities. Dignity tends toward inflections of honor, self respect, even decency. Typically considered an antonym of dignity, indignity is often linked with disgrace or shame. While not always conceptualized in terms of possession—one has, does not have, or loses dignity—the associations between dignity and ownership signal the need for rhetorical attention.

The conference co-chairs encourage members to explore the connotations and contours of in/dignity as they have been shaped, constituted, or contested by rhetorical practice or theory. Suggestions for inquiry include:

• Who has theorized in/dignity for rhetoric (or in rhetoric-friendly ways), and what are the key elements?
• How have discourses or theories of in/dignity changed over time? What accounts for the change? What continuities are observable?
• In what contexts has dignity been posited as a sort of moral universal all humans possess? How does that discourse operate? When is it tested? Is it as inclusive as it seems?
• Historically, how have threats to human dignity been envisioned and preparations urged? Currently?
• How is in/dignity raced, gendered, classed?
• What structures, places, or processes are designed to strip people or certain people of dignity?
• If possession of dignity is explicitly or implied tied to notions of territory, property, or homeland, how might rhetorical scholars theorize the in/dignities of diaspora, usurpation, and displacement? 
• How do authoritarian and totalitarian regimes designate populations as worthy or unworthy of dignity? 
• How do imperialist logics of war, invasions and genocide use in/dignities to justify violence and oppression? 
• How do marginalized or minoritized people claim dignity or counter social attitudes that mark them as lacking or being undeserving of dignity?
• What forms of legal and social redress attend to matters of dignity?
• In what ways can theories and discussions about in/dignity be enriched or productively vexed by comparative work?
• Are dignity and indignity entangled? How? When?
• When can a person or group use indignity to their advantage?
• As we navigate the violence of erasure, misinformation, disconnection, debilitation, and destruction, how might we imagine, see, and know the dignities of life, joy, connection, and community?
• How is in/dignity experienced in health and medical contexts?
• How can in/dignity help to frame inquiry into environmental, scientific, and technological advances and injustices?
• How do digital contexts and tools, such as AI, produce in/dignities?
• How might thinking through in/dignities foster new approaches to animal, plant, multispecies, or new materialist rhetorics?
• How do disability studies perspectives help to theorize and analyze in/dignities?

For many of us, the promise of rhetoric lies in the vulnerabilities, contradictions, and contingencies inherent to discourse. These entanglements—of dignities with indignities—amplify the need for rhetorical conversations, theories, and debates. 

The submission site will open approximately May 12. We welcome proposals that cultivate reflection and conversation; in particular, we invite members to channel the vibrancy and quirkiness of Portland, Oregon. Additionally, we strongly encourage the submission of completed panels.

We are excited to read your proposals and look forward to seeing you in the Pacific northwest, in May 2026. All inquiries can be sent to [email protected].