Rhetorical Flows: Building Transnational Solidarities and Cultures of Resistance

Rhetorical Flows: Building Transnational Solidarities and Cultures of Resistance

When: August 2026 | Where: University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Deadline: 21 March 2026 by 23:59 CET / 17:59 ET / 19:59 ART

Keynote speakers:

Dr. Noor Ghazal Aswad, University of Alabama, USA

Dr. Emiliano J. Buis, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Planning Committee for the 5th Biennial International Rhetoric Workshop invites international PhD students, emerging scholars, and established researchers to come together and consider the myriad ways that our contemporary and established traditions of rhetorical theory, pedagogy, and criticism inform global flows of meaning-making. In the heart of Buenos Aires, at the Centro Cultural Paco Urondo (Institute of Linguistics, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, UBA), the workshop will center on the theme, “Rhetorical Flows: Building Transnational Solidarities and Cultures of Resistance,” inviting participants to reflect critically with and from a city that has long been a site of poetic militancy, political mobilization, and intercultural exchange. Named for Francisco “Paco” Urondo -- poet, journalist, academic, and activist who fused literary creativity with resistance to authoritarianism -- this Center locates us amid a legacy of words as weapons, ideas as action, and networks of solidarity that transcend borders and boundaries. Buenos Aires itself, with its histories of migration, contestation, memory, and re-appropriations of public space, offers a vital ground for exploring how rhetorical practices flow across languages, geographies, traditions, time, peoples, and cultures. We welcome proposals that draw on this spirit: whether tracing the circulation of rhetorical forms, investigating collaborative practices of dissent, or imagining new solidarities that respond to both local and global urgencies. This year’s theme, “Rhetorical Flows: Building Transnational Solidarities & Cultures of Resistance,” prompts us to examine the notions of 1) Solidarity in a global, yet increasingly divided world; and 2) Strategies of rebellion against—and critical engagements with—the gaps between the affluent and the poor, technology and nature, artificiality and authenticity, generations and communities. In preparation for the 5th International Rhetoric Workshop 2026, we invite submissions on the themes of solidarity, transnationality, and resistance.

Proposals may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

● Decolonial and Indigenous rhetorics of solidarity and survivance

● Migration, diaspora, and the rhetoric of belonging

● Feminist, queer, trans, and transnational alliances in rhetorical practice

● Environmental rhetorics and planetary interdependence

● Digital flows: global media, activism, and networked publics

● Affective and embodied rhetorics of protest, care, and collective action

● Visual rhetorics and the representation of violence, resistance, and hope

● Rhetorics of empire, extraction, and resistance

● Language, power, and worldmaking across cultural and linguistic contexts

● Rhetorical imaginaries of abolition, decolonization, and mutual aid

● Poetics, performance, and storytelling as transnational rhetorical practice

● Public memory, commemoration, and the shaping of collective solidarities

● Argumentation, discourse, and the negotiation of local, regional, and global crises

● Histories of resistance, revolutionary communication, and counterpublics

● Theorizing “flow” as rhetorical method, metaphor, and material condition

● Solidarities across difference: translation, misunderstanding, and co-creation

● Rhetoric and the Global South: epistemic justice and counter-knowledge

● Border rhetorics, mobility, and the politics of movement

● Social movement rhetorics and transnational networks of dissent

● Pedagogies of resistance and transnational rhetorical education

During the 2026 International Rhetoric Workshop, participants will have the opportunity:

a) to attend lectures of prominent keynote speakers in the field of rhetoric who will provide in-depth insights into current trends, challenges, and future directions on the theme, and who will participate in other aspects of the workshop as well

b) to participate in workshop sessions where they can share their research projects, book chapters, articles, and dissertations in progress with peers and senior scholars; and

c) to develop networking opportunities and meaningful relationships in a small workshop environment for collaboration with researchers in the field from all over the world

Submission Guidelines:

● Please submit proposed abstracts (no more than 250 words) to the Submission Form. We are accepting proposals in English and Spanish.

● The content of the abstracts should clearly outline the research question, methodology, and expected contribution to the field.

● Applicants can expect to hear back by April 20, 2026

● Additional information can be found on the IRW website. Any questions can be forwarded to internationalrhetoric@gmail.com.

Workshop Costs

● The registration fee for participating in the workshop is pending and will be consistent with the fees for regional events.

● Participants will be responsible for accommodations in Buenos Aires. The Planning Committee will provide participants with affordable accommodation options near the event center through our partnership with the University of Buenos Aires

● Participants will also need to make their own travel arrangements to Argentina. More information will be provided to accepted proposals. We are looking forward to your participation in the 2026 International Rhetoric Workshop in Buenos Aires. Sharing expertise, perspectives, and scholarly endeavors will steer our collective exploration toward novel insights into the theme.

On behalf of the Planning Committee