theory

In The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith reminds us that sympathy for another must emerge from an act of imagination. Yet this act of imagination ultimately fails to capture fully the suffering of another. "Though our brother is upon the rack," Smith warns, "our senses will never inform us of what he suffers" because "we ourselves are at our ease." It follows then that true sympathy and compassion can only come with vulnerability: when the spectator of suffering feels his own life in equal danger.

This session seeks papers on any aspect of contemporary rhetorical theory. Abstracts of 250-500 words are invited for papers to be delivered at the annual conference of the Rocky Mountain MLA in Vancouver, Washington, USA, Oct. 10-12, 2013. Topics may include (but are certainly not limited to) rhetorical listening, the rhetoric of propaganda, rhetorical practices of social change, 21st century literacies, digital literacies, disability studies, cybernetics and systems thinking, feminist, deconstructionist, Marxist, psychoanalytic and pedagogical approaches to the study, theory and practice of rhetoric today.

Due to the weather in the northeast last week, 'Coming Home' has been rescheduled and will now be held on Saturday, March 16. Due to the rescheduling, we have extended the deadline for proposals addressing the question of what it means to come home. What is a home, and what does the idea of being "at home" signify? What are the potential problems or benefits of being removed from home?

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are one of the best known couples in Literature. Since Arthur Canon Doyle first published his famous detective stories in 1887, with his work covering the years 1880 until 1914 when Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson finally retired to the countryside, these stories have not lost any of their charm. Frequent adaptations in both the book world and the movie world have demonstrated that the famous detective has neither lost his charm nor his appeal. Different adaptations have added different layers to the Sherlock Holmes universe. While Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock brought a sexy playfulness to the screen, Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock made his social ineptness as well as his disabilities more prominent.

Special Issue: Staging Allegory (Spring 2015)

ESSAYS DUE: September 1, 2013