Announcements

Call for papers: Rhetorica Scandinavica special issue on the NKRF conference theme

In keeping with tradition, following the 2026 Nordic Conference for Rhetorical Research (NKRF10) we are calling for papers for a special issue of Rhetorica Scandinavica. We encourage all interested conference participants to submit their conference abstracts, in original or revised form.

 

Theme: Rhetoric and Democracy Revisited

Rhetorical studies have always had a stake in the conditions for political participation, and many scholars have suggested a particularly close link between rhetoric and democracy. This link might appear more than a little tenuous, however, for through much of history, the main function of rhetorical education was to supply authoritarian regimes with a compliant administrative workforce. The contemporary field of rhetoric, in contrast, appears firmly committed to the idea of democracy – as witnessed, for instance, in the program of «rhetorical citizenship».

The link between rhetoric and democracy is nevertheless complicated by developments in our time: As technological changes fundamentally redesign the infrastructures through which people communicate, interact and deliberate, how ought we to conceive of the link between rhetoric and democracy? When democracy as a political ideal is increasingly contested and challenged around the world, what role can we as rhetorical scholars play? And can rhetoric hope to save democracy from increasing economic inequality and concentration of power?

With the theme Rhetoric and Democracy Revisited, we invite contributors to this special issue to engage with our current historical moment and the ways in which rhetoric as a field understands democracy both as an idea and as an outcome of rhetorical praxis. Among the questions we pose are:

  • What is the relationship between the teaching of rhetoric and the status of democracy?
  • How do changes in the rhetorical architecture of democracy impact opportunities for participation?
  • How is democracy practiced rhetorically in different places around the world, and what might they learn from each other?
  • How can the history of rhetoric inform current discussions about democratic resilience and imagination?
  • How have technological changes shifted the conditions for democratic participation and decision-making?
  • What does «rhetorical democracy» stand for, and what does it oppose?
  • What is the normative status of democracy within the field of rhetoric?
  • How can rhetorical studies be placed in the service of democracy?

 

Form Requirements

Abstracts for the special issue may be up to 500 words, excluding references.

Authors are welcome to submit their abstract in Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, or English. Submitted manuscripts must relate to Nordic rhetorical research through either empirical data, methods, or theory.

For more practical information, see Rhetorica Scandinavica’s author’s guideline and style guide. 

 

Timeline

  • 19 June 2026: Submit abstract to t.s.offerdal@iln.uio.no 
  • 12 July 2026: Invitations to submit a full paper will be sent to selected authors
  • 1 November 2026: Deadline for submission of full manuscript
  • 15 April 2027: Deadline for final manuscript

 

Guest Editors

All submitted manuscripts are reviewed by the editors and go through double-blind peer review.