THE YOUNG RHETORICIANS’ CONFERENCE (YRC) on college rhetoric and composition–part pedagogical conversation, part convivial retreat–welcomes presentations on students’ diverse literacies and linguistic worlds. 

Many of the challenges of teaching writing exist alongside possibilities, as traumatic crises (pandemic, climate change, war, white supremacy, labor precarity and teaching conditions) have called for transformative pedagogical approaches. For example, the widespread dissemination of misinformation and disinformation has renewed interest in information literacy. The emergence of AI platforms like ChatGPT has fostered discussions about integrity, accuracy, agency, and alternative forms of composing. Calls for uniformity in academic language have been met with considerations of linguistic justice and the significance of student expression and voice. 

In these larger contexts, how do we nurture our students’ diverse and developing literacies while preparing them for challenging–and potentially rewarding–new rhetorical and information ecosystems? How do we center students’ voices and encourage them to play in rich multimodal compositions: written, visual, and even sonic? How can we help students to explore and share the many worlds–spatial, temporal, linguistic, and more–that they belong to? In your writing pedagogy, what possibilities do you embrace and what do you resist? 

Please propose individual papers or panels that directly or indirectly consider how writing instruction can address and celebrate students’ literacies and linguistic worlds. We welcome presentations outside traditional conference formats, including workshops and roundtables, and encourage participation. 

Participants with disabilities, neurodivergence, chronic illnesses, and other accessibility issues are welcome. Please see the CFP Google Form for information on Covid precautions and to request disability accommodations. Email us with questions at youngrhetconf@gmail.com.

Criteria for Proposals

We invite individual 30-minute workshop presentations or 60-minute group presentations or roundtable discussions. 

• Your proposal should include a title, description of presentation (75 words or less), and summary of the presentation’s relevance to practice (250 words or less).
• We encourage you to directly or indirectly engage with the conference theme.
• We invite full and part-time/contingent faculty as well as graduate students to propose presentations.

👉 Please submit a proposal on this Google Form by Monday, April 1. Notifications will be sent via email by Monday, April 22.

We also rely on volunteer moderators for both onsite and virtual panels. Moderators serve as points of contact. Before the conference, they contact panelists to address any needs and gather information such as name pronunciation, pronouns, and speaker biographies. During the panels, they introduce the presenters, keep time, and moderate question and answer sessions. 

We welcome moderators at any stage of their academic careers, including graduate students. Moderating can be an enjoyable way to make connections, add a line to your CV, and participate in academic conversation in a low-stress, high-satisfaction way. 

If you are willing to moderate, please fill out the Google Form and check that you are interested in moderating a panel. You can be a presenter or moderator only or can participate as both. We will be in touch about potential moderator assignments after panels are formed.

Conference Format

• Thursday, June 20: Onsite/in-person at Dream Inn, Santa Cruz, with streaming of select sessions, including Rhetorician of the Year and Keynote Speaker, over Zoom 

Friday, June 21: Remote over Zoom

Note: All presenters must be registered for the conference by Monday, June 10, 2024 to be included on the program.