Good afternoon, everyone.
Please find the CFP for the NCA ARSTM Preconference Meeting at this link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nX34Sdt92vVK88m94BXkZ5IygX9wUjudV3EuPDL7oVg/edit?usp=sharing
CFP
How does scientific and medical knowledge circulate, and how does that
circulation shape whether publics trust what they hear? This question has
never been more urgent. In recent years, the very digital tools meant to
increase access to information and ease the methods of knowledge production
have been used to undermine these efforts. Misinformation spreads across
the globe in minutes, and retracted journal articles continue to circulate
and garner public attention. The foundations of scientific knowledge
production and circulation are being stress-tested in ways that scholars of
science, technology, and medicine could not have imagined 15 years ago.
Rhetorical circulation refers to the ways texts and discourses move through
time and space, transforming as they travel. As Michael Warner (2002) has
argued, circulation creates publics; as Jenny Edbauer has suggested,
rhetoric circulates through "ecologies of effects, enactments, and
engagements” (2005). The recent special issue of POROI (Volume 19, Issues
1-2) and the 2025 special issue of Rhetoric Society Quarterly have both
noted the challenges that rhetoricians of science, technology, and medicine
face and the unique opportunity to reframe how the discipline addresses
these challenges. Our field needs to determine how we can connect with our
colleagues in the sciences and medicine, as Leah Ceccarelli asks us to
consider in her seminal article “To Whom Do We Speak? The Audiences for
Scholarship on the Rhetoric of Science and Technology” (2013). Circulation
and trust, then, can serve as our lens for the preconference, focusing on
these two mutually reinforcing concepts. Circulation is not neutral. What
circulates, how fast, through which channels, and to whom are perennial
questions to address in our field.
The theme Circulation and Trust invites inquiries into the movement of
scientific, technical, and medical discourse, its consequences for public
trust, and how we, as rhetoricians of science, technology, and medicine,
can not only address these questions but also connect with our colleagues
in other disciplines. We are interested in submissions that investigate how
trust is built, eroded, or rebuilt as knowledge circulates; how rhetorical
velocity and kairos shape the uptake of scientific claims; how publics are
constituted (or fractured) through the circulation of health information;
and how rhetoricians might intervene to foster more trustworthy
communication ecologies.
Possible topics include:
–
Rhetorical circulation of scientific knowledge across platforms, genres,
and publics
–
Trust and mistrust in science communication
–
The rhetorical dynamics of misinformation, disinformation, and "fake
news" in scientific contexts
–
How retracted or debunked studies continue to circulate and persuade
–
AI-generated content and the transformation of scientific communication
–
Rhetorical velocity and rhetorics of science, technology, and medicine
–
Kairos and the timing of scientific interventions in public discourse
–
The role of ethos and credibility in an era of declining institutional
trust
–
Circulation and the formation of counterpublics around science,
technology, and medicine
–
Health communication and vaccine hesitancy as problems of circulation
–
Digital platforms, algorithms, and the infrastructures of scientific
circulation
–
Decolonial and indigenous perspectives on knowledge circulation and trust
–
Historical case studies of scientific circulation and public reception
–
The rhetoric of fact-checking, prebunking, and inoculation interventions
–
Trust-building practices in science communication and public engagement
We also welcome submissions broadly related to the rhetoric of science,
technology, and medicine.
Submission Guidelines:
Submissions may be in the form of individual abstracts or panel proposals
and should detail the main topic and approach in 500 words or fewer. Panel
proposals should include three or four presenters and an additional
100-word rationale for the panel that carefully details how each paper
contributes to an overall theme. To facilitate diversity of ideas and
panelists, we encourage panels that include speakers from multiple
institutions.
Submissions should be made through the online form by July 31, 2026. You
can find the form here: https://forms.gle/U4rU7TYiXxRjpLxUA
Questions about this CFP may be addressed to Dr. Gabriel Cutrufello at
gcutrufe.
For more details about the preconference, please subscribe to the ARSTM
listserv at arstmonline.org/listserv <https://www.arstmonline.org/listserv/>
and sign up for ARSTM membership at arstmonline.org/membership
<https://www.arstmonline.org/membership/>.
Sincerely,
Gabriel Cutrufello, PhD
Professor & Chair
Department of Communication and Writing <https://linktr.ee/ycpcommwriting>
York College of Pennsylvania
Humanities Building 154
gcutrufe