Posted by Nathan R. Johnson on 2025-03-25
2026 marks the 25th anniversary of POROI (Project on the Rhetoric of Inquiry) and the first issue of that year will be dedicated to reimagining the journal’s next twenty-five years and beyond. We invite scholars to contribute articles that:
- 1.) Explore emerging rhetorical challenges in science, technology, medicine, and public discourse.
- 2.) Propose new methodological directions for rhetorical inquiry or expand upon existing approaches.
- 3.) Address the role of rhetoric in shaping knowledge in an era of rapid technological change.
- 4.) Reimagine interdisciplinary collaborations and public engagement in rhetorical studies.
- 5.) Expand rhetorical approaches to better include ecological rhetorics with a focus on the Anthropocene.
- 6.) Respond to our current political climate and analyze or investigate policies and their impacts.
The word “inquiry” brings a variety of denotations and connotations. It could mean seeking information, investigation, or systematic questioning. It could imply an effort to uncover truth, resolve uncertainty, or deepen understanding. More subtly, inquiry could suggest intellectual rigor, as in scientific inquiry or philosophical inquiry, where disciplined methods are applied to expand knowledge. In some contexts, inquiry takes on an authoritative or bureaucratic tone, as in government or institutional inquiries, where the term is associated with accountability, oversight, or scrutiny. Or inquiry can also evoke interpersonal dynamics, as in a personal inquiry into someone's well-being, which suggests concern and attentiveness. “Inquiry” carries both neutrality and intention. Inquiry can mean all these things, and this POROI call for papers invites contributors to set the agenda for the journal’s future.
We encourage submissions from established scholars, early-career researchers, and interdisciplinary thinkers who seek to expand the scope of rhetorical inquiry. We especially encourage submissions that engage with fundamental ideas about what a rhetoric of inquiry can, could, or should explore. That is, we are seeking expansive expressions of the future of rhetorical scholarship that explores science, technology, and medicine.
Submission Guidelines:
We welcome a wide range of submission formats, including traditional academic essays of at least 2000 words, multimedia projects, video or audio essays, interactive digital work, and other experimental forms that push the boundaries of rhetorical scholarship.
* Proposals (250–500 words) are due by May 15th. Proposals should be submitted through POROI's submission system: https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/poroi/submit/start/.
* Full submissions (written, audio, video, or multimodal) are due by August 1st.
For inquiries and submissions, please contact Nathan Johnson at nathanjohnson@usf.edu.
This anniversary issue is an opportunity to collectively define the next era of POROI. We look forward to contributions that will chart the course for rhetorical studies in the decades ahead.