Call for Proposals Ethos in Contemporary Contexts: Authority, Identity, and Trust in Contemporary Rhetoric
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Call for Proposals
Ethos in Contemporary Contexts:
Authority, Identity, and Trust in Contemporary Rhetoric
Edited, Academic Collection
Building on the foundational work of James S. Baumlin and Tita F. Baumlin’s Ethos: New Essays in Rhetorical and Critical Theory (1994) and James S. Baumlin and Craig A. Meyer’s Histories of Ethos (2018) collections and other landmark collections in rhetorical studies, this volume seeks to examine how ethos operates in contemporary communicative landscapes. This collection invites proposals that explore the construction, performance, negotiation, and reception of credibility and character across diverse rhetorical situations, media, and contexts.
As our communicative ecology continues to evolve—shaped by digital platforms, algorithmic mediation, social movements, global crises, and shifting power structures—the classical concept of ethos demands renewed theoretical and empirical attention. How do speakers and writers establish credibility in an age of misinformation? How does ethos function differently across digital and analog spaces? What new forms of ethical appeal have emerged, and what traditional forms persist or transform? How do marginalized communities construct authoritative voices in hostile rhetorical environments? In what ways can ethos now be interpreted? The potentials are seemingly endless regarding ethos and its interpretations, evolutions, and influences.
Submissions that address ethos from one or multiple disciplinary perspectives, including but not limited to rhetoric and composition, communication studies, digital humanities, cultural studies, political science, philosophy, and media studies are welcome. Both theoretical inquiries and empirically grounded analyses that illuminate how ethos functions in contemporary discourse are welcome, too. Further, we encourage international perspectives (i.e. non-Western) or cross-cultural perspective proposals. All proposals will be given equal consideration.
Possible Topics Include:
- Ethos and algorithmic culture (social media credibility, platform authority, digital reputation systems)
- Institutional and professional ethos in crisis (journalism, science, medicine, academia, government)
- Ethos and identity politics (intersectional credibility, minoritized voices, authenticity claims)
- Environmental and climate ethos (expertise, activism, corporate greenwashing)
- Visual and multimodal ethos (image-based credibility, memes, video platforms)
- Ethos in public health communication (vaccination discourse, pandemic messaging)
- Political ethos in populist and post-truth contexts
- Ethos and artificial intelligence (chatbots, deepfakes, automated content)
- Corporate and brand ethos in late capitalism
- Collective and distributed ethos (movements, networks, communities)
- Ethos and cancel culture/public accountability
- Pedagogical ethos in online and hybrid learning environments
- Ethos across languages, cultures, and transnational contexts
- Historical reexaminations of ethos theory
- Ethos beyond common understandings (e.g. haunt)
- Ethos and affect/emotion in contemporary rhetoric
- Counter-ethos and rhetorical resistance
- Ethos in specialized genres (podcasts, TikTok, Substack, etc.)
- Considerations of “ethos and” areas (e.g. ethos and authorship, ethos and technology)
- Other areas related to ethos
Submission Guidelines:
Please submit a proposal of approximately 300-450 words that clearly articulates:
- Your central research question or argument
- Your theoretical framework and/or methodology
- The foundational source(s) and contemporary connection(s)
- The significance of your contribution to understanding contemporary ethos
- Representative examples or case studies (if applicable)
Include a short biographical statement (100-150 words) with your name, contact information, institutional affiliation (if applicable), and relevant background.
Proposal Deadline: July 1, 2026
Proposals will be carefully reviewed for clarity of purpose, theoretical sophistication, and contribution to the collection's larger goals. Selected contributors will be invited to submit full chapters in late July or early August 2026.
Full Chapter Deadline: October 1, 2026
Final chapters should be 4,000-8,000 words, inclusive of all notes and bibliography. Please use Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition for all citations. All chapters will undergo peer review. The volume will be published by an academic press.
Submit proposals and queries/questions as one PDF document to:
Craig A. Meyer, PhD at craigameyer@gmail.com
Interested and want to work through some ideas? Contact Craig and we can set up a time to chat.
Please share this CFP widely! Thank you!
Craig A. Meyer