Call for Submissions: Study of Communication, Language, and Gender (OSCLG) Conference

Join us at the 2025 OSCLG conference (October 22-26, 2025), which will convene at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN. The conference will feature interdisciplinary scholarship, performances, and activism around the theme of Muddy Waters. Being a few blocks away from the Mississippi River, this theme reminds us that our feminist work is not easy. Our next steps forward are not always clear. But our conviction keeps us moving. So, we find a way through even still.

Leaving the reenergizing springs of the feminist frontier, we wade out into the deep. With every step, we see the ripples of our hard work flow into the waters of scholarship. Just like Farias and Chuang (2014), we know that “it is because those waters are changed through our actions that we must continue accepting new and challenging opportunities. In doing so, we accept the expectations that our changes open new and hopefully more just ways of moving through these complex social systems” (p. 77).

Through the theme of Muddy Waters, we will explore the messiness of scholarly inquiry, the ebbs and flows of engaging in social change, the murkiness of the current political climate on feminist scholarship, and more. We invite submissions of papers, extended abstracts, panel sessions, roundtable discussions, creative projects, and performances that address any aspect of communication, language, and gender, and especially those based in intersectionality, trans-inclusivity, transnational feminism, and advocacy. We ask that individuals not exceed being included on more than two submissions. All submissions are due June 15, 2025, with decisions about acceptance expected by the end of July.

Farias, S. K., & Chuang, H.-Y. (S.) (2014). Special issue introduction: Coming to terms in the muddy waters of qualitative inquiry in communication studies. Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research, 13, Article 6. http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/kaleidoscope/vol13/iss1/6

You can submit to the conference here.

Please send any questions to Janine Armstrong, Ivy Fofie, and Natonya Listach at osclgsubmissions@gmail.com.

Call for Papers: Works in Progress Symposium

The Center for the Study of Rhetoric, Race, and Religion invites submissions for its virtual Works in Progress Summer Symposium on July 29, 2025. This interdisciplinary symposium aims to foster dialogue and collaboration among scholars exploring the intersections of rhetoric, race, and religion. This symposium will offer a supportive space for researchers at any stage of their project, from initial ideas to emerging findings, to share, receive feedback, and refine their work in a collegial setting.

Symposium Focus

We welcome submissions that engage with the complex interplay of rhetoric, race, and religion in historical or contemporary contexts. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Rhetorical strategies in religious and racial justice movements
• The role of race and religion in political discourse
• Rhetorical analyses of sermons, sacred texts, or religious performances
• Intersections of faith, identity, and activism
• The influence of rhetoric on religious communities
• Explorations of ideology, nationalism, and religious rhetoric
• Indigenous, Black, and non-Western perspectives on rhetoric and religion

Submission Guidelines

Eligibility: Open to faculty, graduate students, and independent scholars.
Format: Submit a 250-word abstract outlining the project’s central questions, methods, and current stage. Works in progress may include early conceptualizations, ongoing research, or recently completed studies that are not yet fully developed.
Panel Proposals: Proposals for panels (5-6 speakers) are also welcome and should be limited to 500 words, including each speaker’s name, email, and institutional affiliation.
Presentation: Accepted works will be presented in brief (7–10 minute) sessions, followed by facilitated feedback and discussion.
Deadline: Submit abstracts by June 30, 2025.

Registration for the one-day symposium: 

$25 for CSR3 members

$50 for non-members

*Registration includes membership in CSR3

To submit your abstract and register, click here.

We encourage submissions that are experimental, interdisciplinary, or challenge traditional boundaries. Join us in advancing scholarship and building community in these vital areas of study.

For questions, contact the Center for the Study of Rhetoric, Race, and Religion at rhetoric raceandreligion@gmail.com

We look forward to your contributions!