CFP: Confronting Toxic Rhetoric
ten grrl
"Toxic rhetoric" as defined by Duffy (2020) is comprised of dishonesty, unaccountability, demonization, violence, denial, and poverty of spirit, and, most disturbingly, is not only persuasive to many people, but serves as an identity-shaping force. Duffy writes: “it invites us not only to affirm or deny a given rhetorical argument, but more, to define ourselves within the terms and tropes of the rhetoric” (41).The “effectiveness” of toxic rhetoric in the recent past and present political and cultural moment in the US has fundamentally challenged many of the concepts and purposes that have inspired and directed the curricula and pedagogies of teachers and scholars of writing, rhetoric, ethical argument, information literacy, and critical thinking, and critical literacy broadly conceived. As higher educators, this has presented difficulties to our careers and, for some, even family lives. This collection seeks to illuminate the difficulties and challenges of toxic rhetoric on our teaching and lives through the experiences, questions, reflections, responses, and actions of teachers in the broad field of English Studies. It will share their approaches to teaching, working, and perhaps to living during the Trump era.
Bryna Siegel Finer, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Cathryn Molloy, James Madison University