The 2024 Biennial Public Address Conference, Rhetoric on the Edge, will be held September 22-25, 2024, in Austin, Texas, and hosted by the Department of Communication Studies in partnership with the UT’s Department of Rhetoric and Writing, the College of Liberal Arts, the Moody College of Communication, Trinity University's Department of Human Communication and Theatre, and the National Communication Association. 

For more than thirty years, the Public Address Conference (PAC) has been one of the most prestigious small conferences in the field of communication-rhetoric, sparking some of the most significant conversations among rhetoric scholars who study public address. We define public address broadly and chose the theme Rhetoric on the Edge because, as recent discussions in the field demonstrate (e.g., #CommunicationSoWhite; #RhetoricSoWhite), for too long the study of public address and rhetoric more broadly have centered on mainstream speakers, ideas, and movements. We seek rhetorics from the edge as a way to expand the scope of how we conceive of and understand both public address and rhetoric. Topics of exploration for this conference will include marginalized/minoritized voices and rhetorics in the U.S. and beyond. Even as our field’s scope has tried to become more inclusive and expansive, we still see great need in not only drawing attention to, but actually centering edge rhetorics in ways that address the problems of how edge scholarship, for example in racial rhetorical criticism, might be both abundant and marginalized (Flores, 2016; CC/CS forum, 2018). 

The Keynote Address for the 2024 PAC will be delivered by Lisa Flores, Weiss Chair and Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Gender and Women’s Studies at Pennsylvania State University. Professor Flores has authored dozens of articles and the multi-award-winning book, Disposable and Deportable: Public Rhetoric and the Making of the “Illegal” Immigrant (Penn State Press, 2020). In addition, PAC’s opening night will entail a “State of the Field” panel. As is customary, the main conference will occur over two days and include eight plenary speakers (Omedi Ochieng, Ashley Hall, Lamiyah Bahrainwala, Cate Palczewski, Pamela VanHaitsma, Jennifer LeMesurier, Angela Aguayo, and Tiara Na’puti) with two respondents each and culminate with Professor Flores’s lecture.  

Since we recognize the difficulty of obtaining institutional funding for conferences in which you are not presenting, this year we will have three special sessions to which you can apply. First, we invite graduate students and early career scholars to apply to participate in a special mentoring lunch on the first day of the conference. This session will feature several leading scholars and mentors in the field, and it will be an opportunity to network and learn strategies for success in graduate school and the first few years of the academic career. If accepted, you will receive a formal letter of acceptance that you can use to obtain funding for attendance. On the second day, we will host a session on publishing that will also feature leading authors from the field, including book series editors.  Similarly, those accepted will receive a letter of acceptance. Finally, we will host a preconference panel on the state of higher education and rhetoric in Texas, on Sunday before the opening panel. All those who apply to any of these special sessions are invited and encouraged to attend the entire conference.  Please email Stacey Sowards for more information on how to apply:  stacey.sowards@utexas.edu.

Because PAC is not connected to an organization and must be funded entirely by the host university and registration fees, all participants are required to register for the conference and pay for their own hotel and travel. Our registration fee for tenured, tenure-track, and emeriti faculty is $250, and for graduate students and contingent faculty a reduced rate of $200 will be charged. Registration is inclusive of all meals on the two main days of the conference. Participants will only need to pay for their own dinner on the opening evening, but there will be a reception with free hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. Additionally, we have secured a rate at the UT-Austin AT&T Conference Center of $199/night, with an expectation of a three-night stay (must be booked before August 23, 2024). For anyone who wants to share a room, we can help to connect you with potential roommates.  

To receive the above rates, all participants must register for the conference by June 30, 2024. After that, the rates increase to $300 for tenured, tenure-track and emeriti faculty and $250 for graduate students and contingent faculty. All registrations must be completed by September 10, 2024. No on-site registration will be available.  

If you have any questions, please reach out to the site co-host, Professor Stacey Sowards at stacey.sowards@utexas.edu. 

We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Austin, Texas in September 2024! 

Sincerely, 

Your hosts: Stacey Sowards, Annie Hill, and Karma R. Chávez