Balancing growth and collegiality: reflections on the inaugural Rhetoric Society of America Summer Project at the University of Nevada, Reno

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe 2019 Rhetoric Society of America Project on Power, Place, and Publics at the University of Nevada, Reno (RSA Project) served several objectives for its participants, organizers, and RSA. It was also an occasion to study the University of Nevada, Reno's Campus Master Plan and its impact on communities and students. It provided intensive instruction in field methods for those who attended the event. It was also a chance to experiment with a format that might ameliorate the pressure that growth has created for RSA. RSA's expansion since 2000 has begun to diversify the association and extend the subjects and methods of academic research in rhetoric. At the same time, this growth has made it difficult to create small, informal, and/or collaborative settings for intellectual growth. The inaugural RSA Project's focus on a common theme and shared encounters in the field recaptured the spirit that characterized RSA's past. In addition, the 2019 RSA Project in Reno set the stage for future projects that will retain the collaborative and intimate learning experience of the inaugural event.