Seattle Convention Draws Record Submission

by Sara Hayden, President-elect

The deadline for submitting papers, panels, and workshops for the 2007 convention has passed and I’m pleased to report that it has been a banner year for submissions. Several Interest Group Chairs have told me that they have received record numbers of competitive papers and panels programs and that the quality of the submissions is high. Although this makes their and their reviewers’ job more difficult, it also means that the Seattle conference promises to be intellectually exciting, creative, and diverse. Final decisions about the paper and panel programming are still a few weeks away, but let me offer a preview of a few events you can count on attending:

• The Kickoff, scheduled for Saturday, February 17, ushers in a return of “Miss Scarlet and Her Imaginary Friends.” With help from Susan Owen, Oscar Ginar, Grace Livingston, Dexter Gordon, Peter C. Ehrenhaus, Sara R. Stein, Wenshu Lee, Heather Hundley, Dustin Goltz, and Jac Royce, this year, Miss Scarlet and her friends own up to the consequences of race slavery and white supremacy – twin bedrocks of American capitalism and democracy. Performed as post-modern parody, this is sure to be an energetic and thought-provoking event.

• This year’s Keynote Speaker is the poet and award-winning columnist for The Nation magazine, Katha Pollitt. Pollitt is the author of several books, including Virginity or Death! And Other Social and Political Issues of Our Time, and Antarctic Traveler, which received the 1982 National Book Critics Award. An insightful and witty critic of popular culture and politics, we can expect Pollitt to offere a spirited, funny, and incisive address.

• Conference participants also have the opportunity to participate in one of two pre-conferences. At my request, Suzanne Daughton is heading up a pre-conference closely related to the convention theme. Titled “Reframing our Research for Social Change,” this pre-conference is designed to allow panelists and participants to explore how to do “research that matters” – to us and to the greater communities of which we are a part. The Rhetoric and Public Address Interest Group is also sponsoring a pre-conference. Taking advantage of our Seattle location, “Social Justice, Activism, and the Rhetorical Legacy of the 1999 WTO Protest” will combine invited presentations from scholars who have conducted substantial research on the WTO protests; roundtable discussions of short positions papers by participants; and a tour of key sites in the 1999 events. Or, conference participants may choose to attend one of the many workshops that will be offered, addressing issues ranging from integrating technology into the public speaking classroom to incorporating physiology into communication teaching and research.

WSCA’s 78th Annual Convention will have something for everyone. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am. See you in Seattle!