Applications are now open for the first-ever RSA Project, a new event combining scholarship on a focused project from different disciplinary perspectives and with dialogue among its various working groups. This year, that focused project is a specific rhetorical situation: Campus Master Plan at the University of Nevada, Reno. Many of our institutions are undergoing growing pains at the moment, irreversibly changing their relationships with their surrounding communities in the process; the Project offers participants hands-on experience in a kairos of expansion. Eight working groups led by senior RSA scholars will read relevant theory and work with community liaisons at UNR and in the surrounding area over 3.5 days in May 2019. The Project will culminate in an 8-layered “rhetorical cartography” of the Campus Master Plan that will be presented to UNR and City of Reno officials in a final symposium.
We’ve had a great deal of interest in the Project and several questions, so we thought we’d answer a few here in case you’re also wondering about them. Our website contains more detail, and you can apply here when you’re ready.
Please do apply if you’re interested in seeing RSA offer more of these engaged Projects: future editions depend on robust subscription to this first one. If you have questions that aren’t answered below, just email us. We look forward to welcoming you to Reno!
Lynda Walsh, Amy Pason, Catherine Chaput, Alison Moore
RSA Project FAQs
What kind of experience do you have to have to apply to a Project working group?
Interest in the topic is the only requirement for applying to a group; applicants range so far from graduate students to senior scholars.
Does the Project conflict with the Institute?
Not at all: not only are the dates separated by a few weeks in the Summer of 2019, but the themes and approaches are complementary—check out our website and the Institute offerings and compare.
How much will the Project cost for participants?
Registration figures are being finalized but will fall between the costs for Institute seminars and workshops. Breakfast every day of the Project is included in the registration fee, as is the final symposium and the post-keynote reception. Lodging costs around UNR are extremely reasonable.