Introducing RSA Remote

Dear RSA Members,

I hope this finds you well and safe.  These turbulent times are confronting us with significant challenges.  As we know, necessity leads to invention, and that has been true in this case for RSA.

The cancellation of our conference posed a serious challenge to our ways for renewal and affirmation of RSA’s vibrancy as our scholarly society.  The vibe of our biennial meeting is remarkable. Many of our first time visitors comment on its air of excitement and how they have finally "found their people." Those more veteran look forward to the scholarly excellence that typifies our research, meeting newcomers to our midst, and renewal of friendships, some of which are decades old. 

If we could not bring you to RSA in Portland, we hope we can bring RSA to you wherever you may be.  Hence, I write to alert you to RSA Remote.  Starting next week, and over the rest of 2020 we will sponsor a number of opportunities for us to congregate as a Society to celebrate, share, explore, dialogue, and learn.  We will have a virtual Awards Ceremony spread over several days, with opportunities to learn about the work our award recipients; a monthly lecture series highlighting work of that is timely and cutting edge; a press series focused on the concerns of grad students and junior scholars for getting research published; and the roll out of our Rhetorics for All project which focuses on public facing research by our members.  We also plan to inaugurate an online Newsletter before the summer ends.  These presentations will be available to all members, will require registration when they are live events, and, where possible, will be archived on RSA’s YouTube account.  Look for relevant details from the team working on their development: Christa Olson, our Awards Committee Chair; Leslie Harris, our Membership Officer; Dave Tell, our Public Humanities Officer; Krista Kennedy, our Director of Event Sponsorships and Ads; Jennifer Malkowski, our Outreach Officer; and Casey Boyle, our Digital Communications Officer.

We look forward to meeting up again, virtually, starting next week.

With best wishes,

Jerry Hauser
RSA Executive Director