August 1, 2017

In a new article published in the rhetoric journal Res Rhetorica, Steven Tramel Gaines, a PhD student in the Department of Communication at the University of Memphis, argues that “recent disagreement among scholars of preaching has suffered confusion due to definitions of the subject that do not sufficiently consider the diversity of that interdisciplinary field of study. Titled “Redefining Preaching: A Beginning,” Gaines suggests that “instead of assuming singular definitions, a more enriching approach is to consider multiple ways in which... Read more

August 1, 2017

by Alphonso Saville In Toni Morrison’s Beloved, when Sethe, the novel’s main character, determines that “it was time to lay it all down,” she heads to the woods to find the Clearing.  It is there, she recalls, that Baby Suggs, the unchurched preacher, exhorted her community to love themselves, their bodies, and one another.  The Clearing, described as “a wide-open place cut deep in the woods nobody knew for what at the end of a path known only to deer... Read more

July 25, 2017

In 2018, the nation will commemorate the fiftieth year anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. While many in the nation will come together and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King, the anniversary will also give rhetoric scholars an opportunity to study anew the rhetoric of one of America’s finest orators. In addition, it will also give us an opportunity to add to what is a surprisingly small collection of scholarship on the rhetoric of King.... Read more

July 19, 2017

The R3 book series is pleased to announce the publication of The Womanist Preacher: Proclaiming Womanist Rhetoric from the Pulpit by Kimberly P. Johnson. Pre-order your copy today!  About the Book: The Womanist Preacher: Proclaiming Womanist Rhetoric from the Pulpit performs a close textual analysis of five womanist sermons to answer the question: how does womanist preaching attempt to transform/adapt the tenets of womanist thought to make it rhetorically viable in the church? And what is gained and lost in this. The... Read more

July 17, 2017

Our editor, Dr. Andre E. Johnson was the guest on Let’s Talk About It hosted by Twana Coleman on Memphis radio station WLOK. Johnson addressed the death of Darrius Stewart at the hands of former police officer Connor Schilling and talked about policing in America. You can download and listen to the conversation here. Read more

July 16, 2017

by Toniesha Taylor July 16, 2015, was the day students started coming to my office to have their transfer documents signed so they could leave the university. I was Interim Department Head, and they need my signature. I talked with every one of them about their reason for leaving. They only had one. Sandra Bland. Some said it was because she died or was killed they all said she was a Panther. They told me they couldn’t stay at a... Read more

July 3, 2017

by Michael J. Steudeman  First posted on Citizen Critics.  Once again, stores are stocked with miniature flags and coal for grilling. Americans are breaking out picnic blankets and American flag-themed apparel. At the same time, many Americans are buying poster-board and writing up calls to “Resist.” In a year marked by the largest protests in American history, a number of groups are planning demonstrations and marches on the Independence Day holiday. For a country where refusing to stand for the national anthem can be... Read more

June 27, 2017

In the 5th Chapter of the Luke’s Gospel, we find a particular passage of scripture. One in which Jesus is having a very curious conversation with an unlikely collaborator. Read more

June 21, 2017

by Matt Vega On June 14, I posted a status on Facebook confessing my lack of a daily devotional life (reading the bible and praying). Over time, it felt like a waste of precious time when I could be reading more relevant/urgent things – like how to dismantle racism- and I didn’t want to feel outdated. Christians are always saying “we need to be leading the way in X,Y, or Z” (which is, by the way, problematic).   Sadly, because... Read more

June 16, 2017

Today a jury in Minnesota (not Mississippi or Memphis) acquitted former officer Jeronimo Yanez in the murder of Philando Castile. You may remember this shooting (I know, there have been so many). It was the one where Diamond Reynolds, Castile’s fiance, live-streamed his death on Facebook. Despite the many accounts that said that Castile followed Officer Yanez’s instructions, he still shot Castile seven times. Immediately after murdering him and despite Reynolds recording the incident, when asked why did he shoot,... Read more


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