MSU Press will attending the Rhetoric Society of America’s (RSA) 2026 conference in Portland, Oregon on May 21-24, 2026. We will be showcasing our Rhetoric of Power and Protest book series and Rhetoric & Public Affairs journal in particular, as well as Leland G. Spencer’s upcoming book Reckoning with the Past, which will release on July 1st, 2026. Also, get ready to learn more about MSU Press’ upcoming book series Ecological Rhetorics, edited by Joshua Trey Barnett.
Check out MSU Press’s upcoming book Reckoning with the Past: National Geographic and the Limits of Social Justice Rhetoric by Leland G. Spencer!
For over a century, National Geographic has shaped American visual culture, captivating audiences with stunning photography and compelling storytelling. Yet behind its iconic yellow border lies a fraught legacy of gender bias, racial misrepresentation, and colonialist narratives. In this incisive study, Leland G. Spencer examines the brand’s recent attempts to reckon with that legacy across its magazine and television platforms. From special issues spotlighting transgender lives, to a public acknowledgment of past racism, to a magazine edition created entirely by women, these efforts signal a move toward inclusivity. But as Spencer reveals through rigorous rhetorical analysis, these gestures often fall short. The texts themselves frequently echo the same systemic inequalities they seek to redress. National Geographic‘s progressive rebranding, he argues, remains tangled in the very histories it aims to transcend.
Use code MSU30 for 30% off and free shipping on conference titles.
Rhetoric of Power and Protest Series
Series editors: Leroy Dorsey and Shawn Parry-Giles
The Rhetoric of Power and Protest series prioritizes the examination of public discourse in historical and contemporary case studies that centralize rhetoric’s role in shaping civic life. The series invites original research about protest rhetoric targeting political institutions and institutional rhetoric addressing public affairs. Manuscripts are especially encouraged that explore diverse voices seeking to advance more inclusive and equitable communities. The series also considers manuscripts that examine the rhetorical interplay among political activists and institutional leaders debating social justice issues at the local, national, or global levels.
Please direct proposals to Judith Lakamper at lakampe1@msu.edu.
New Series: Ecological Rhetorics
Series editor: Joshua Trey Barnett, Pennsylvania State University
Ecological Rhetorics publishes rigorously researched and eminently readable books that illuminate the dynamic interplay of the ecological and the rhetorical. Volumes in this series bring to light the manifestly diverse ways that collective life on Earth is enabled, constrained, and shaped by rhetorical conditions, practices, and forces. Eschewing both anthropocentrism and anthropoexceptionalism, the series publishes books that light the way toward a more just earthly coexistence for the plurality of Earth’s inhabitants, human and more-than-human alike
Please direct proposals to Joshua Trey Barnett at barnett@psu.edu and Judith Lakamper at lakampe1@msu.edu.