ABSTRACT
The thirtieth anniversary conference of the Rhetoric Society of America is a landmark occasion, suggesting to me that our field is well positioned to enter the twenty-first century with strength and considerable vitality. The theme of the conference, “Rhetoric, the Polis, and the Global Village,” is a focus that certainly occupies much of my attention these days, so it was with a special enthusiasm that I accepted this role, and I am especially pleased to be able to share with you, as colleagues who are most knowledgeable about such issues, some of the work I have been doing.
