Looking back on the Summer

Usually, my page-entries look ahead to upcoming events. That this is a post-hoc, reminiscing comment must mean I’ve been neglecting my pages. Very likely because I was too much involved in work, but also busy enjoying the Salzburg festival summer and my time on the bike, by the lake and up and down the mountain.

Shortly before the term ended, I was lucky to escape to the Rhetoric in Society Conference (RIS 9) in Zagreb, beautifully organized by my argumentation studies colleague, Gabrijela KISICEK and her dedicated team. Even though my work, both in teaching and research, often revolves around rhetorical ideas and analysis, I had never been to a rhetoric conference. RIS #9 was a truly enriching experience, showcasing the whole breadth of the field and offering fae-to-face contacts with many a colleague whose papers I had read at some point.

My island in that wild stream of talks was a section on multimodal argumentation, chaired by my Norwegian colleague, Jens KJELDSEN, which brought together some familiar faces. But I also met new people and heard them talk about their take on multimodal arguments and argument reconstruction, such as Steve OSWALD and Martin HINTON. The section also gave me an audience to talk about my own recent research on argumentation in travel/leisure ads.

„The talk follows on from some of my recent work in multimodal argumentation (on social advertising). My main concern is with the method of reconstructing multimodal arguments in public discourse and the role of multimodal coherence building in argumentation generally.“ (Slide Notes, Hartmut Stöckl, June 2025)

While, as so often, there was little time to explore the city, Zagreb will stay in my memory as a laid-back, hip city with a charm all its own. I will fondly remember the dinner with Leo (GROARKE), Frederico (PUPPO) and Jean (WAGEMANS), which came about by pure chance. It was also rewarding to finally meet up with my colleague, Assimakis (TSERONIS) again, taking a long stroll through the old town and relaxing over that famous Zagreb chocolate cake.

So, THANKS Gabrijela for making this nice venue happen in such a smart, gainful and pleasant fashion.