Activities – Ret-Net – Languages and rhetorical cultures

The Ret-Net Open Online Seminar

The Ret-Net research group invites all scholars and students interested in rhetoric and its realizations in different languages and cultures to open online seminars. Dates of meetings can be found in the “Home” section.
Selected seminars:

“Exploring the affective dimension of Brexit through metaphor scenarios and image schemas” (Prof. Victoria Martín De La Rosa, Departamento de Estudios Ingleses, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; 12.05.2025)
On the concept “cringe” and its rhetorical applications in political discourse (Prof. Agnieszka Piskorska, Institute of English Studies, University of Warsaw, 19.12.2024)

Panels at conferences

The Ret-Net organized a panel „Polarization, hate speech, populism: reactions and prevention” as part of the 4th International Humanities–Society–Identity Congress: “Re-Action(s): Humanities in a Time of Transformation and Turbulence” (4-5.12.2025, University of Warsaw):

Maria Załęska – Depolarization through rhetorical vigilance?
Monika Kostro – (De)polarizing rhetoric: critical analysis of premises based on reported speech
Agnieszka Piskorska – The art of unpolarizing argumentation: challenges of educational practice
Aleksandra Wrona – Fact-checking verdicts as reactions to disinformation
Mihály Szilágyi-Gál – Shareing, Deliberation and Polarization in the Cyberspace
Azad Mammadov – Pragmatic functions of inversion in Donald Trump`s political speeches
Jędrzej Skrzypczak – Constitutionality of the Amendment to the Polish Criminal Code Regarding the Strengthening of Protection Against Hate Crimes in Poland
Bartosz Hordecki – Moral panic? What does the Polish-speaking electronic discourse on hate speech represent?
Nawojka Gurczyńska – “Casual hate” among youngest users on Instagram
Ildikó Barna, Renáta Németh, Domonkos Sik, Zsófia Rakovics, Márton Gosztonyi – Framing the Refugee Other in Times of Crisis: A Structural Topic Modeling Approach to Hungarian Media Polarization (2015–2023)
Pluciński Robert – Who Can Say It? Exploring Slur Reappropriation and Identity Politics in LGBTQ+
Victoria Martín de la Rosa – Polarization in Post-Brexit Britain’s Immigration
Discourse: A Comparative Analysis of The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian

The Ret-Net co-organized the 20th Conference of the Polish Rhetorical Society titled “Rhetoric and Culture” (University of Warsaw and Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 19-20.11.2025). During the conference, several members of Ret-Net presented their papers (Anna Bendrat, Monika Kostro, Agnieszka Piskorska, Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska, Maria Załęska).

The Ret-Net panel „Rhetoric and didactics: between mother tongue and foreign languages” (Polish Congress of Rhetoric „Rhetoric – Education – Innovation”, Polish Rhetorical Society, April 17-19, 2024, Warsaw). Presented papers:

Maria Załęska (UW) “Contrastive Rhetoric and Its Implications for Teaching”
Monika Kostro (UW) “Rhetoric from an Intercultural Perspective in Foreign Language Studies”
Agnieszka Piskorska (UW) “Rhetoric, Critical Thinking, and the Needs of English Language Learners”
Anna Bendrat (UMCS Lublin) “Kialo Edu: An Innovative Tool for Developing the Art of Argumentation in Foreign Language Teaching”

Seminar presentations, conference papers

The members of the Ret-Net group present their research on the peculiarities of persuasive phenomena in different languages and cultures.

„Symétriser pour dépolariser. De l’(im)possible équité dans le disours médiatique polonais”. Conference Colloque international de Montauban: «Comment résoudre les conflits discursifs?» M. Kostro and M. Załęska; Académie des Sciences, Belles Lettres et Arts de Montauban, Montauban University, France, 2-4.07.2025
„Radicalization of political opponents’ discourse through recontextualization” – M. Kostro, A Piskorska, M. Załęska. Conference « T-RADEX: Translation and cross-cultural communication: Radical and extremist narratives » University of Cyprus, Nicosia (31.10.-02.11.2024).
„Comparative analysis of political discourse (Polish-French perspective)”, as part of the colloquium „Comparative Discourse Analysis: Research Perspectives and Development Directions,” at the invitation of the Department of Discourse Studies, Institute of Applied Linguistics (University of Warsaw); Monika Kostro, UW (03.02.2023). The presentation focused on rhetorical approaches (including the concept of ethos) in French political discourse analysis.
“Making abstract values tangible: How European University Alliances construct their visual identity”. Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska i Robert Radziej, UO (19- 21.04.2023, Wilno, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, International Scientific Conference: Visuality 2023). The talk dealt with ways of visual self- presentation of European University Alliances through the choice of name/acronym, logotype, and multimodal description of the alliance’s mission and activities.
“Science in crisis? Stylistic choices for persuasion in the interventions proposed by policymakers in European Research Area Policy Agenda 2022- 2024”. Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska, UO (24-25.04.2023, Kraków, Uniwersytet Jagielloński i Towarzystwo Tertium, Fifth International Communication Styles Conference: Communication in Times of Permacrisis). The paper focused on persuasive efforts to legitimize interventions in the European Commission’s program text promoting the 20 priorities of the European Research Area agenda.
„Let’s talk!”. An ideographic analysis of <dialogue> and <debate> in Polish public discourse”. Maria Załęska, UW (1-3.06.2023, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen; Germany; international conference of the cycle « Rhetoric in Society (RiS) », organized by the Rhetoric Society of Europe entitled „Rhetoric in Society. „Rhetoric as Strategic Thinking (RiS 8).” The presentation dealt with the cultural specificity of dialogue and debate as a framework for persuasive communication in Polish public discourse.
„Face metaphors and face claims in Italian public discourse”. Maria Załęska, UW (28-30.06.2023, University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain). Conference ”Metaphor in Public Discourse” of the Researching and Applying Metaphor Conference series (RaAM16). The paper focused on the face metaphors and the peculiarities of their persuasive use in Italian public discourse.
“The functions of humour in talk shows”. Agnieszka Piskorska, UW (12.07.2023, The International Pragmatics Association conference in Brussels. The talk scrutinized the social and persuasive functions of humour exploited by hosts of popular American talk shows.