This edited collection offers a broad consideration of contemporary rhetorical scholarship, tied to political, ethical and spiritual themes. Originating from the 2004 conference of the Rhetoric Society of America, the contents of this volume reflects the conference themes of rhetorical agendas in current theory and research. The volume starts off with transcripts of the talks presented by the conference's featured speakers. The essays that follow are organized around five key topics: history, theory, pedagogy, publics, and gender. These chapters address subjects ranging from religious identity to civil rights; from weapons of mass destruction to literacy testing and electronic texts, reflecting the wide array of areas under study across the rhetoric discipline. With contributions from well-known scholars as well as newcomers, the breadth and diversity of this collection make a significant contribution to rhetorical scholarship, and will stimulate additional work. As such, the volume will be of interest to scholars and students in rhetoric studies in speech communication, English, and related disciplines.