The conference was a great example of the international and interdisciplinary power of rhetorical studies. Rhetorical studies is indeed alive and well in Denmark and Sweden. Faculty and student excitement about rhetoric is palpable. Though the humanities are also under siege in Europe, in part due to the Bologna reforms (more on that in an article I'm working on ... very sad news to me, and if this were a news story for the Chron or Inside Higher Ed, that would be my lede), not only faculty and students are genuinely excited about rhetorical studies; administrators are willing to fund rhetorical studies!!!

As I write this, I am in Lund, Sweden, the guest of Anders Sigrell, recently appointed university chair in rhetoric at Lund, the largest university in Sweden. (Anders sat in on some of my courses as a post-doc at UT in 2001-2002.) Happily, I also got to visit with Anders Eriksson of Orebro yesterday, as well. I was surrounded by Rhetores Anderses!

In addition to the graduate program at the University of Copenhagen (Professors Christian Koch and Lisa Storm Villadsen, the latter a Northwestern PhD and Tom Farrell's advisee), Anders is working to put together graduate-level rhetorical studies at Lund; and the universities, along with colleges in Sodertorn and Orebro, near Stockholm, -- Orebro's Brigitte Mral was also at the conference in Copenhagen -- are, I believe, working on a collaborative PhD in rhetoric. I would imagine -- and I hope -- Oratorical Animal will have some things to say about the conference as well. Murphy did a brilliant job of representing rhetorical studies to an international audience!!! I suggest you look around the websites of these programs: most of the pages can be rendered in English as well as Danish or Swedish.

Just found this, as well, which also includes information about the program at Bergen, about which Murphy and Cara might/want to say more:
http://www.retorikforlaget.se/rhetorica/index.html

Now: a shower -- it's 0430 here -- and then on to the subject of my talk today (my third since I've been here): Rhetoric, Democracy, and Journalism.