What we need and don’t need intercultural rhetoric for: A retrospective and prospective look at an evolving research area

•A brief overview of the evolution of intercultural rhetoric is provided.•Recent relevant developments in theory, technology, and research are discussed.•Future directions for intercultural rhetoric as a field of study are suggested.

This article surveys the evolution of what is now known as intercultural rhetoric (IR) and considers how developments in IR research may be seen as both productive and problematic in varying ways for goals that may not always happily co-exist, namely theory construction (or deconstruction) and language/literacy classroom practice. The affordances, challenges, and possible constraints of continuing to empirically and conceptually develop an area labeled “intercultural rhetoric” in view of recent research are discussed.