News

News about CASDW－ACR and professional events.

Call for Proposals: Corpus & Repository of Writing

Rachael Cayley

The Corpus & Repository of Writing (Crow) team is pleased to share a call for proposals for “Writing Research Without Walls: A Symposium for Interdisciplinary Writing and Collaboration.” The symposium will take place at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN on October 4-6, 2018. The plenary speakers will be Dr. Shondel Nero, Associate Professor of Teaching and Learning, New York University, and Dr. Susan M. Conrad, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Portland State University.

This symposium will feature empirical interdisciplinary writing research with focuses on technology and undergraduate research. They welcome both scholars studying undergraduate writing and undergraduate students conducting research in writing studies.  Students and scholars from applied linguistics, rhetoric and composition, second language writing, corpus linguistics, computational linguistics, and technical communication are encouraged to submit.

For this symposium, Crow invites proposal submissions for individual papers, posters, panel presentations, work in progress (WIP), workshops, and media installations. All proposals submitted should clearly engage with data-driven research (quantitative and/or qualitative approaches). We highly encourage those interested in the interdisciplinary and collaborative frameworks that Crow values to submit proposals. All submissions—even those that are WIP—should clearly articulate their research methods. Writing scholars at all levels in the university (tenured/tenure-track professors, adjunct professors/lecturers, graduate students, and undergraduate students) are encouraged to apply.

All proposals must be submitted by February 1, 2018, and applicants will be notified about acceptance decisions by March 15, 2018. The full call for proposals can be found here.

 

Call for Papers: 2018 CWCA Conference

Rachael Cayley

2018 CWCA Conference Call for Papers

Politics and the Writing Centre: Inquiry, Knowledge, Dialogue and Action

Deadline: Submit your proposals by 11:59pm (EST) Monday, January 15, 2018 (Please note that this is a FIRM deadline, and will NOT be extended.)

Where: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon

When: May 24-25, 2018

Keynote: Dr. Sheelah McLean

Plenary: Jack Saddleback

In Canada, a recent focus on reconciliation and Indigenization are revitalizing conversations around anti-oppression pedagogy (Kumashiro, 2000), a series of approaches which focus on how traditional educational systems and practices reinforce existing hierarchies and contribute to the disenfranchisement of marginalized students. Nationally and internationally, post-secondary institutions are seeing students affected by the rising tide of extremist right-wing politics and dubious news sources, calling for renewed attention to social justice and literacy-building.

An International Writing Centres Association (IWCA) position statement states that writing centres are particularly well positioned to “uphold students’ rights, as we work in the everyday-ness of literacy” (as cited in Godbee & Olson, 2014). As Nancy Grimm (2009) said in her IWCA keynote, “Although some might claim that the work of a writing center is ‘just’ to teach writing, the teaching of writing is never a neutral endeavor; it is never devoid of political motivations or outcomes.”

At the 2018 CWCA conference, we invite you to join us to exchange knowledge, share challenges, and ask questions about the ways our teaching and tutoring can and should engage in anti-oppressive educational practices.

Keynote speaker Dr. Sheelah McLean — a founder of the Idle No More movement and recipient of the Carol Gellar Human Rights Award (2013) — will discuss anti-racist, anti-oppressive educational practices. Closing plenary speaker Jack Saddleback will discuss the topic of resilience, drawing on his personal experiences with mental health activism, student politics, and gender and sexual diversity.

Presentation Options:

Whether or not your idea, pedagogy or research addresses the conference theme directly, consider the following options:

  1. Pedagogical practice for roundtable discussion. 30 minutes. Roundtable session on a writing centre pedagogy or practice. Round table facilitators lead 30 minutes of engaged discussion. Describe your pedagogical practice and at least three questions to stimulate discussion.
  2. Research presentation. 20-minutes. Report on a study—quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, action research, reflective—or a pedagogical innovation. Reports will be grouped into panels of 2 or 3.
  3. Interactive workshop. 45 minutes. Do you have a pedagogical practice or innovation that you want participants to experience? Describe your practice or innovation, the overall structure of the session, and how you will actively engage the audience.
  4. Panel discussion. 45 minutes. Are you having an interesting—and maybe controversial—discussion with colleagues around an issue? Share your conversation and engage others by putting together a panel or debate. Plan at least 15 minutes for Q&A.
  5. Poster Presentation. Posters are ideally suited for sharing results of a study where a picture (table, chart, graph, photographs, infographic, or word cloud) is worth a thousand words. They allow for individual conversations, and can be repurposed after the conference. This year, the plan is to combine them with cocktails and snacks.

Note: When submitting your proposal, you will be asked to indicate which of the following streams your proposal fits (you may choose more than one):

  • Tutor Training
  • Peer Tutor Presentation
  • General Tutoring Practices and Approaches
  • Working with Multilingual Writers
  • Working with Graduate Student Writers
  • Creative Responses to Administrative Challenges
  • RAD or Data-Driven Research
  • Writing Centre Programming
  • Online Tutoring or Support
  • Institutional and Cross-institutional Partnerships and Collaborations
  • Decolonizing and Indigenizing the Writing Centre

Questions to get you thinking:

  • Responding to the times: How do national and international politics affect writing centre staff, faculty, and student learners? How can writing centres respond? How do we help students work through and resist harmful rhetorics and discourses?
  • Safe and accessible spaces: How are writing centres improving access and creating safe spaces for all students, including older, international, multilingual, first-generation, Indigenous, LGBTQ, and students with disabilities? How does decolonization support all students? Is the writing centre as “neutral” space a myth? How are we improving access to distance or commuter students, in person or online?
  • Partnerships for change: What do successful partnerships with other units—on or off campus—look like, and how can they extend or support writing centre work?
  • Experiential learning, community outreach and community-based research: What initiatives connect the writing centre and the larger community, and what effects have they had?
  • Changing educational inequities: How are writing centres, with our front-line, one-to-one contact with students, in a privileged position to effect change? What are the risks, to ourselves and our centres, of leading or supporting change? How can our hiring and training practices effect change?
  • Allying and learning: How are writing centres allying and learning from colleagues in other disciplines as we face continuing and emerging inequities? How can we support and learn specifically from Indigenous faculty, TAs, tutors, students?
  • Care for ourselves and our students: How do our current practices foster resilience and a growth mindset? What are writing centres doing that contributes to a healthy campus?

Proposals must be submitted through our online submission form.

Email submissions will not be accepted.

Any individual presenter may be included on up to two (2) proposals, but at least one of the proposals must be for a group presentation (3-5 presenters) or a round-table.

Questions about conference proposals can be directed to CWCA Vice-President, Sarah King.

Presenters will be notified by email concerning the status of their proposal(s) by February 23, 2018.

References

Godbee, B., & Olson, B. (2014). “Readings for racial justice: A project of the IWCA SIG on antiracism activism.” Antiracism and LGBTQ SIG Resources. International Writing Centers Association. Retrieved from http://epublications.marquette.edu/english_fac/344/

Grimm, N. M. (2009). “New conceptual frameworks for writing center work.” The Writing Center Journal 29(2), 11-27.

Kumashiro, K. (2000). “Toward a Theory of Anti-Oppressive Education.” Review of Educational Research70(1), 25-53.

Call for Proposals: Canadian Society for the Study of Rhetoric

Rachael Cayley

RhetCanada (Canadian Society for the Study of Rhetoric/CSSR) invites scholars and students of rhetoric to submit proposals for presentations at its annual conference.

Location: Canadian Federation of Social Sciences and Humanities’ Congress 2018, University of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Dates: May 27 – 29, 2018

Special Session Theme: “That’s not rhetoric!” “Yes, it is.”

Proposal Submission Date: January 13, 2018

Submission: Send your proposal to Dr. Tania S. Smith, RhetCanada/CSSR President, Department of Communication, Media and Film, University of Calgary.

The exchange that comprises our 2018 special sessions topic invites participants to discuss and debate the borders of our definitions of rhetoric and what they mean to the way we see the world and speak, write, and act within it.

What are the implications of considering rhetoric as queen of the liberal arts and as mere or empty rhetoric? Is rhetoric’s true home in public discourse, and is it broadly inclusive of genres and media, such as conversation, architecture, graffiti, blogs, and games? Does rhetoric still exist and potentially wield power where it is not named? What do we gain and lose when seeing the world from a “rhetorical” perspective?

Proposals for conference papers are not limited to the topic of the special session theme. The society welcomes papers on all aspects of rhetoric, in English or French. We foster dialogue among scholars from diverse disciplines and professions who are interested in rhetoric. We welcome not only mainstream rhetorical scholarship, but also “rhetoric in/and” a wide variety of domains or disciplines and through interdisciplinary frameworks.

See the full Call for Proposals and instructions here.

♦

RhétCanada (Société Canadienne pour l’Étude de la Rhétorique / SCÉR) invite ses membres à soumettre des propositions de communication pour son Colloque annuel.

Lieu: le Congrès 2018 de la Fédération Canadienne des Sciences Humaines, Université de Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Dates: les 27 – 29 mai, 2018

Session thématique : “Ce n’est pas de la rhétorique. Mais si!”

Notre session thématique de 2018 invite les participants à discuter et à débattre des limites de nos définitions de la rhétorique et de ce qu’elles signifient pour la manière dont vous voyons le monde, dont nous parlons, écrivons et agissons au sein de celui-ci.

Quelles sont les implications de considérer la rhétorique comme la reine des humanités, de parler de pure rhétorique ou de rhétorique vide ? Le lieu propre de la rhétorique est-il le discours public, est-elle plus largement incluse dans les genres d’expression et les médias, comme la simple conversation, les tweets, l’architecture et les graffiti ? La rhétorique existe-t-elle toujours et exerce-t-elle potentiellement son pouvoir là où elle n’est pas nommée ? Que gagnons et perdons-nous en voyant le monde à travers une perspective « rhétorique » ?

Les propositions de communication ne sont pas limitées au seul sujet de la session thématique. Les propositions relatives à tous les aspects de la rhétorique sont bienvenues, en français ou en anglais. Nous favorisons le dialogue entre les chercheurs qui, venus de disciplines et de contextes professionnels variés, s’intéressent à la rhétorique (au sens le plus large). Notre but n’est pas seulement d’accueillir le courant dominant de la recherche en rhétorique, mais bien d’encourager l’exploration de la « rhétorique dans et à travers » une grande variété de domaines ou de disciplines, et suivant des méthodes et des cadres interdisciplinaires extrêmement divers.

Voir le CFP complet à https://app.box.com/v/RhetCanada-CFP2018

Les propositions de communication doivent être adressées d’ici le 13 janvier 2018 à Dr. Tania S. Smith, Présidente de la SCÉR, Department of Communication, Media and Film, Université de Calgary, AB, Canada : smit@ucalgary.ca.

Job Opportunity: Michigan State University, Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures

Rachael Cayley

The Department of Writing, Rhetoric & American Cultures at Michigan State University seeks a colleague in Culturally Engaged Digital Humanities/Digital Rhetorics at the rank of Assistant Professor. This is an academic-year, tenure-system faculty appointment to begin August 16, 2018. Applicants are expected to hold a Ph.D. in rhetoric & writing or in a closely related field or discipline. The successful candidate will demonstrate a promising scholarly trajectory anchored by culturally-engaged research in digital humanities/digital rhetorics (including digital publishing), experience or interest in grant-seeking, engagement in culturally-sustaining teaching practices, and evidence of promise or interest in local and national service and/or leadership.

Review of applications will begin November 22, and will continue until the position is filled. Applications must be submitted electronically to the Michigan State University Human Resources web site: Posting #474620. Applications should include: a letter expressing interest in this position and describing qualifications and experience; a current curriculum vitae; a summary of your experience with diversity in the classroom and/or in your past or planned research endeavors, any experience mentoring diverse students or community outreach initiatives, and an explanation of how you will advance our goals of inclusive excellence; and, the names and email addresses of three potential referees. Contact Dr. Danielle DeVoss with questions.

 

 

Call for Papers: Symposium on Second Language Writing

Rachael Cayley

Symposium on Second Language Writing 2018

When: August 2 – 4, 2018

Where: SFU’s Downtown Vancouver Campus

Co-Chairs: Ling Shi (UBC) and Joel Heng Hartse (SFU)

The call for proposals is now open; submissions are due by December 15, 2017.

Featured speakers include Ryuko Kubota (University of British Columbia), Steve Marshall (Simon Fraser University), Hu Guangwei (National Institute of Education, Singapore), and Paul Kei Matsuda (Arizona State University and Nanjing University).

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The 2018 Symposium on Second Language Writing seeks proposals for 20-minute presentations that address various topics within the field of L2 writing.

Any topic related to second language writing theory, research, teaching or program administration is welcome. We especially encourage proposals that seek to challenge the status quo in the field by introducing new topics as well as new theoretical and methodological approaches. As with all previous Symposium iterations, we are interested in L2 writing issues in any second or foreign language for any age groups in personal, academic, professional and civic contexts.

Given the theme of “Multilingualism and Second Language Writing,” we particularly encourage proposals that address issues related multilingualism, bilingualism, and related concepts involving the uses and influences of multiple languages on L2 writing. Potential topics of interest could include, but are by no means limited to:

• World Englishes/ELF/EIL and L2 writing
• Globalization of other languages and L2 writing (e.g., French, Chinese, Arabic)
• L1 influences on L2 writing (composing processes, intercultural rhetoric, etc.)
• L2 writing and (bi/multilingual) language policy
• Bilingual education/bilingualism and writing (in both K-12 and higher education)
• Adult L2 literacy education in multilingual contexts
• L2 writing in EMI and EAP contexts
• Language choice in publishing for multilingual scholars

Proposals must include both a 50-word summary and a 500-word abstract. (References are not necessary; please keep in-text citations minimal.) Multiple submissions are allowed, but the same person cannot be listed as the first author for more than one proposal. To submit your proposal, please use the online proposal submission form. Proposals must be received by December 15, 2017. Proposals will be peer reviewed by a panel of experts. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by February 28, 2018.
For more information, visit: http://sslw.asu.edu/2018