[EDLING:133] CFP: Race in Writing Center Discourse and Practice

[Francis M Hult]

> The Other Sides of Silence: Negotiating Race in Writing Center
> Discourse and Practice
> 
> Call for Proposals
> 
> In 2005, Victor Villanueva called upon the writing center community to
> examine the language, rhetoric, and material reality of racism that
> shapes our work. In his exegesis of the "new racism," which "embeds
> racism within a set of other categories—language, religion, culture,
> civilizations pluralized and writ large," he reminds us that writing
> centers, like the institutions in which they are situated, are not
> racially neutral sites of discourse and practice.
> 
> The Other Sides of Silence intends to generate a sustained,
> multi-faceted interrogation of the ways in which race operates in the
> writing center as an institutional space and as a field of scholarly
> production. Grounded by the assumption that race is not a neutral
> factor in language and literacy education, this collection will
> address a series of related questions: How does race operate in the
> rhetoric and discourses of writing center scholarship? How do
> constructions of race shape the culture of literacy in the academy and
> the writing center? How do practitioners' and writers' racial
> identities influence their interactions in the center? How does the
> writing center cooperate, however unintentionally, in racist
> practices? How can we carry out needed changes—in our discourses and
> in our centers—illuminated by these discussions?
> 
> To address these and other questions, the editors seek proposals for
> chapter-length essays that respond to the following areas of focus:
> 
> · Foundational histories and theories of language, literacy, race, and
> education
> · Theories of race in writing center discourses and practice
> · Re-visions of writing center theory and practice
> 
> The editors also seek brief inter-chapters that draw on personal
> experience and a range of genres, including narrative essays, short
> fiction, or poetry. All members of the writing center
> community—undergraduate and graduate tutors, faculty, professional
> staff, and students—are encouraged to submit inter-chapter proposals.
> 
> Submission Guidelines
> The editors seek 500- to 750-word proposals outlining the topic, major
> arguments, and organizational or rhetorical approach for 3000- to
> 7000-word chapters. Inter-chapter proposals (250 words) should
> describe the focus, form, and style of the piece. For all submissions,
> please also include your name, institutional affiliation, and contact
> information. Send Word or RTF proposals as email attachments to
> writingrace at gmail.com by July 15, 2007. Editors: Laura Greenfield, The
> George Washington University, and Karen Rowan, Morgan State
> University.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Karen S. Rowan, PhD
> Assistant Professor of English
> Director of the Writing Center
> Morgan State University
> 1700 E. Cold Spring Lane
> Baltimore, MD 21251
> 443-885-4141
> karensrowan at gmail.com