The Office of University Writing at Auburn University invites proposals for the 25th anniversary of the International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference to be held at Auburn University on June 4-6, 2018.
To say that work in education too often happens in siloes is to state the obvious. Recognizing that teaching and research are often isolated (and isolating), we aim to continue IWAC's long tradition of bringing many different kinds of people together and valuing the wide range of important work that happens at all levels, in all disciplines, and both inside and outside traditional classroom settings. Perhaps especially we want to foster curiosity about how the values of disciplinary faculty connect to the values of writing specialists and vice versa. For our students' sake as well as for our own, we aim to create a conference experience where people with differing expertise can connect, learn from each other, and carry that learning back to their classrooms, labs, faculty meetings, offices, and learning centers.
Our theme, "Making Connections," emphasizes how WAC fosters connections: within and across institutions and programs, between people and positions, and among ideas and practices. In a historical moment when divisiveness, rancor, and disconnection are so pervasive on the national and international stage, our theme aims to underscore the power of collaboration, integration, inclusion, and the search for common ground. We invite participants to remember together why we chose — and continue choosing — our work, and then to envision more connected futures.
We welcome interactive workshops, panel presentations, individual paper or presentations, teaching demonstrations, roundtables, 5x10s, and posters that explore the many interpretations that our proposed theme encompasses. You may submit ONE proposal, however, to encourage workshop participation at the conference, participants who submit a workshop will be allowed to submit one additional proposal for a session of their choice. To facilitate generative connections, we invite participants to interpret our theme in the ways that are most meaningful to them. With the understanding that this list is far from exhaustive, we invite you to consider connections among, across, and between WAC and the following people, sites, and topics: