Call for Proposals
SCWCA 2023 Conference “Inventions and Intentions: (Re)Discovering the Unique in the Familiar”
March 2-4, 2023 | Lubbock, TX | Proposals Due: January 5, 2023
As writing center practitioners, sometimes we get stuck in our routines. These routines can be familiar ways of approaching how we support writers and consultants, as well as how we engage with our institutions and the larger writing center community (Geller, 2008; Wells, 2016). Most recently, these routines are developing in response to the pandemic, which is ongoing even though many institutions have resumed in-person instruction, While some might attempt to return to pre-pandemic routines, this is also an ideal time to re-envision our writing center futures, to rethink the work we do in the center, with intentionality, as we find ourselves in new environments (Grimm, 1999; McKinney, 2013; Salem, 2016).
SCWCA 2023 will be a space/place to move toward inventive ideas that may have been impacted by the sudden shifts in programming and practice over the past few years. These shifts have created a very real feeling of burnout, or “unmooring” (Mayo et al., 2021), for those in writing centers, resulting in a perpetual state of survival. Intentions may have been lost or muted due to the rush of change after March 2020. Conversely, new opportunities may have arisen as we worked to adapt to new practices and modalities (Slaton et al., 2021). At the same time, there have been calls to re/consider equity and inclusion, specifically how we “embrace” multilingual writing and discourse in asynchronous contexts (Camarillo in Mayo et al., 2021).
We ask attendees to view this conference as a time to re/discover what is unique in the familiar behind writing center work. We are looking for participant-driven sessions that support the rebuilding and/or restoration of communities that were difficult to create/maintain online. In addition, we invite attendees to use this conference to break from routine and move toward the invention stage, resulting in energized innovation and creativity.
See full CFP here.
Please submit your proposal by January 5, 2023, 11:59 pm. If you have any questions, please reach out to the conference chairs. We look forward to seeing you in the Hub City in March 2023!
Conference Chairs
Kristin Messuri, Ph.D.
Managing Director, Writing Centers of Texas Tech University
kristin.messuri@ttu.edu
Jennifer Marciniak, Ph.D.
Director, Graduate Writing Center
Texas Tech University
jennifer.marciniak@ttu.edu
SCWCA 2022 Texas Microregional
“Reconnecting in Uncertain Times: A Director’s Day Out”
April 1, 2022 10:00 AM-3:00 PM
“Reconnecting in Uncertain Times: A Directors’ Day Out” seeks to build community among writing center administrators in the region to better address local contexts as we serve students and engage in our work. Rather than traditional presentations, the agenda will focus on facilitated discussions and networking. Participants can choose to attend in person or on Zoom; these separate sessions will run concurrently.
Registration is free, and breakfast and lunch will be provided for participants in Lubbock, thanks to generous funding from the South Central Writing Centers Association Microregional Grant. Please register using this online form by March 20th; space is limited. Lubbock has a vibrant arts and culture scene, and participants are invited to enjoy the First Friday Art Trail after this event. A list of local hotels is available upon request.
Please contact Kristin Messuri (kristin.messuri@ttu.edu) for more information.
Please Register for SCWCA 2022 (in its new virtual setting!)
We are just a few weeks out from the 2022 SCWCA Annual Meeting and the registration portal is updated to reflect our shift to a virtual setting. Join us from the comfort of your home office, or office office, or another wifi-enabled location!
SCWCA Annual Meeting February 4-6, 2022 Registration Page
Faculty, Directors, Staff and/or Community Members: $25 per person
Tutors and/or Students: $20 per person
Registration includes real-time video conferencing access to all 2022 SWCA meetings, social events and sessions, and a special meeting kit with items to help you make the most of your conference experience and get a little bit of “Baton Rouge on the Geaux.”
Priority Registration Deadline: January 17
We’ll get your meeting kit in the mail right away.
FINAL Registration Deadline: January 27
We’ll still mail you a meeting kit, but it may arrive after the meeting.
As always, reach out if and as you have questions, and we can’t wait to see you at the meeting!
Nominate Someone for Tutor of the Year
Nominations for this year’s SCWCA Outstanding Tutor Award are due by February 1st, 2022 (end of the day). Writing tutors from any school in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, or Texas are eligible for the award.
The Outstanding Tutor of the Year Award is designed to give recognition to tutors who provide extraordinary service to the students, the center, and the campus community. The award is provided to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff whose primary responsibility is to tutor in a writing center. The outstanding tutor award recognizes innovative tutoring techniques, the quality of work with writers, articulation of tutoring philosophy, and contributions to the writing center beyond tutoring.
Please send nominations or questions to Anna Sicari at anna.sicari@okstate.edu. Guidelines for nomination packets can be found here.
An Update about SCWCA 2022
Per an emergency meeting of the SCWCA Executive Board, the SCWCA 2022 Conference, “Communicators Making Place,” has been moved online. It will be held February 4-6, 2022. Jo Hsu (University of Texas at Austin) is the keynote speaker.
If you have already registered, your registration will be returned to you. As soon as we have a new registration link, we will post it here. Rates will be $25 for directors/staff and $20 for students.
If you already booked your room the Cook Hotel, you have time to cancel before paying any fees. Over the next week or so (1/4-1/11), please email Tammy Brown (tammy@lsualumni.org) to cancel your reservation.
Scholarship recipients will have their registration fees waived. They will hear from us by 1/8.
We look forward to seeing you inside your computer (or the device of your choice)!
Apply for an SCWCA Scholarship
Many thanks to everyone who applied for this year’s conference scholarships. Recipients will be notified in early January. To learn more about our Conference Scholarship Policy, click here.
Book Group Update
Autoethnography for/as Writing Studies by Jackie Grutsch McKinney and Rebecca Jackson is the next selection for the SCWCA Book Group. We will discuss it–along with our ideas for our own ethnographic research–at the conference on February 5 at 5:45.
Become a member of SCWCA. It’s free!
Membership lasts one year, and the membership cycle is from Nov. 1-Oct. 31.
Anyone who joins the SCWCA Listserv is considered a member. To join, click here.
South Central Writing Centers Association 