CCCC - The Public Work of Composition -- Post 1

If you’re reading this post, it means I've landed safely in sunny Las Vegas, NV and am most likely sitting comfortably in the Riveria Hotel, where the 64^th annual Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) is being held. I’m a first-time attendee this year. The theme, “the public work of composition,” drew me in, being that it speaks directly into one of my research interests, Public Discourse.

On the schedule are many interesting panels, ranging from inquiries into digital literacy and service learning to “everyday writing” and writing centers. Scholars such as Kathleen Blake Yancey, Victor Villanueva, and Ellen Cushman, will be presenting. I am also looking forward to seeing the familiar faces of some of my favorite professors and classmates. Anne Ellen Geller’s presentation is “Waiting for IRB: Researching Seniors' Meaningful Writing Experiences across Three Institutions” (C.14). Harry Denny will present at a panel titled “Developing Methods for Self-Sponsored Writing Center Assessment”(F.16). Derek Owens’ Friday morning presentation is called “Writing Program as Sanctuary: Cultivating Student Testimonies as an Ecocultural Imperative” (G.16). Fellow doctoral student Lauren Williams is also presenting in a panel about digital literacy and basic writing. Her talk is “Rethinking Basic Writing for a Digital Future: Replacing Assimilation with an Agenda of Empowerment” (D.28). The schedule really makes me wish I had the ability to be in multiple places at once. The organizers did an outstanding job putting panels together, and the conference smartphone app helps you to keep track of them all.

Aside from the panels, there are some great speakers on board. In particular, I’m looking forward to hearing from Richard E. Miller, whose work has really influenced my doctoral education. His book Writing at the End of the World offers insight into the teaching of humanities that complicates the traditional rhetoric of the field. You can read my old blog post for more on the book. Currently, Miller publishes solely on his blog Text2Cloud, writing about issues such as publicness and privacy. I was disappointed to miss him at SUNY COW, so I’m thrilled I will get to see him at CCCC.

I have the honor of presenting, as well. The panel I am presenting on is called Ecological Productions: Space, Publics, Texts, Identities (G.15). It runs Friday, March 15 at 9:30 a.m. My particular presentation deals with First Year Writing students’ concepts of public and private, based on an archival study of 102 e-portfolios and blogs. I’ll be speaking alongside my fantastic St. John’s colleague, Chris Leary, and Ohio University doctoral candidate, John Whicker. I am extremely excited—and a bit nervous—to have Sidney Dobrin, premier ecocompositionist and a scholar I admire greatly, as a respondent!

Over the next few days, I hope to be able to blog about my experiences at CCCC. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more, CCCC is offering materials online and participants are live-tweeting on the #4C13 hashtag.

If you got to this blog by following the link on one of my impromptu business cards, I’d like to say a very special thank you for checking out my site! I hope you’ll share some of your insights in the comments sections and return for future discussion. Looking forward to hearing from you!