IWAC 2016 conference proposal with Dr. Will Banks & Dr. Erin Frost
Who are the current storytellers of WAC narratives? In the history of first year writing, the narratives have often belonged to the teacher (North), sometimes to the writers of the ubiquitous textbooks that have helped construct a certain vision of composition for the field (Connors; Crowley). But in the context of WAC, where common textbooks are rare and curricular values so disparate, how do we uncover the ways that different faculty in different context articulate the work of writing to students?
Recently, our writing program has been working to establish the Digital Archive of Writing Instruction (DAWI) as a networked space to share the voices often overlooked or under-valued in WAC/WID scholarship and pedagogy (writing teachers and student writers). In constructing such an archive, we wonder, how might we best situate the teaching artifacts instructors contribute? More fundamentally, what artifacts do we ask for? Traditional archives, outside of the Ivies, stand as telling examples of how little teachers and archivists have valued the everyday objects of instruction. The handouts, assignments, and syllabuses that consume so much of our daily writing lives occupy little space in the official archives at most colleges and universities (Fitzgerald; Lindblom, Banks, and Quay). The DAWI corrects these absences by enabling a more robust multimedia archive of the material practices of teaching writing across the curriculum.
In this roundtable, Speaker One introduces the DAWI as a part of ongoing WAC/WID professional development initiatives. She explores the experience of working with faculty from across campus to construct the archive and situate this work in the context of Grabill's (2001) ideas on postmodern mapping. Speaker Two facilitates a breakout session in order to share with attendees some of the artifacts she created for the archive as part of a WAC/WID workshop. Using an observational protocol for reading the artifacts, participants explore how these materials might be curated in a digital collection for WAC faculty and students, and what additional artifacts might benefit such an archive. Speaker Three brings the group back together after the breakout session to engage participants in conversation about the DAWI and what artifacts/experiences should occupy such an archive.
Recently, our writing program has been working to establish the Digital Archive of Writing Instruction (DAWI) as a networked space to share the voices often overlooked or under-valued in WAC/WID scholarship and pedagogy (writing teachers and student writers). In constructing such an archive, we wonder, how might we best situate the teaching artifacts instructors contribute? More fundamentally, what artifacts do we ask for? Traditional archives, outside of the Ivies, stand as telling examples of how little teachers and archivists have valued the everyday objects of instruction. The handouts, assignments, and syllabuses that consume so much of our daily writing lives occupy little space in the official archives at most colleges and universities (Fitzgerald; Lindblom, Banks, and Quay). The DAWI corrects these absences by enabling a more robust multimedia archive of the material practices of teaching writing across the curriculum.
In this roundtable, Speaker One introduces the DAWI as a part of ongoing WAC/WID professional development initiatives. She explores the experience of working with faculty from across campus to construct the archive and situate this work in the context of Grabill's (2001) ideas on postmodern mapping. Speaker Two facilitates a breakout session in order to share with attendees some of the artifacts she created for the archive as part of a WAC/WID workshop. Using an observational protocol for reading the artifacts, participants explore how these materials might be curated in a digital collection for WAC faculty and students, and what additional artifacts might benefit such an archive. Speaker Three brings the group back together after the breakout session to engage participants in conversation about the DAWI and what artifacts/experiences should occupy such an archive.