Call for Papers

The call closed on September 30, 2006.

International Writing Centers Association and South Central Writing Centers Association
April 12-14, 2007
The Magnolia Hotel
Houston, TX

“A Space for Writing: Writing Centers and Place”

Houston occupies a place in the world’s mind as “Space City - a place of infinite possibilities,” inextricably linked to NASA, oil, and cancer research. Little-known to those outside of Texas, Houston occupies in its own mind the place known as H-Town, the Bayou City, 713, 281, and 832 (area codes for the surrounding metropolitan area). Each of these defines Houston in different but meaningful ways.

Writing centers are also “places of infinite possibilities,” or are they? In thinking about our writing center work, how does the rhetorical notion of space and place define our writing center ethos, the work we do, the people we serve, the theories we create, and the spaces we inhabit? For this conference, the organizers reach out to the community college writing centers and ask how do community colleges define writing center space? How do writing centers define the community colleges’ place?

IWCA/SCWCA 2007 invites attendees to explore new frontiers-to boldly go where no writing center conference has gone before. Broad interpretations of the following topics are warmly encouraged. Sample topics include, but are not limited to:

Physical space
Rhetorical space
Mental space
Cultural space
Gendered space
Racial space
Inclusive/exclusive space
Minimal space
Visual space
Historical space
Virtual space
Spacing out

The following strands on timeless Writing Center topics are also welcome: ESL, tutor training, WAC, grammar, administration, assessment, technology, theory, and research.

Prepare a 500 word proposal and a 75 word abstract for poster sessions, 20-minute individual presentations, 90-minute panels/roundtables, 90-minute workshops, ½ day pre-conference workshops, or ½ day post-conference workshops. Proposals may be submitted online to (web address forthcoming) or via surface mail to: Dagmar Corrigan, University of Houston-Downtown, Dept. of English, One Main Street, Houston, TX 77002.

Proposal Deadline: September 30, 2006
Acceptance Notification: December 15, 2006

For questions, please email Dagmar Corrigan at corrigand@uhd.edu