Composing Ourselves: Writing Pathways to Student Success
We invite submissions for a proposed collection that explores how writing coursework—particularly college freshman composition—might lead to students’ personal and professional development. This development may grow from the familiar activities of writing instructors: mentoring and advising students, cultivating their civic engagement, or coaching them in the arts of communication, negotiation, and self-presentation. Given the intensity of student-teacher interaction within composition studies, writing instructors have a unique opportunity to guide first-year college students towards life skills like managing time, coping with stress, and building productive peer relationships. We are positioned to cultivate the mindsets and behaviors that lead students to success throughout their college educations and professional careers. On the other hand, we must balance our desire to help students grow as individuals with the goals of our discipline and the ethical limitations of our outreach. This collection calls for pedagogical strategies designed to enhance students’ writing skills while also promoting students’ success outside the academy.
How might the composition course provide value for students in terms of professional, personal, and confidence development? How can writing teachers help students hone strategies that promote success across the disciplines and beyond the academy? We invite discussion about the opportunities and risks that come from viewing writing instruction as a form of mentoring that has broad applications for student success. For those interested in submitting a proposal for this collection, please send 500-word abstracts for consideration to or by October 15, 2011.
Additional Context
There has long been a debate about the appropriate writing and reading materials for first year composition – in short, a debate about what students should read, write, and do in the first year composition course. For example, what is the ideal philosophy or underlying foundation for the composition class? Should students write more or read more? Should teachers emphasize product or process? Should first-year writing include literary texts, political discourse, personal reflection, and/or academic writing, and how much can one instructor hope to accomplish in a single semester? Such questions about the purpose and content of the composition class are ubiquitous in our field and invigorate our work. Yet, as writing instructors working with first-year college students, we often find ourselves juggling these questions with more basic concerns about classroom management and student maturity; our students may need help understanding their roles in the classroom before they can achieve academic goals. As teachers, we are often the first to introduce students to the concept of attendance policies, for instance, or to talk with them about time-management. We guide our classes in the conventions of professional behavior and communication. We insist on civil, mature classroom debate. In other words, we teach broad-based skills that go beyond writing. Such practices help students grow within our discipline and prepare them for professional success; they are also examples of the wonderfully practical role that composition courses can play for students.
At times, though, the emotional and psychological needs of students can weigh heavily on a writing teacher’s shoulders. Given the personal nature of some English 101 writing courses, which are often smaller in size than other university Gen-Ed courses, we have unusual intimacy with our students. When students need coaching in the mechanics of life and professionalism, writing instructors are often the first to know. Who among us has not seen signs of academic struggle or personal crisis emerge in students’ writing or classroom demeanor?
Writing professors have a remarkable opportunity to shape the attitudes and behaviors that guide students to success, but that opportunity can be tricky and misleading. On one hand, writing faculty often have the clearest perspective on students’ lifestyles and habits of thought and thus may have the best chances of promoting healthy academic and personal behaviors. Yet, generally speaking, we are neither students’ parents nor trained therapists; we are blatantly unqualified to solve many of our students’ problems. We also have a rich body of core material that students must master, so we have little time to spare. If we are to address extra-disciplinary issues of growth and behavior in the classroom, we must do so ethically and mindfully of our core task to teach good writing.
This collection hopes to open discussion of the intersections between writing instruction and the development of skills that lead students to long-term success. We welcome proposals on all related topics, particularly those that respond to one or more of these questions:
• How do mentoring and promoting students’ professional development fit within the framework of writing instruction, and what role should life coaching play in our classrooms?
• What specific assignments or classroom activities promote good writing while developing other skills for success?
• What can and can’t we teach our students about the life skills they need to succeed in college and careers? How can writing teachers find a balance in this area?
• What role should writing instructors play in identifying and responding to students in personal or academic crisis? What ethical or legal principles govern these responses?
• Can attention to students’ personal and professional development help writing faculty articulate the value of their work in a time of shrinking university budgets?
Proposals for both research-based essays and reflective essays are welcome. Essays that extend the topic to advanced high school coursework or writing-intensive literature coursework will also be considered. Please send 500-word abstracts for consideration to or by October 15, 2011.
The 2nd Conference on Higher Education Development
Shanghai Association of Higher Education
(including but not limited to the following topics)
1. Moral Principles and Academic Ethics of Higher Education
2. Theoretical Research on University Concepts and Higher Education
3. System and Reform of Higher education
4. Quality Research on Higher Education
5. Curriculum Construction and Teaching Research
6. College Students Management and Employment
7. Higher Education Management
Scientific Research Management
Research Management
Faculty Management
8. Higher Education Research on All Levels and All Types
Postgraduate Education
Undergraduate Education
Higher Vocational Education
Normal University Education
Higher Art Education
Higher Physical Education
9. Legal Research on Education
10. Comparative Education Research
11. New Information Technology and Education
Web-based Distance Education
Digital Learning Platform and Tools
Virtual Classroom and University
Research on Sharing Mechanism of Digital Teaching Resources in Colleges and Universities
Teaching Informationization Equipment and its Management
Digital Campus Construction and Data Security Management
The Muse is a Bi-annual online poetry journal. It invites original poems and research papers on poetry for June 2011 issue.
1. Work submitted for publication (poems or research papers) must be original, previously unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
2. Send 1 to 5 poems and a brief biodata. A cover letter would be nice but is not mandatory.
3. The research papers should should be not less than 3000 words. References should be prepared strictly following MLA Stylesheet (7th edition).
4. E-mail your poems and research papers to . Response time varies from 2 to 12 weeks.
5. With poem/ research paper the poet/author is requested to submit a statement of originality of work.
The Ezra Pound Society and International James Joyce Foundation plan a joint sesssion on Ezra Pound and James Joyce: Connections and Disconnections at the MLA Convention in Seattle, 5-8 January 2012. Papers are inivted dealing with the affinities between these authors and the reaction by each writer to the work of the other. Intertextual links as well as disparities and aesthetic and political differences may be addressed. Please send 500-word abstracts by 1 March 2011. Abstracts dealing primarily with Joyce should be forwarded to Anne Fogarty (), while those centring on Pound should be forwarded to Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos () or Ir B. Nadel ()
Edith Wharton in Florence: A Sesquicentennial Conference Sponsored by the Edith Wharton Society, 6-8 June 2012
Please join us for the international conference of the Edith Wharton Society in Florence, Italy, celebrating the sesquicentennial of Wharton's birth. “Edith Wharton in Florence” will be the third Wharton Society conference held in Europe and the first in Italy. The conference directors seek papers focusing on all aspects of Wharton's work, and we especially welcome submissions dealing with the international contexts of her writing. Papers might offer readings of any of Wharton's texts, including the short fiction, poetry, plays, essays, and travel writing, in addition to the novels; Wharton's work in relation to any of its nineteenth- and twentieth-century contexts; Wharton in a transatlantic literary context;Wharton and her contemporaries, both male and female, canonical and non-canonical, European and American; Wharton in Italy, Morocco, and elsewhere in Europe; Wharton and the other arts, including painting, photography, theatre, and film (adaptations of her work during her lifetime and those that have appeared more recently); Wharton and cosmopolitanism, globalization, and the various forces of modernity; Wharton and art history. All theoretical approaches welcome, including feminist, psychoanalytic, historicist, marxist, queer, and ecocritical, among others.
Through the generosity of Marist College, the conference will be held at Marist's Lorenzo di Medici campus, in the heart of Florence. In addition to panels, there will be a keynote speaker and opportunities for tours of the area.
Please submit 250-500-word abstracts and brief CV to by 15 July 2011.
All conference participants must be members of the Edith Wharton Society at the time of registration.
For more information about the conference, contact Conference Directors Meredith Goldsmith (Ursinus College; ) and Emily Orlando (Fairfield University; ).
SHAW WITHOUT BORDERS/SHAW SANS FRONTIÈRES (JULY 25-29)
International Shaw Society, University of Guelph, Shaw Festival
Papers (for twenty minute talks) may be on a wide range of topics and written from any critical perspective, but those who choose to speak on the conference topic should address Bernard Shaw’s broad international interests as expressed in his novels, plays, prefaces, speeches, and travels; productions of Shaw’s plays in different countries and languages; ‘‘boundary-free’’ internet Shaw; and ‘‘copyright-free’’ Shaw (in Canada since 2000, and in most other countries from 2020).
The conference schedule will include a visit to the renowned Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, to see the Festival's fiftieth anniversary productions of at least two Shaw plays. A major exhibit of materials from the extensive Shaw collections in the University of Guelph's L. W. Conolly Theatre Archives will be mounted for the conference. It is anticipated that conference participants will come from many parts of the world. Some financial support will be available to assist with travel costs.
Abstracts of 300-500 words should be submitted at the conference website, THE DEADLINE IS APRIL 15, 2011.
Applications for travel grants can be found at
Information about the International Shaw Society and its activities can be found at
Confirmed plenary speakers to date include Michael Billington, theatre critic for the Guardian, Jackie Maxwell, current Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival, Stanley Weintraub, Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus, Pennsylvania State University, and Christopher Newton, Artistic Director Emeritus of the Shaw Festival.
Please send any questions about the conference to .
The Samuel Beckett Society is seeking three presenters who will examine Samuel Beckett’s prose, poetry, theatre, and/or criticism in relation to history, memory, archive and/or biography. Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words by September 1, 2011 to and . Presentations will be limited to 20 minutes.
The convention will be held on November 4-6, 2011 at Loews Atlanta Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
Presenters must be (or become) members of SAMLA.
Poetry and Poetics, a standing session of PAMLA, deals with all aspects of poetry/poetics.
Submit proposals online at Include the following items in your proposal: paper title, approximately 500-word proposal, approximately 40-word abstract.
Deadline: March 25
Conference Date/Place:
November 5-6 2011
Scripps College, Claremont CA
Direct questions to: Catherine Cucinella,
Proposals must be submitted online at
CALL FOR RESEARCH PAPERS ON WORLD LITERATURE
August 2011 (Vol. 5 Issue 2)
Impressions, A Refereed Bi-Annual Journal of English Studies (ISSN 0974 – 892X) strives to present work of high quality in English Literature, linguistics and cultural studies from the multi disciplinary and multi cultural perspective. The aim of the journal is to publish substantial scholarly and critical interventions on emerging trends in literature in English and works in translation.
We are always keen to receive submissions from scholars in the form of Research Papers, Articles, Poems, Short Stories, Interviews and Book Reviews. Submissions are accepted and read year-round. Manuscripts should be of unpublished work and not have been submitted elsewhere for publication. Manuscripts should be
• Up to ten double spaced pages (A-4 size).
• Type written
• Having a brief profile of the author with phone number. The articles/ papers must conform to the latest MLA Handbook in all respects.
Submissions can be sent by e-mail at . They should be accompanied by an indication of format in which the file is created i.e. MS Word, Text File, etc. Authors may note that unaccepted material will not be returned.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR AUGUST ISSUE: 30 APRIL, 2011
Visit us at
All editorial correspondence should be addressed to:
Dr Abha Shukla Kaushik, 10-C, Royal, Shipra Suncity, Indrapuram, Ghaziabad-201014, Uttar Pradesh.
Editors
Malti Agarwal, N.A.S. College, Meerut,
Abha Shukla Kaushik, A.K.P.G. College, Hapur,
C.C.S. University, Meerut (U.P.)
SAMLA Fiction Writers (Creative Writing)
Lucas Church / South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA)
.
The focus of this panel will be on brief, powerful writing and performance. In order to perform an entire piece in the allotted time, submitted stories must be concise, but powerful.
Complete stories, no excerpts from longer works unless they stand alone. Recommended word limit is 1,500, but exceptions can be made. Multiple short stories are acceptable as long as the total word count is not over the limit. While stories engaging in the special SAMLA topic, "The Power of Poetry in the Modern World," will be given special attention, all submissions will be considered.
Send entire work as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf attachment to . Deadline is May 1st, 2011.
The conference will be held in Atlanta, November 4th through the 6th, 2011.
Country Lyricists Panel--2011 SAMLA (November 4-6, 2011, Atlanta, GA)
South Atlantic Modern Language Association
The “Country Lyricists” session focuses on the work of writers in the country music tradition, taking an inclusive view of country music that embraces traditional and contemporary writers as well as old-time, bluegrass, and Americana lyricists. For this open-topic session, contributors should be certain to concentrate on achievements as writers—this session is not about performers unless those performers write their own material. For example, one writing about Dolly Parton should concentrate on her lyrics rather than discussing only her place in American popular culture; while an acknowledgment of that role may be of interest, that consideration should play only a small part in the analysis of her songwriting. Proposals may either address a theme as it occurs in a variety of songs (such as “images of the decline of small-town America in contemporary country lyrics”) or the work of a single writer. Please send 500-word abstracts/proposals by June 15, 2011, to Thomas Alan Holmes, Department of Literature and Language, East Tennessee State University, P. O. Box 70683, Johnson City, TN, 37614. Electronic submissions to are encouraged. Presenters must be members of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (