Month: January 2014

Carolinas WPA 2014 Meeting in the Middle

Carolinas WPA Annual Meeting in the Middle

Friday, February 14, 2014

10:00 AM – 4:30 PM

UNC Charlotte Center City Building, Room 905-906
320 E. 9th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

http://centercity.uncc.edu/

Theme:  Working Conditions and Writing Instruction

 

A multitude of factors affect the professional achievements and satisfaction of those who teach writing. Funding is an obvious limitation faced by most, if not all, of those who administer or work in writing programs. Given that funding will, most likely, continue to fall short of what it should be, we would do well to pool our ideas and learn from each other as we consider how to make the best use of limited resources. This year’s Meeting in the Middle will provide a space to share ideas and discuss strategies for bettering working environments for teachers of writing.

As always, Carolinas WPA welcomes the participation of graduate students.

 

Featured Speaker and Conference Overview

We’re pleased that Dr. Nancy Penrose, a Carolinas WPA alumnus from North Carolina State University, has agreed to spend the morning with us. Penrose is the author of “Professional Identity in a Contingent-Labor Profession: Expertise, Autonomy, Community in Composition Teaching,” which appeared in WPA 35.2 (2012). She will share insights gleaned from a survey of writing instructors at NCSU and lead us in discussions about how to foster a sense of professional identity and community among teachers of writing.

 

The afternoon will be devoted to small group discussions in which participants will share information about working conditions at their programs and collaborate to identify strategies for improving those conditions.

 

Participation and Registration

 

Participation

Given this year’s focus on learning from one another, we ask that each participant provide responses to an online survey (click here) about working conditions by the registration deadline, Monday, February 3, 2014. Responses will be compiled to be shared at our meeting.

 

Registration Fee

$30.00 includes lunch and “break” food.

To increase Carolinas WPA visibility, we encourage you to” Bring a Friend for Free,”  but you must register your friend when you register yourself.

* Click here to register.*

Registration Deadline—Monday, February 3, 2014

 

Learn more about Meeting in the Middle…

Job Ad: Tenure-Track in Professional Writing & Rhetoric at Elon University

Elon University invites applications for the following tenure-track faculty position in the Professional Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) program. If you or someone you know is particularly enthusiastic about working closely with colleagues to make a rhetorically focused professional writing education come alive for undergraduate students, please consider applying or encouraging interested colleagues to apply.

 

The ad below offers a description of the position, but first some additional information about the program and Elon:

 

PWR is “major-like”:  Officially a “concentration” within an English department, the program requires six core PWR courses, including an internship and a studio course, as well as multiple and wide-ranging elective opportunities. PWR students get a rhetorical education that is quite “major-like,” and consequently, faculty have opportunities to teach a wide variety of courses.

 

PWR is dynamic:  PWR program is still a dynamic, growing program at Elon. Though the faculty, students, and courses share a strong mission and general vision, there are many new developments underfoot and much room for other growth. Our students and faculty work closely together on various research projects, client-based and service-learning projects, and workshops, all supported through our Center for Undergraduate Publishing and Information Design (CUPID). We also have a growing interdisciplinary minor in Professional Writing Studies that is attracting attention on campus.

 

PWR faculty are widely interested and active:  Elon is a place where people can pursue a wide variety of interests and participate in a wide variety of ways. In addition to teaching PWR classes, PWR faculty teach and have taught study abroad courses, advanced interdisciplinary seminars, special topic courses in English outside of PWR, and courses in interdisciplinary programs like environmental studies, multi-media authoring, classical studies, and leadership studies. The PWR faculty are involved in an expansive array of campus, administrative, and community service work. And PWR faculty pursue active and diverse research agendas.

 

PWR students are widely interested and active, also:  PWR students share a common commitment to rhetoric and professional writing, and many have double majors or double concentrations within English, most have at least one minor/cognate, a great number study abroad, and almost all have at least one internship experience. To see what our students are up to, read our CUPID blog maintained by student CUPID Associates at http://blogs.elon.edu/cupid/. Our students go on to pursue an exciting variety of post-graduate experiences, from publishing to public relations, editing to writing for non-profits, Teach for America and graduate and law school, and more creative pathways in hospital fundraising, university student affairs, lobbying, and even forestry.

 

You can learn more about our program at http://www.elon.edu/pwr/.

 

Please consider applying or encouraging others to apply.

 

Official Ad: 

 

ENGLISH Rhetoric and Writing. Elon University invites applications for a tenure-track, Assistant Professor position in Professional Writing and Rhetoric (PWR) in the English department starting August 2014. Ph.D. in Professional Communication, Rhetoric and Writing, or related field, and record of excellence in teaching required. The successful candidate will teach courses within the concentration’s core and PWR electives, as well as first-year writing and courses within the University’s General Studies program.  Preferred areas of specialization include visual rhetorics, international rhetorics, or writing for non-profits or NGOs.  Send letter of application, CV, teaching philosophy, research interests, and three letters of recommendation to the search chair Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark at ENGPWR@elon.edu, including in the subject line your name, please.  Application materials must be received by January 15, 2014.  Position will remain open until filled.  Elon is a dynamic private, co-educational, comprehensive institution that is a national model for actively engaging faculty and students in teaching and learning.  To learn more about Elon, please visit our website (http://www.elon.edu/).  Elon University is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse faculty, staff, and student body and welcomes all applicants.