WRITING AND LITERATURE CONFERENCE
for High School and College Eng. Instructors
All Sessions are located in the Regnier Center (RC)
Breaking Discourse Communities: Relating to Students and Helping Them Find Their Voice
Sarah Ulsher, Rockhurst University
Using case study methodologies and field research, this paper explores how writing center tutors at Rockhurst University broke through discourse communities in an effort to help students develop and discover their voice.
Promoting and Amplifying the Diversity of Multilingual and Multicultural Voices in Secondary and Post-Secondary Educational Contexts Through Multiple Literacies
Cathryn Crosby, Emporia State University
Yuanheng Arthur Wang, Columbia University Teacher’s College
A major identity-related concept in writing is “voice.” However, voice is not limited to writing; it includes multiple literacies. The presenters share multiliteracy projects completed by multilingual, multicultural teachers and students in secondary and post-secondary contexts to promote and amplify a diversity of voices in these educational contexts.
Hybrid Listening: Deconstructing “Voice” with Multimodality, Multiliteracy, and Materiality
Kali Jo Wacker, University of Kansas
By situating “voice” within scholarship on multimodal composition, multiliteracy, and new materialism and by using a small art exhibit to illustrate this contextualization, my paper demonstrates how a plural understanding of voice allows instructors to teach (and students to learn) about key areas of rhetoric, such as revision or preservation, through material, digital and collaborative means.
Finding One’s Voice as a Novice Researcher
Heidi Hallman, University of Kansas, panel chair
Farrell Hoy Jenab, Johnson County Community College/ University of Kansas
Maggie Mnayer, University of Kansas
Jaclyn Naster, University of Kansas
Jane Rosenow, Kansas City Public Schools/University of Kansas
Laura Fleck, Lee’s Summit School District/University of Kansas
This panel explores how one finds “voice” as a novice researcher. Through the discussion of panel participants’ experiences in a doctoral program, the panel will provide a rich discussion of innovation to doctoral coursework. This panel is particularly pertinent to those who wish to pursue a doctoral degree.
Session Chair: Jim McWard, Johnson County Community College
Using Shakespeare for Social Justice
Abigail Crane, Olathe West High School
In our modern society, young people tackle difficult issues unlike any before. Social justice movements have crowded the headlines of their adolescence, but many students feel ill-equipped to make change—often because they feel adults aren’t listening. How can we better amplify the voices of our students while still promoting canonical texts and critical thinking? Enter the Bard. In this interactive and instructional session, participants will read articles, student product samples and participate in a discussion centered around the question “How do traditional gender roles perpetuate violence in Romeo & Juliet?”
The Myth of the West
Ruth Heflin, Johnson County Community College
What happens when translators impose their cultural voices on ancient texts? Did “marriage” mean the same thing to Assyrians that it did to Akkadians? Did either culture view marriage in the same way we do today? Explore the Epic of Gilgamesh and other ancient texts by peeling away patriarchal biases to reveal the ancient power of women.
Interject? Intervene? Interfere? Effective Teacher Voice(s)in Online Discussions
Ted Rollins, Johnson County Community College, panel chair
Janice Hodgkin, Johnson County Community College
Amy Pace, Johnson County Community College
Staci Petrillo, Johnson County Community College
When responding to individual student forum posts in our online classes, how much teacher-student response is too much? At what point does it hinder rather than promote student learning? We will present research and experiences from teaching composition and literature online to help participants discover best practices for effective discussion.
Session Chair: Mark Browning, Johnson County Community College
The “Can’t Remember” Voice in the Creative Writing Classroom
Louise Krug, Washburn University
What if faulty or absent memories were writing wins? This panel is for any teacher who includes creative or narrative writing in their classroom. By using “can’t remember” prompts to generate writing, teachers will get new ideas for assuring students that they have all the tools they need already to tell their stories. We will look at student work that came out of “can’t remember” assignments, brainstorm how it can work for different kinds of classes, and try our hand at “can’t remember” writing ourselves as a way to discover our own “can’t remember” voice.
The Poem Made Me Do It: Developing Voice Through the Study of Poetry
Shannon Carriger, Gardner Edgerton High School
In composition classrooms, a lack of authenticity is the greatest hurdle toward developing voice. This session will examine poetry as a primer on authenticity as well as how the close, critical study of poetry translates into stronger, more authentic student voice in the composition classroom.
Session Chair: Sayanti Ganguly Puckett, Johnson County Community College
Expressivism in Composition I & II
Linzi Garcia, Emporia State University
Axelle Bernard, Emporia State University
Bernard and Garcia present on how the implementation of expressivism in their Composition classrooms has provided their students with a platform to grow as individuals and writers. Garcia focuses on creative writing benefits, and Bernard focuses on her experience with connecting writing and sociocultural literacy learning for ELL students..
Comedy: A Firm Ground to Negotiate Difference?
Amir Barati, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Creating a safe space for agonizing voices to speak up and talk about diversity and equality is a challenge in most composition classes. My lecture will focus on how comedy can reduce tension among students with different Englishes and offer a cooperative platform for intimate discussions on serious topics. I will also discuss how my students, being expert consumers of television and comedy, can find their voice through bringing their primary discourses to class informing others of their concerns.
Session Chair: Maureen Fitzpatrick, Johnson County Community College
Cooking up Composition Assignments through Chinese Cuisine
Jason Harper, Fort Hays State University
This presentation will be an overview and assignment breakdown of this project-how these students found a voice to have their words and stories made visible not only through the global reach of the Internet but documented in a published book that they could share and pass down to subsequent generations.
Hearing Marginalized Students’ Voices on the Variety of English They Use in Writing
Wen Xin, University of Kansas
In order to effectively cultivate a translingual writing environment for students, it is not sufficient to only offer students room to use their own variety of English in writing but more crucial to allow students’ own voice through which students can self-define the variety of English they employ in writing classrooms.
Negotiating, Supporting and Cultivating Diverse Student Voices in the Composition Classroom
Katherine Daily O’Meara, Emporia State University, panel chair
Lindsey Bartlett, Emporia State University
Curtis Becker, Emporia State University
Hannah Way, Emporia State University
College composition instructors share their strategies to support and cultivate the increasingly diverse student voices that comprise their writing classrooms. Topics include sustaining rural student voices, advocating for LGBTQ+ students and allies, diffusing racism and voices of opposition, and more. Panelists provide hands-on strategies, classroom materials and helpful resources.
Session Chair: Marilyn Senter, Johnson County Community College
Professor Franklin’s Annotated Bibliography of Young Adult Literature, 2017–18
John Franklin, Pittsburg State University
Designed with middle and secondary school teachers in mind, this session depends on audience interaction to give voice to the value of Young Adult Literature in our classrooms. If you teach grades 6-12 then please join us and add your voice to our discussion.
Silent Voices: PTSD in the Hunger Games Series
Courtney Morris, Garden City Community College
This presentation examines the treatment of mental illness, specifically PTSD, in the Hunger Games trilogy as a reflection of current culture and societal stigmas.
Many Hands Make Light Work: Teaching Undergraduate Writing in the Archives and Enriching the Field of Rhetoric and Writing Studies
Jane Greer, University of Missouri-Kansas City, panel chair
Bethany Graham, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Helene Slinker, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Kayla Wiltfong, University of Missouri-Kansas City
The participants in this roundtable will share their experiences as archival researchers, articulating how recovering the voices of individuals from times long past have enriched their own writing and learning processes. Moreover, the panelists will argue that such work benefits the field of rhetoric and writing studies as these voices from the past speak to diverse and impactful traditions of civic engagement.
Establishing Identity/Establishing Voice: How Spoken Word Might Inform Writing Instruction
Tim Collins, Seaman High School, panel chair
Claudia Inman, Seaman High School
Andrea Foster, Seaman High School
Luke McCune, Seaman High School
The panel will begin with a five-minute introduction summarizing ideas from various scholars, then feature slam performances by three high school students. After the performances the students will briefly discuss the origins, evolution and discoveries of their respective voices. This will be followed by a question and answer session.
Session Chair: Monica Hogan, Johnson County Community College
They Is?
Valerie Brown-Kuchera, Fort Hays State University
The presenter will review the history of “they” as a singular; provide an update on APA, MLA and Chicago guidelines; examine how standardized tests are handling the issue; and give teaching strategies that address the use of singular “they.” Participants will leave with handouts and a resource list.
“I Don’t Use a Wheelchair”: Why Students May Struggle to Identify with Disability Narratives in the Classroom
Muffy Walter, Washburn University
We will explore how the marginalized identity of the disabled is often problematic, even derogatory. Ignorance surrounding disability can be eradicated through education, and colleges play a crucial role here. This presentation discusses how disability pedagogy may open a dialogue for students to see their own identity in disability with conviction.
Session Chair: Michael Carriger, Johnson County Community College
Media Voices: Getting Past the “Bias” Frame in First-Year Composition
Dan Cryer, Johnson County Community College
First-year composition students often accuse information sources coming to any strong conclusion as being biased—and therefore suspect—regardless of source credibility. I designed two assignment sequences centered on bias and credibility in modern media, resulting in nuanced and satisfying conversations with students on these topics.
Facing Unconscious Bias while Reading “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison
Linda McHenry, Fort Hays State University
Some students believe they do not hold unconscious bias and others are unaware of their unconscious bias while reading Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif.” While initially uncomfortable facing unconscious bias, the ways students analyze the main characters’ voices and internalize the context cues offer important lessons about their unconscious bias.
Voice, Choice and Promoting Diversity: Why Offer Alternatives to the Essay?
Naomi Wood, Kansas State University, panel chair
Kristen Emig, Kansas State University
Kristin Chaney, Kansas State University
Macy Davis, Kansas State University
What better way to encourage a range of voices and perspectives in the classroom than by staging multimediated engagement with diverse literary texts? This presentation showcases some possibilities. In a multicultural literature course, students generated advertisements, playlists, newspapers, and collages that responded intellectually and emotionally to young adult literature by diverse writers.
Session Chair: Andrea Broomfield, Johnson County Community College
Bringing Students to Voice Through Feminist Pedagogy
Cheryl Hofstetter Duffy, Fort Hays State University
Cassidy Locke, Fort Hays State University
“Feminist Pedagogy” does not mean teaching about feminism! Instead, it means following key principles that can help students claim their identities and, for some students, move from the margins toward full participation. Come learn about those principles and a variety of practical strategies worth trying in your own classroom.
Incarcerated Voices and Permission to Write at the Chillicothe Women’s Prison
Daniel J. Martin, Rockhurst University
Incarcerated students understand permission in a way others do not. Their bodies and actions are constrained but so are their voices, not just by official constraints but also by the dynamics of incarceration. Some observations from prison apply to our work with students on the outside.
Varied Literary Voices Empowering Student Voices
Ashlie Thomas, Emporia High School, panel chair
Blair Falldine, Emporia High School
Josey Sands, Emporia High School
Danica Rothe, Emporia High School
Amanda Mendoza, Emporia High School
Kaitlyn Just, Emporia High School
Through a wide variety of literary voices—multicultural, female and embattled especially—we teachers can empower student voices that previously have been underrepresented and/or repressed. By employing these literary models, instructors can help students connect with literature, find their voices and recognize their right to be heard.
In Their Own Words: An Open Mic Poetry Opportunity
Beth Gulley, Johnson County Community College
Looking for a chance to raise your voice? This session is an open mic poetry reading. Come and read an original poem, one of your students’ poems or a poem you love. If you didn’t bring a poem along, write a twaiku or simply enjoy the poetry of others.
Hare & Bell Award Recognition
Kathryn Byrne,
Professor of English and Writing Center Director
Johnson County Community College
Keynote: Kathleen Blake Yancey,
Florida State University