Symposium CFP published!

Today we hit a pretty significant milestone for the Crow project: we’ve published the CFP for our symposium, October 4–6, 2018. We’re thrilled to be able to host an event focusing on the type of work we want to support with Crow: data-driven writing research which recognizes the value of interdisciplinarity and the importance of collaboration. Our symposium team has done a great job planning, so we wanted to share some of the assumptions shaping the symposium which may not be apparent from the CFP.

First and foremost, we imagine an inclusive event where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and invited into the conversations which make conferences so rewarding. To that end, we’ll be featuring undergraduate research in several ways. We’ll offer travel support targeting new and under-represented voices. And we’ll have a Code of Conduct which makes clear our expectations for mutual respect and inclusive behavior.

All of us agree that the best parts of academic gatherings are the conversations they facilitate. So expect coffee breaks throughout the symposium, and plenty of time to get from one session to another. Poster sessions will feature refreshments, too. We’re picking spaces which we hope will offer plenty of chances to sit down and talk with friends and colleagues.

We also want to keep costs down. Support from Humanities Without Walls will help quite a bit. Staff from Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts are helping us find spaces which meet our needs affordably. We won’t add unnecessarily to registration costs if we can avoid it. For example, dinners will be “on your own,” so it’ll be easier for attendees to find places to eat which fit their budgets. We’ll be asking sponsors to directly support subsidies which lower our operating costs—rather than paying for tote bags.

Finally, we’re really excited about our keynote speakers, Shondel Nero and Susan M. Conrad. They represent two traditions of writing research distinct from our research focuses with Crow. We look forward to learning from them and we know you will too.

Over the past year, Beril, Shelley, Bill, and I have gladly helped our symposium team as they have brainstormed about the type of event they wanted to host, then drafted and published our CFP. From the start, we’ve imagined Crow as driven by and for the scholarly and professional interests of our students, and that’s certainly true here as well. Our thanks to everyone on the Crow team, especially Lauren, Lindsey, Michelle, Hadi, Ashley, Blair, and Terrence. The work you see in this CFP is theirs. Expect to hear more from them soon.

We hope to see you in West Lafayette in October 2018. Before then, we welcome your questions: symposium@writecrow.org.