Dear colleagues,
The 7th annual WIS or Writing Innovation Symposium is set to take place at Marquette U in Milwaukee, WI, January 30th and 31st. The theme this year is mise en place. An overview of the full menu is available online, and registration is open through 1/21. Highlights include:
- We start with a pre-symposium talk on Wednesday, 1/29: Join Dr. Ashley M. Beardsley for an interactive presentation sponsored by FAME/Marquette English titled "#Sourdough Rhetoric: Multisensory Media Traces That Are Good Enough to Eat." The talk begins at 4pm in Marquette Hall, Room 105 (1217 W. Wisconsin Ave.). A combination reception and symposium welcome will be held afterward at the Gin Rickey in the Ambassador Hotel (2308 W. Wisconsin Ave.).
- A brigade of Bedford/St. Martin’s WIS Fellows will participate, including Holly Burgess (MU), Heather Martin (U of Denver), Jasmine Rodriguez (Northeastern IL), Marshall Kopacki (MU), Raegan Gronseth (MU), Shannon Hautman (U of Cincinnati), and Sona Srivastava (Ashoka U).
- The symposium begins on Thursday, 1/30 with a morning "write on site" and an afternoon launched by a plenary roundtable with Dr. Ashley M. Beardsley and 3 standout members of Milwaukee’s culinary community: Caitlin Cullen (Kinship Community Food Center; formerly Tandem), Greg León (Amilinda), and Ryan Castelaz (Discourse Coffee Workshop, Agency Cocktail Lounge). Additional highlights include workshops, flashtalks, and a reception featuring research posters, interactive displays, and installations.
- The symposium concludes on Friday, 1/31 with a morning of concurrent sessions, including a workshop on transnationalizing first-year writing sponsored by Macmillan Publishers and led by Dr. Lauren Rosenberg, who directs the Composition Program at University of Texas-El Paso. After lunch, all participants are invited to tour nearby Concordia 27 (801 N. 27th St.), a mixed use community center/affordable housing site. More than a good neighbor, Concordia 27 is a potential venue and partner for future WIS innovations.
Each concurrent session of the WIS features one hybrid flashtalk session and one hybrid workshop plus additional onsite offerings. We offer online as well as 1- and 2-day onsite registration; the latter includes reception refreshments (Thursday) as well as breakfast and lunch (Friday). This year, all WIS participants will also receive a copy of The WIS Community Cookbook.
Registration runs $25-$125. We recommend staying near campus at the Ambassador Hotel. See the online program for details, and be in touch with questions.
We look forward to welcoming everyone in—
Jenn Fishman, WIS Chief Capacitator
With Steering Committee Stalwarts Darci Thoune (UW-LaX), Gitte Frandsen (MU), Grant Gosizk (MU), Jenna Green (MU), Jessie Wirkus Haynes (Bellin C), Kaia Simon (UW-Eau Clare), Kelsey Otero (MU), Lilly Campbell (MU), Max Gray (MU), Nora Boxer (UW-Milwaukee), and Patrick Thomas (U of Dayton)