Dear TYCA Colleagues,
We are excited to announce the 2026 Two-Year College English-Northeast (TYCA-NE) Conference will be held on October 2nd and 3rd in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Call for Proposals for the 2026 TYCA-NE Conference is below, and the deadline to submit a proposal is June 1st, 2026.
Please direct any questions to our Regional Executive Committee (REC) email: TYCANortheast01.
We also invite you to visit the www.tycanortheast.org website for more information about the conference. There, you will now be able to submit your proposal, register for the conference, and see information regarding the current and past conferences in one location.
We are excited to be planning a wonderful conference and hope you will join us!
Warmly,
The TYCA-NE Regional Executive Committee (REC)
Jennifer Maloy and Sam McManus, Co-Chairs
TYCA Northeast
61st Annual Conference
2026 Call for Proposals
October 2 – 3, 2026
Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square
25 S Queen St, Lancaster, PA 17603
Proposal Deadline: Monday, June 1, 2026
Conference Theme: Meeting the Moment: Connecting the Past, Present, and Future in English Studies
Contemporary literacy learners–across positions of age, gender, race, class, and language–find themselves having to piece together reading and writing experiences from more and more spheres, creating new and hybrid forms of literacy where once there might have been fewer and more circumscribed forms. (Deborah Brandt, “Accumulating Literacy,” 651)
In the above quote, Deborah Brandt captures our current moment in English studies as we grapple with seismic changes in technologies. Writing this essay in 1995, Brandt was addressing a surplus of literacy practices afforded by technological advancements in personal computing as well as multilingual literacy practices. She encourages readers to acknowledge the complexities of evolving literacies and to embrace these opportunities, a perspective with strong implications for creative new approaches to learning and teaching.
Thirty years later, we find ourselves facing the same dilemma—magnified and multiplied. Language users are now offered an abundance of literacy opportunities via smart phones, tablets, and computers, in addition to more traditional modes of oral communication and pen and paper. As English studies teachers, many of us feel apprehensive as we integrate digital communication into our classrooms while trying to maintain our commitment to teaching critical literacies. Our current moment presents numerous challenges as well as opportunities for reading, writing, and critical thinking instruction.
For the 2026 TYCA Northeast Conference, we invite proposals that explore emerging literacies in community college classrooms right now. We encourage presenters to share their approaches to teaching and learning with new technologies while considering the foundational goals of teaching English composition, language, and literature. Proposals may provide the perspectives of English instructors as well as the perspectives of students, tutors, and administrators.
Topics for the conference may include (but are not limited to) the following:
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How can we draw upon past technological shifts in literacy practices to understand our current moment? What are the benefits of maintaining or returning to practices of written literacies (such as handwriting and in-class assignments) and oral literacies (such as presentations and in-class discussion)?
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As students’ digital literacy needs evolve, what do we see as fundamental to academic literacy instruction, teacher and student experience, and our shared classroom experiences? What are the opportunities for using new technologies to foster critical thinking and civic engagement?
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Under what circumstances do we need to explain and defend the work of English studies in the rush to adopt new technologies and modes of instructional delivery for educational purposes? What are the shifting roles of teachers and tutors with the advent of AI-supported instruction?
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What are the ethical implications and considerations for adopting new technologies campus-wide and in individual classrooms? How can we maintain our commitment to open admissions and access in community college as we adopt and integrate emerging technologies?
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How can emerging technologies support language learners and multilingual students?
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How can we use technologies to support students with learning differences and/or incorporate universal design principles into our curricula?
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How can we foster joy, creativity, and imaginative play as we engage with emerging platforms and technological applications?
Presentations do not need to directly address this year’s theme, but they must connect to the broader ongoing themes of the Two-Year College English Association such as:
First-year & Intermediate Composition
Developmental education
College reading
Teaching English to speakers of other languages
The role of contingent faculty
Online teaching
Literature & creative writing
Writing centers and other learning assistance programs
Program administration and innovation
Community engagement
Communications
Linguistics
Technical & business writing
Professional development
Teacher-scholar activism
Teacher-training for a two-year college
TYCA NE prioritizes proposals which:
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Emphasize practical strategies and/or tools that can be immediately employed in the classroom.
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Are interactive and actively engage audience members, through the use of slide decks, apps, or other presentation methodologies.
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Avoid reading from a manuscript such as an academic paper or a book.