Dear CCW community,
*Please note updated location for in-person attendees; Zoom option available for online attendees.
The news of NCTE’s de-chartering of CCCC has led many in writing studies to strategies for organizing the future of the field. Following the suggestion of Elizabeth Wardle (Miami University), we are organizing a one-day hybrid symposium titled “Preferable Futures for Writing Studies.”
Please join us on August 12th, 2026 9:30am-2:30pm – In-Person @ University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1050 Ford Motor Company Robotics Building, 2505 Hayward St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109); Online via Zoom. The symposium is open to everyone.
The day’s activities are as follows, with a more detailed outline linked here:
- 9:00-9:30 — Welcome with coffee and morning snacks provided
- 9:30-10:40 — Part 1: Introductions and Community Building
- 10:50-12:00 — Part 2: Exploring Possible Futures
- 12:00-12:30 — Lunch provided thanks to institutional support from University of Michigan, Wayne State, and Michigan State University
- 12:30-1:30 — Part 3: Reflections on the Field’s Strengths and Areas for Growth
- 1:35-2:30 — Part 4: So What? Who Cares? What Do We Do?
Please register to indicate your in-person or online attendance by 5 p.m. EDT, Monday, August 10, 2026, using this RSVP link.
We ask you to share this information with your colleagues in writing studies.
Sincerely,
Adrienne Jankens (Wayne State University) and Clay Walker (University of Michigan)
Adrienne Jankens, Ph.D. (she/her)
Director of Composition and Assistant Professor, Rhetoric and Writing Studies
English Department
Wayne State University
Author, The Talk and Texts of Teacher Development: Values, the Practicum, and Programmatic Change in Writing Studies (Utah State UP, 2026)
Co-chair, Conference on Community Writing, 2027