Dear all,
On behalf of the planning committee, I’m pleased to announce the candwconference).
We look forward to welcoming folks to Charlotte next June!
June 4-7 | UNC Charlotte (co-hosted by Catawba College)
Proposal Submission Deadline: December 4, 2025
Call for Papers
2026 Conference Theme: Writing the Anthropocene: Digital Rhetorics and Sustainable Change
As we face intersecting global changes and challenges—artificial intelligence, climate change, digital waste, labor precarity, and educational inequity—this year’s theme invites us to explore sustainability in all its forms. We accept a broad definition of sustainability, loosely connected to the UN Sustainability Goals, which mention climate change and clean water, but also gender equity, peace, strong institutions, and quality education.
How can writing, rhetoric, and digital technologies contribute to more just, enduring, and regenerative futures? As compositionists, we are uniquely positioned to interrogate and reimagine the stories we tell, the technologies we use, and the systems we sustain. Nonetheless, we work within institutions in constant change that can fall into cycles of ‘reactivism’ instead of sustainable practices. How do we continue to sustain interest and meaning in our work in times of crisis? Finally, as technology use changes, we welcome conversations on the sustainability of fields like computers and writing and digital rhetorics.
We welcome proposals that engage with sustainability not only in environmental terms, but also in relation to labor, pedagogy, technology, and community. Let us consider how writing and rhetoric can help us imagine—and enact—more livable futures.
Categories for this year’s conference are:
- Access
- Activism
- AI- Artificial Intelligence
- Assessment
- Ethics
- Equity
- First Year Writing
- Futures
- Institutions
- Pedagogy
- Practice
- Professional Writing
- Technical Writing
- Technology
- Theory
- Writing Centers
Types of Sessions
- Onsite Individual Presentation (30 minutes including discussion, limited spaces available)
- Onsite Panel Presentation (75 minutes including discussion)
- Hybrid Panel Presentation (75 minutes including discussion)
- Workshop (asynchronous sharing of materials)
- Digital Poster
Submit Your Proposal – Proposal form will ask for a title and a 3000-character abstract.
Email candwconference for questions or concerns.
Take care,
Cat
Cat Mahaffey | Teaching Professor
UNC Charlotte | Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies (WRDS)
9201 University City Blvd. | Charlotte, NC 28223
cat.mahaffey | writing.charlotte.edu