CFP: Special Issue of Composition Studies Summer 2026

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Hello colleagues,

I’m writing to share a call for proposals for the Summer 2026 special issue of Composition Studies, which Dr. Kirsti Cole (North Carolina State University) and I will be guest editing. This special issue emerges from a CCCC 2025 engaged learning experience session, "Where Policy Meets Position: Translating Disciplinary Knowledge into Institutional Change."

You can find the complete call here: https://compstudiesjournal.com/submissions-2/cfps/. Proposals of 500-750 words are due 11-15-25. The complete text of the call is also included below for your reference.

Thanks!

Holly and Kirsti

Holly Hassel, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Humanities

Director of Composition, Michigan Technological University

Call for Proposals: When Words Become Work: How Do We Collectively Turn Disciplinary Knowledge Into Institutional Action?

A Special Open-Access Issue of Composition Studies

Editors: Holly Hassel and Kirsti Cole

Overview
Writing program and faculty leaders in English and Writing Studies departments, and diverse literacy programs, increasingly face the challenge of translating existing disciplinary knowledge into concrete institutional action. Many institutions face challenges to academic freedom and DEI initiatives. State and federal-level entities are imposing scarcity and austerity funding models. Programs face mandates that make use of evidence-based pedagogical practices difficult or impossible (which many two-year colleges and non-selective regional campuses have grappled with since at least 2008 in U.S. higher educational contexts). Within this context, engaged faculty need specific tools for advocacy that can help them concretely establish the value of work to public audiences, support high-quality undergraduate and graduate educational experiences, and build programs that model ethical labor practices.
Our related fields have developed comprehensive position statements and evidence-based best practices through organizations such as Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), Two-Year College English Association (TYCA), Modern Language Association (MLA), College Reading & Learning Association (CRLA), National Organization for Students Success (NOSS), American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages International Association (TESOL), Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW), Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and others. However, the gap between these principled stances and local implementation remains substantial. That is, even as writing specialists want to enact or follow the best practices articulated in the statements, we can face material and institutional barriers that prevent their implementation. In essence, bridging the gap between position and practice is an evergreen challenge that our proposed special issue will address.
Submission Categories
We invite contributions in three categories, though we welcome pieces that cross these boundaries or identify additional advocacy dimensions:
1. Articles and Tools that Translate Disciplinary Knowledge into Institutional Language [section co-editor
Sarah Felber (University of Maryland Global Campus)]
What does it look like? A literacy program coordinator creates a spreadsheet that cross-references CCCC, TYCA, and CWPA position statements with common administrative concerns (budget efficiency, student retention, workforce readiness), allowing them to quickly locate disciplinary backing when a dean questions writing center funding. A composition coordinator develops a template for annotating their institution’s strategic plan, identifying where terms like “student success” and “inclusive excellence” create openings to advocate for anti-racist curriculum or reduced class sizes. A department chair describes how they learned to translate “scaffolded instruction” into “evidence-based student support strategies” when presenting to trustees, sharing both the linguistic strategies and the institutional ethnography that informed this translation process.
Animating questions: How can we effectively communicate our writing program expertise to administrators, align with strategic plans, and secure the necessary resources? We seek:

  • Disciplinary resource matrices that organize professional statements by institutional issue
  • Crosswalk tools for translating between administrative and disciplinary discourse
  • Strategic plan annotation frameworks for identifying advocacy opportunities
  • Case studies of successful “translation” work across institution types
  • Analysis of institutional literacy as essential professional knowledge

2. Articles or Other Genres that Use Data to Support Change Work [section coeditors
Swan Kim (Brooklyn College) and Daniel Libertz (Baruch College, CUNY)]
What does it look like? A community college instructor shares a step-by-step heuristic for gathering and presenting class size data that anticipates administrative pushback while centering student learning outcomes. A faculty member at an HBCU documents how they created an interactive dashboard showing the relationship between course caps, DFW rates, and student demographics, including their process for ensuring the visualization didn’t inadvertently harm vulnerable student populations. A regional comprehensive university coordinator writes about developing “data literacy” workshops for adjunct faculty, helping them understand how enrollment figures are calculated and empowering them to ask critical questions when administrators cite “efficiency” metrics to justify increased workloads.
Animating Questions: How do we move beyond reactive data work to become strategic advocates who can both use and critique institutional data? We seek:

  • Heuristics for ethical, audience-aware data collection and analysis
  • Frameworks for creating or using compelling tools that serve multiple constituencies
  • Strategies for addressing data weaponization and pushing back against problematic interpretations
  • Case studies examining specific data challenges (class size, retention, workload, etc.)
  • Tools for helping faculty develop confidence with institutional research
  • Data visualization tools and technologies for effective case-making

3. Articles or Case Studies that Advocate for Ethical Labor Frameworks and Professional Development [section coeditors
Courtney Wooten (George Mason University) and Matt Pavesich (Johns Hopkins University)]
What does it look like? A continuing contract faculty member shares their decision tree for advocating for reduced teaching loads, including self-assessment questions about institutional power, coalition-building strategies, and template emails for requesting meetings with deans. A writing program coordinator documents their process of translating the CCCC Professional Guidance Statement into a series of department workshops, meeting agendas, and policy proposals, sharing both successful outcomes and moments of resistance. A graduate student writes about using labor advocacy tools during their job search, including how they learned to ask strategic questions about working conditions and how they prepared to negotiate beyond salary.
Animating questions: How can we operationalize disciplinary guidance on working conditions into effective advocacy strategies? We seek:

  • Decision trees and self-assessment tools for different institutional contexts
  • Templates for meetings, presentations, and policy proposals
  • Scenario-based advocacy guides for specific challenges (course caps, compensation, professional development access)
  • Strategies for building coalitions across faculty ranks and employment categories
  • Reflections on the emotional and professional labor of advocacy work

What We’re Looking For

  • Sustainable and Learning-Focused Approaches: We are interested in proposals that center student learning, are aware of institutional missions and contexts, and are materially situated.
  • Collaborative and Cross-Institutional Work: We especially encourage multi-authored pieces that draw from working groups, cross-institutional partnerships, or collective expertise. This issue models collaborative knowledge-building as valuable disciplinary labor.
  • Immediately Usable Resources: Priority will be given to contributions that provide templates, frameworks, checklists, or tools that readers can adapt for their contexts. Consider looking beyond traditional academic articles to evidence-based and explanatory materials, such as resource guides, annotated examples, and practical toolkits.
  • Diverse Institutional Perspectives: We actively seek contributors from all institution types, recognizing that advocacy strategies must acknowledge different resource levels, governance structures, and regional contexts.
  • Reflective Practice: We value pieces that examine the labor, challenges, and emotional dimensions of institutional advocacy work, particularly contributions that acknowledge failure, frustration, and the limits of individual action.

Submission Types

  • Traditional Articles (4,000-6,000 words): Research-based pieces examining advocacy strategies, institutional literacy, or collaborative tool development
  • Collaborative Case Studies (3,000-5,000 words): Multi-authored analyses of specific advocacy efforts across institutions
  • Practical Resource Guides (2,000-4,000 words + resources): Tool-focused pieces with extensive appendices, templates, or downloadable materials
  • Reflective Essays (2,000-3,500 words): Personal narratives examining the labor and learning involved in institutional advocacy
  • Tool Demonstrations (1,500-3,000 words + resources): Focused presentations of specific frameworks, matrices, or assessment tools with implementation guidance
  • Professional Development Designs (2,000-4,000 words): Workshop outlines, seminar curricula, or training programs for developing advocacy skills

Submission Guidelines

  • Proposals Due: November 15, 2025
    Full Manuscripts Due: February 1, 2026
    Publication: Summer 2026

Proposal Requirements (500-750 words): Your proposal submission should provide the following information:

  • Offer a clear description of the contribution and its practical applications
  • Explain the methods/methodology or collaborative process (if applicable)
  • Imagine possible target audiences and institutional contexts
  • Outline the main sections or components
  • (For resource or tool-based submissions): description of materials to be included

Full Manuscript Guidelines:

  • Follow current Composition Studies style guidelines
  • Include a brief author bio that includes a discussion of institutional context and advocacy experience
  • For collaborative pieces: explain the working relationship and the contribution process
  • For resource-heavy submissions: organize materials for easy adaptation and use
  • Digital supplements (templates, slides, assessment tools) should be submitted as separate files

Questions We Hope Contributors Will Address

  • How do we develop institutional literacy as professional knowledge rather than a survival skill?
  • What does ethical data advocacy look like in writing program contexts?
  • How do we build sustainable and structural practices that don’t rely only on individual advocacy efforts?
  • What collaborative models can help us share expertise across institutional boundaries?
  • How do we address the emotional and professional labor required for institutional change?
  • What tools can help faculty in different positions and contexts advocate effectively?

Publication and Access
This special issue will be published as an open-access digital publication, allowing for interactive elements, downloadable resources, and broad circulation. The digital format enables integration with companion resources, supporting our commitment to making advocacy tools widely accessible.
About the Editors
Kirsti Cole and Holly Hassel bring extensive experience in writing program leadership, faculty development, and institutional advocacy across multiple institution types. Their previous collaborative work includes A Faculty Guidebook for Effective Shared Governance and Service in Higher Education (Routledge, 2023), Transformations: Change Work Across Writing Programs, Pedagogies, and Practices (Utah State University Press, 2021), Academic Labor Beyond the Classroom: Working for our Values (Routledge, 2019), and Surviving Sexism in Academia: Strategies for Feminist Leadership (Routledge, 2017).
Contact Information
Submit proposals through this Google form.
For questions about collaborative submission processes or resource development, contact the editors directly:

  • Holly Hassel: hjhassel
  • Kirsti Cole: kkcole2

We encourage potential contributors to reach out during the proposal development stage to discuss ideas, explore collaboration opportunities, and ensure alignment with the issue’s goals.

Holly Hassel, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Humanities

Director of Composition, Michigan Technological University

Co-Principal Investigator, Rural Writers Study

Coauthor of A Faculty Guidebook for Effective Shared Governance and Service in Higher Education (Routledge, 2023) and Reaching All Writers: A Pedagogical Guide for the Evolving College Writing Classroom(UP of Colorado 2024)