Proposals were due January 14, 2013; submissions are no longer being accepted.

The Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University invites proposals for the Critical Transitions: Writing and the Question of Transfer Conference to be held June 25 – 26, 2013, at Elon University in North Carolina.

From high school English and first-year college composition through advanced professional and technical communication, writing curricula are constructed under a foundational premise that writing can be taught – and that writing knowledge can be “transferred” across critical transitions. First-year composition is often a required course for all students with the assumption that what is learned there will transfer to other coursework and throughout students’ educational careers. Senior capstone courses often integrate writing instruction that is intended to transfer to post-graduation writing in new workplaces or graduate or professional programs. Arguably, all of modern education is based on the broader assumption that what one learns here can transfer over there – across critical transitions. But what do we really know about transfer, in general, and writing transfer, in particular? Is “transfer,” and all of the assumptions that tag along with it, the best term to use to understand, enhance, and found writing education?

The Critical Transitions: Writing and the Question of Transfer Conference will feature multi-institutional research conducted through the 2011-2013 Elon University Research Seminar and will introduce a draft Statement on Writing Transfer. We invite other scholars to join this culminating conversation and to share their own research related to one of the following themes:

• Theories and Practices of Writing Transfer
• Writing Transfer at Critical Transitions
• Genre Theory and Writing Transfer
• Writing Transfer and Implications for General Education
• The Future of Writing Transfer: New Directions and Trends in Writing Transfer Research

To submit a proposal, please email the following information to writingtransfer@elon.edu by January 14, 2013:

Name, Professional Title, and Contact Information for All Participants

For Individual Presentations (25 minutes, including 5 minutes minimum for discussion)

• Paper Title
• 50-word abstract
• 250-word proposal, connecting the proposed presentation to one of the conference themes

For Panel Presentations (75 minutes, including 15 minutes minimum for discussion; 3 papers)

• Panel Title
• Paper Titles
• 75-word abstract
• 500-word proposal, connecting the proposed presentation to one of the conference themes

For Roundtables (75 minutes)

• Roundtable Title
• 50-word abstract
• 250-word proposal connecting the proposed roundtable to one of the conference themes and indicating how the facilitators will foster conversation among roundtable attendees

For Posters (Great option for research-in-progress!)

• Poster Title
• 50-word abstract
• 250-word proposal, connecting the proposed poster to one of the conference themes