Thomas R. Watson Conference
Working English in Rhetoric and Composition:
Contexts, Commitments, Consequences
October 14-16, 2010
Louisville, KY

The eighth biennial Thomas R. Watson Conference in Rhetoric and Composition solicits proposals that examine the working of rhetoric and composition in the era of the globalization and localization of English.

•How can and do we work English (that is, employ, construct, and redesign it) in the process of learning and using it?
•How can we best make English work (that is, make it operate and function) effectively and equitably in public deliberations, cultural expressions, and educational practices?
•How do competing notions of the workings of the English language (that is, notions of its formation, apparatus, relations to other languages, and relations to the shaping of individual-collective selves and lives) affect teaching and research in rhetoric and composition?
•What different inflections of work and class are implied by these competing notions of working English?

Keynotes, Featured Speakers, and Forum Scholars:

Damián Baca
Patricia Bizzell
Deborah Brandt
Suresh Canagarajah
Maria Corejova (Galerie13m3)
Marilyn Cooper
Caroline Dyche (U of West Indies)
Thom Fox
Diana George
Gail Hawisher
Wendy Hesford
David Jolliffe
Rochelle Kapp (U of Cape Town)
Roman Ličko (Matej Bel U)
Scott Lyons
LuMing Mao
Paul Kei Matsuda
Peter Mortensen
Catherine Prendergast
Jacqueline Jones Royster
Stephen Ruffus
Eileen Schell
John Schilb
Cynthia Selfe
Christine Tardy
John Trimbur
Qu Weiguo (Fudan U)
Morris Young
Vershawn Ashanti Young
Amy Zenger (American U of Beirut)

Guest Speaker: M. NourbeSe Philip
Award-winning African Caribbean Canadian poet, essayist, novelist and playwright

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: Mar 1, 2010
For more information, visit our website: http://louisville.edu/conference/watson
Email Min-Zhan Lu, conference director: watson@louisville.edu
Or call: (502) 852-1252

Submission Information:
We invite proposals for 20-minute individual presentations, 75-minute panels of two or three presentations, and 15-minute research forum presentations that consider some aspect of the conference theme.

Follow the links below to access the appropriate online submission form.

Electronic submissions open on January 7, 2010 and close on March 1, 2010.

For individual presentations, panels or research forum presentations: Submit 250-word proposals. Panels will be accepted or rejected as a whole.

Individual Presentations(http://louisville.edu/conference/watson/watson-2010-individual-presentat...)

Panel Submissions http://louisville.edu/conference/watson/panel-submission-form):
•75-minute sessions consisting of two or three presentations
•Each session moderated by a Chair and respondent (optional)
•All keynote and featured speakers are committed to attend concurrent sessions on each day of the conference to sustain exchange across conference presentations
•Conference participants may submit individual presentations or panel proposals

Research Forum Presentations (http://louisville.edu/conference/watson/research-forum-presentation-subm...):
•75-minute sessions consisting of a Research Forum Scholar and five presenters
•Forum presenters submit and post a brief description of their projects by September 30, 2010
•Each forum presenter is slated 15 minutes: 5 minutes to provide a summary of the project followed by a 10-minute discussion among the forum presenters moderated by a Research Forum Scholar.
•Research Forum Scholars: Patricia Bizzell, Marilyn Cooper, Diana George, and John Schilb

Though we prefer to receive proposals through our online submission forms, the Watson Conference will accept hard copy proposals postmarked no later than March 1, 2010.

Include the following information for each proposed participant:

Name and institutional affiliation
Mailing address
Email address
Title and abstract of 250 words
Audio-visual equipment needs
Special needs

Address paper submissions to:
Min-Zhan Lu, Thomas R. Watson Conference Director
315 Bingham Humanities Building
Department of English
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292

Important Information for Presenters
•If you need audio-visual equipment, please specify your needs as clearly as possible. The Watson Conference can provide overhead projectors, DVD players, audio tape/CD players, laptop computers, and data projectors.
•To preserve time for discussion, the Watson Conference limits all presentations to 20 minutes.
•Notifications of proposal status will be sent by May 2010.
•No person may make more than one presentation at the conference.
•Each presenter must make his or her own presentation; no proxies are allowed.
•The Watson Conference does not sponsor or fund travel or underwrite participant costs.