Watson 2024 CFP - Create, Connect, Reflect: Launching Collaborations and (Re)building Community in Our Fields

[Andrea Olinger]

Dear colleagues,

We are now accepting proposals for the upcoming Thomas R. Watson Conference in Rhetoric and Composition, “Create, Connect, Reflect: Launching Collaborations and (Re)building Community in Our Fields,” which will be held on Zoom from February 28-March 1 and in-person at the University of Louisville from March 7-9, 2024.

A brief summary of what we are planning is below; for more details and the exigence, please see our call for proposals. Project proposals are due on Sunday, November 26 at 11:59 pm EST.

What We are Planning, in Brief:
The 2024 Watson Conference will offer a space for launching collaborative projects and increasing access to participation. Attendees will spend three days working together, either over Zoom or on-site at the University of Louisville; additionally, whatever their chosen modality, attendees will communicate asynchronously over Slack. The conference will also feature a keynote, showcase, reflection on the collaborative process, and social activities (including on Zoom). By the end of the conference, each group will have presented a project deliverable at the showcase and will be free to continue their collaboration thereafter.

The conference team will select 12 projects to launch at the conference. Project descriptions will be published on our website, and applications for participants will be open for one month. Although the number of participants per project is determined by the facilitators, we anticipate around 20 people per project, with around 240 participants total. 

For their work in crafting and guiding the project, each facilitation team (of 2 or more people) will receive an honorarium divided among them and paid after the conference. Zoom facilitation teams will receive $1,500; in-person facilitation teams will receive $2,500, with the additional funds to help offset travel and lodging.
 
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.

Thanks!

All the best,

Andrea Olinger

Associate Professor of English

Director, Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition

[Andrea Olinger]

Dear colleagues,

Applications are now open for participation in the Thomas R. Watson Conference in Rhetoric and Composition, which will be held from Feb. 28-Mar. 1 (Zoom) and Mar. 7-9 (in-person and hybrid). Titled “Create, Connect, Reflect: Launching Collaborations and (Re)building Community in Our Fields,” the conference will be devoted to launching a number of collaborative projects—from book proposals to a multi-institutional study, from teaching and learning resources to an app—and more. If the idea of creating something meaningful over three days with a group of new colleagues appeals to you, please check out the projects (more may be added in January) and apply!

Registration is free for BIPOC attendees and caregivers and set low for white folks who are students or lack institutional funding. The deadline for applications is January 21. We will aim to give everyone their first choice of project.

We invite you to read more about the conference, peruse the Zoom and in-person/hybrid projects, and apply by January 21. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at wat...@louisville.edu if you have questions.

Thanks!

All the best,
Andrea Olinger

Director, Watson Conference
Associate Professor of English
University of Louisville

[Andrea Olinger]

Dear colleagues,

We have extended the deadline for participation in the Thomas R. Watson Conference in Rhetoric and Composition, which will be held from Feb. 28-Mar. 1 (Zoom) and Mar. 7-9 (in-person and hybrid). You now have until February 2 to apply! Titled “Create, Connect, Reflect: Launching Collaborations and (Re)building Community in Our Fields,” the conference will be devoted to launching a number of collaborative projects in writing, language, and pedagogy—from book proposals to a multi-institutional study, from teaching and learning resources to an app—and more. (A new Zoom project has also just been added!)

If the idea of creating something meaningful over three days with a group of new colleagues appeals to you, please check out the projects and apply. Registration is free for BIPOC attendees and caregivers and set low for white folks who are students or lack institutional funding.

We invite you to read more about the conference, peruse the Zoom and in-person/hybrid projects, and apply by February 2. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at wat...@louisville.edu if you have questions.

Thanks!

All the best,

Andrea Olinger

Director, Watson Conference

Associate Professor of English

University of Louisville