MCEA Conference

http://www.michcea.org

Call for Papers: MCEA Conference, Friday, October 15, 2010
Theme: Turning Points

Luncheon Speaker: Dr. Wijdan Sayigh
“Turning a Page: Contemporary Arab Women Writers”

Location: Henry Ford Community College
Mazzara Building, 5101 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128

A turning point is that sometimes sudden decision, insight, or more often gradual realization that causes events to follow a different course. Frost referred to this concept when he wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –/ I took the one less traveled by,/ And that has made all the difference.” It can come in the form of a decision made, like Hemingway’s Frederic Henry’s decision to desert the army, or in the form of a departmental shift in policy, an instructor’s decision to try a new text or offer an on-line course, or a graduate student’s dissertation decision. Whether the end results are positive or negative, how do we/others recognize these turning points and how have these moments altered outcomes in the following areas?

fiction, poetry, drama, non-fiction prose professional expectations/evaluation
classroom management teaching composition, literature, linguistics
preparing students for the work world English departments
research the lives of our students
curriculum development the creative process
computer or on-line instruction union/administration differences

The Michigan College English Association invites proposals for individual papers and for complete or open panels for our Fall 2010 conference. We welcome proposals from experienced academics as well as from young scholars and graduate students. We encourage a variety of papers, including pedagogical and scholarly essays as well as poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction from creative writers. Graduate student papers are eligible to compete for awards for the best scholarly paper and the best creative writing.

Although we are calling for papers and panels that reflect the conference theme, we also welcome proposals in the variety of areas that English and Writing departments encompass: composition and rhetoric; computers and writing; creative writing; critical pedagogy; critical studies in the teaching of English; cultural studies; film studies; developmental education; English as a second language; linguistics; literary studies; multicultural literature; on-line English courses and the virtual university; popular culture; race, class, and gender studies; progressive education; reading and writing across the curriculum; student demographics; student/instructor accountability and assessment; student placement; study skills; technical writing.
Proposals are due by Friday, September 24, 2010. Early submissions are welcome. Please submit proposals to Ed Demerly, Program Chair, via email at edemerly@aol.com Please specify your needs for audio-visual equipment and the best time of day for your presentation.