Hi everyone,
I'm a bit late in picking up on this thread but did want first to echo the
concerns about the status and low pay being offered for the writing
consultant - even if it is in New Brunswick - and the sophisticated academic
background and experience that is "preferred."
While I don't doubt Kathryn is right to suggest that findings in the US are
"certainly applicable to Canadian contexts and the construction of writing
instruction as the mother-work of the university," I think we are fortunate
at SFU in not having a tradition of writing instruction that fosters these
concepts. Our lower division English 199 is not a required course and is
widely respected across all disciplines, plus it is taught by both lecturers
and tenure track faculty; it is also taught by many sessional instructors
but since 40% of all our courses are taught by sessionals, writing is not
distinguished. Nor is there a gender issue since both male and female
instructors teach writing courses in the English Dept, Engineering and
Business departments as well as in the Writing and Publishing program.
In the English Dept. writing and the teaching of it are not more valued than
in other departments. The two tenure track faculty are male but the two
women who teach writing are in regular ongoing lecturer positions, one
senior, so on a pay scale that equates to associate professor levels.
In our work with faculty, the numbers are fairly evenly split between male
and female professors I think - haven't checked that, but that's my sense.
I have perhaps given the impression by mentioning gender that I am
misconstruing the notion of "mother-work" but I appreciate that our work is
not simply sex-linked. I do wonder however, how others of you see your
institutional place in relation to my brief description of SFU. Others who
have no history of first year writing in particular are perhaps similar in
missing out on these accumulated, historically acquired perceptions?
BTW I am not suggesting we have no struggle with concepts of what writing is
about and for and who should teach it - of course we do, but there are many
struggles our context has avoided as well.
Wendy
Wendy Strachan, PhD
Director, Centre for Writing-Intensive Learning
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6
Tel: 604-291-3122
Web: http://www.sfu.ca/cwil
Email: [log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: CASLL/Inkshed [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kathryn Alexander
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 10:55 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: unbsj position
At 03:08 PM 7/23/2004 +0000, you wrote:
I also heave a deep sigh - as the all specializations required assume
a person who can " to meet all contingencies, ESL issues, student with
learning disabilities, become knowledgeable about writing requirements of
faculty in all disciplines, Keep abreast of the latest scholarship in the
field of composition/rhetoric. ....." would mean practically someone who
has had extensive teacher training, curriculum theory, an
instructional education research and theory background, and
inter-disciplinary academic writing background and so forth, and yet the
job is constructed as belonging in the naturalized, care-giving services,
contingent labour supply side of the University - Interesting. The job
also has a ten month renewable tenure.
Has anyone read Gypsy academics and mother-teachers : gender, contingent
labor, and writing instruction / Eileen E. Schell - it deals with the USA
university context - but is certainly applicable to Canadian contexts
and the construction of writing instruction as the mother-work of the
university.
>Hi Grant:
>Thanks for sending that along, but isn't it depressing? A
>PH.D preferred, starting at around 26,000 when pro-rated.
>Will we ever overcome?
>Linda
>
> > Here is a link for a writing centre consultant position at
>UNBSJ:
> >
> >
> > http://www.unb.ca/postings/eup/eup1089717702_825.html
> >
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