Miriam:
A good set of questions, although I don't have many answers. Here,
though, are my thoughts.
You need to separate the Inkshed community from the practice of
Inkshedding. Yes, Inkshedding has marked every Inkshed get-together
since day one, and it is indeed symbolic of a mindset that prizes
interactivity and collective text over straightline discourse -- unlike
other conferences in which people often talk about interactive
classrooms by delivering a 20-minute lecture followed by a couple of
ritual "questions" that don't really represent discourse. But some of
us practice Inkshedding in our classrooms and some don't. I pride
myself on a very interactive, out-of-the-box classroom, based in part on
a number of ideas I have picked up from colleagues at Inkshed. But I
seldom actually do Inkshedding in the "pure" sense of the term. It
simply doesn't work for me. I do it dutifully at Inkshed conferences
but I sometimes wish we could cut it down and leave more time for verbal
discussion.
Yet I consider myself a dyed-in-the-wool Inkshedder. I don't go to
every conference, but then I don't go to every CCCC's or any other
conference either. If I go to the same conference every year I start
hearing the same ideas each time, so I give it a rest. Yet when I come
back I really feel "home."
Certainly, however, the complexion of the conference is changing. Many
of us original old farts have retired, and my old-folks' network is
shrinking. But there are always new faces. I can't swap
remember-what-happened-at-Inkshed-III stories with them, but I always
pick up new ideas.
The conference has become part old friends and part a way to invite new
people, often graduate students, into the idea that there IS a community
around writing instruction in Canada, however widely spread that
community may be. And I don't think I've seen the overall numbers at
conferences dwindling, although there may be fewer "cardcarrying"
Inkshedders who send in their $20 every year. I have no idea why that
might be.
Anyway, my two cents. I'll send a couple of cents more if things come
to me after I have ruminated.
[log in to unmask] wrote:
> Dear Inkshedders,
> As some of you may be aware, I am in the process of wrapping up my
> doctoral dissertation on inkshedding. As I write I find myself
> struggling with a small area of data that I'm not sure how to deal
> with, so I turn to you for your insights. At some level, there seems
> to be a feeling that Inkshed, as a community, has served its purpose
> and may be losing its force as an academic institution. Just by way
> of example, one inkshedding text from Gimli (which you can find both
> in Russ's last Inkshed article, and the posted inksheds from the Gimli
> conference) says:
>
> "I was wondering about the Inkshed community and its viability--if the
> practice of inkshedding serves the purpose of developing and
> sustaining this community of Inkshedders, is it perhaps on the wane?
> If Inkshedders themselves do not use it in their own classrooms, and
> if the number of Inkshed members is dwindling, is it perhaps time for
> Inkshedding to give way to other types of community-building practices?"
>
> I'm curious to know what your reactions are. Is the community on the
> wane? What is the future of the community and the activity? Is
> the activity being redefined by the immediate social writing being
> facilitated by the internet? What does it mean to be part of the
> Inkshed community, and has that identity changed over the years?
>
> Any ideas on this (either on or off list) would be a great help.
>
> Thanks.
> Miriam
>
> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
> To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL command to
> [log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
> write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]
>
> For the list archives and information about the organization,
> its newsletter, and the annual conference, go to
> http://www.stu.ca/inkshed/
> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>
>
--
Dr. Doug Brent
Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programs)
Social Sciences 110
Faculty of Communication and Culture, University of Calgary
2500 University Drive N.W.
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
Voice: (403) 220-5458 Fax: (403) 282-6716
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dabrent
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL command to
[log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]
For the list archives and information about the organization,
its newsletter, and the annual conference, go to
http://www.stu.ca/inkshed/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
