Thanks for your thoughts Doug.
I'm curious that you think I need to separate the community from the
activity. That is, in fact, an aspect of my research that I've
struggled to make sense of. In many ways, what I've seen suggests that
the inkshedding activity is intricately intertwined with becoming a
member of the community.
I don't think the numbers are actually down in terms of the number of
people registered on the listserve. If anything, they are probably
quite high in comparison to the early years (anyone out there know any
actual numbers?) I suspect that part of the speculation about low
numbers was the small turnout at Gimli.
Again, thanks.
Miriam
Quoting Doug Brent <[log in to unmask]>:
> 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/
> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
