Dear Colleagues, This is just a friendly reminder that the deadline for CATTW/ACPRTS proposals for 2008 is today, if you would like funding. If you have been planning to send a proposal but haven't got around to it, please do so. If funding is not an issue, the deadline is Sept. 30. We also encourage you to contact friends and put a panel together. We have received a good number of proposals from around the world, so it looks like our meeting next year will give us great opportunities to talk about writing beyond borders with colleagues from across the globe. My apologies for any cross-listings that you receive of this message. Please forward this call to anyone you know who you think might be interested but who may not have already received it. Thanks so much! Best, Heather Graves Co-Vice President, CATTW/ACPRTS for the Program Committee Writing Beyond Borders—Writing Studies Across Disciplinary and National Borders Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, June 1, 2, and 3, 2008 Open Call for Proposals (please also see http://cattw-acprts.mcgill.ca/conference2008/en/cfp.htm) The Canadian Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (CATTW)/L’Association canadienne de professeurs de rédaction technique et scientifique (ACPRTS) is inviting proposals for its interdisciplinary international conference “Writing Beyond Borders—Writing Studies Across Disciplinary and National Borders,” to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from June 1-3, 2008 in collaboration with the 2008 Congress of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS). Rationale for the Conference In line with the Congress theme of “Thinking Beyond Borders—Global Ideas: Global Values,” the conference addresses recent changes in writing as a multifaceted knowledge-making practice across diverse academic, workplace, and national communities —changes that result from the recent shift toward a more digitally-mediated globalized community. Global ideas are very much created and maintained through written arguments, and they are intimately connected with global values—the values and beliefs that form the warrants for arguments about global issues such as sustainability, human rights, international trade, and the environment. Since writing studies is one of the key fundamentally interdisciplinary areas of study, research in writing is crucially important to efforts to understand global discourse. Our conference theme—“Writing Beyond Borders—Writing Studies Across Disciplinary and National Borders”—points to the ways in which writing is used to mediate and construct discourse about the global ideas and values. It also encourages conference participants to examine the metaphorical borders of research in writing studies: rhetoric, composition, discourse analysis, cognitive psychology, writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines, linguistics, and English studies. Conference Objectives For this purpose, the conference organizers invite proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, or workshops that examine how writing practices have changed in varying academic, workplace, and global communities. Proposals are also encouraged to examine the implications of these changes for the study and teaching of academic and professional writing and communication. We encourage presenters to propose papers that extend beyond those borders to connect ideas from outside the disciplinary (writing studies) and national territories. Suggested themes and questions include, but are not limited to the following: How do ideas from linguistics, sociology, cultural theory, gender studies and other fields in the humanities and social sciences inform research and knowledge making in technical communication?How can learning about current research in other countries spark new ideas or perspectives on research currently being done in Canada? Conversely, in what ways can research conducted in Canada contribute to the development of writing studies in the global community?What is or should be the role of writing studies in the discourse that surrounds sustainability, including environmental issues? How can the Canadian community of scholars involved in writing studies collaborate with scholars from other nations?In what ways can research and teaching (using participatory action research and service-learning initiatives and other innovative approaches) help us think beyond the borders of our campuses and extend our work to the communities that fund our work at universities and colleges? Presentation and Proposal Formats The conference organizers value diversity in approaches, perspectives and presentation formats, including 15-20 minute individual papers, 90-minute panels of 3 - 5 speakers, roundtables, or 90-minute workshops. For individual presentations and panels, we are interested in both research reports and state-of-the-art papers that engage the literature and theories to derive new research questions, agendas, and directions. In either case, proposals should include the research question to be addressed, its significance for advancing research in the field, the conceptual framework and methods or approach used to address the question, and key findings or directions as well as their implications for practice, teaching, or future research. Proposals for individual papers should not exceed 150 words (+references). Panel proposals should include a brief (<100 words) description of the panel, its rationale and objectives, as well as brief descriptions of up to 150 words (+ references) of each paper to be presented and discussed on the panel. Roundtable proposals should raise a provocative, but critical question for the study and teaching of writing, specify the names and contributions of at least 5 individuals who have agreed to participate in the roundtable. Proposals should also outline the rationale for the roundtable, its objectives, and the suggested discussion points. Proposals should not exceed 150 words (+references). Workshop proposals should provide a 150-word description (+references) of the workshop, its rationale, objectives, research base, facilitators, procedures, and logistical requirements (e.g., computer labs, software, hardware, etc.). Opportunities for submitting papers to peer-reviewed scholarly publications will be available (more information to follow). Deadlines We plan to apply for SSHRC funding for travel grants. If you would like to apply for reimbursement for travel funding, please send your proposal to us by September 20, 2007. If you do not need travel funding, please send your proposal to us by September 30, 2007. Where to Submit Proposals Please email proposals with your complete contact information to the program co-chair, Heather Graves, at [log in to unmask] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 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/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-