Dear Victoria,
The issue of women and writing is a topic dear to my heart and research - there is a rich archival resource from CCLOW - the Canadian Congress for Learning Opportunities for Women which includes research, woman-positive curriculum materials and program reports. Unfortunately it was disbanded in 2001
http://www.nald.ca/litweb/other/cclow/
York University also published a monograph celebrating 25 years of a thriving bridging education program for re-entry women - the book is titled: You can get there from here: 25 years of Bridging Programs for women at York University.
http://www.arts.yorku.ca/wmst/youcangettherefromhere/
and I am sure that you can get some very good resources from the NALD website. http://www.nald.ca/index.htm
Jenny Horsman http://www.jennyhorsman.com/
Evelyn Battell and Kate Nonesuch are leaders in feminist literacy research, curriculum and education in Canada
Cheers
Kathryn Alexander
----- Original Message -----
From: Victoria Littman <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Saturday, March 28, 2009 8:34 pm
Subject: Re: research question
To: [log in to unmask]
> Ryan,
> Thanks for this note. And, thanks for reminding me of this
> movement and sharing the source. I think it will be
> helpful and give some historical context to these sorts of issues.
> Spring is just arriving here. I trust you're basking in it
> in Arizona.
>
>
> Regards,
> Victoria
> ________________________________________
> From: CASLL/Inkshed [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ryan
> Skinnell [[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: March 26, 2009 2:59 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: research question
>
> Victoria -
>
> I'm not exactly sure if this will be useful to you, but in the
> 1960s and
> 1970s American feminist movement, consciousness raising groups
> were formed
> across the country for women (primarily) to gather and discuss
> ways in which
> they could identify and respond to patriarchal oppression.
> No doubt there
> was a similar movement in Canada, though I can't say for sure.
>
> In many ways, these groups did the things you mention (creation
> of safe
> spaces, renegotiation of values, facilitation of sharing, etc.)
> in ways that
> were viewed as quite radical. Though not explicitly about
> writing or
> writing development, many consciousness raising groups did
> produce written
> work (The S.C.U.M. Manifesto, for example).
>
> All this is a long way of saying, it might be a movement you
> want to look
> into to see if it gives you a theoretical frame to view your
> work through.
> The Wikipedia page
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consciousness_raising) is
> actually quite good as a starting point, and Barbara Crow (*Radical
> Feminism: A Reader*) and Joy Ritchie and Kate Ronald (*Available
> Means: An
> Anthology of Women's Rhetoric(s)*) have amassed some sources
> that might be
> worth looking at if you decide it's an avenue you'd like to travel.
>
> Good luck,
>
> Ryan Skinnell
> Arizona State University
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 10:56 AM, Victoria Littman <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Greetings,
> > I am looking for suggestions on some research. I'm co-
> facilitating a
> > women's writing support group for students registered with
> accessibility> services. We're using a workshop/support
> group format that includes free
> > writing with and without prompts, academic writing time, and
> sharing of
> > academic writing for response along with talk and support for
> each of these
> > stages.
> >
> > I'm presenting at STLHE but I'm also fascinated about how the gender
> > specific writing support group is helping these women feel
> safe to explore
> > their writing and writing issues and how in the process they
> may be
> > renegotiating how they experience and think about disability.
> >
> > Anybody got ideas about feminist composition projects that I
> should look at
> > or relevant critical disabilities research that might
> help. Suggestions and
> > advice on research sources or similar projects would be really
> appreciated!>
> > Thanks in advance,
> > you can reply to me privately at
> [log in to unmask]<mailto:> [log in to unmask]>
> >
> > Hope you are all fairing well with the term and that spring is
> on the way
> > wherever you are.
> >
> > Best,
> > Victoria
Kathryn Alexander, PhD,
Assistant Professor,
Writing, Rhetoric and Professional Communication,
Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
University of Western Ontario,
London, Ontario
(519) 661-2111 ext. 80472
http://www.uwo.ca/writing/
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