Thank you to all fellow Inkshedders who have encouraged me over the years.
Dear Inkshed scholars and colleagues, you were my first academic
community in writing and rhetoric, back since I believe 1996/7, during
my 2 years off between my MA and PhD. My first presentation was about
the ethical challenges of being a freelance tutor of university student
writers in Edmonton. I believe I presented that shortly before I
returned to studies at the U of Alberta, where I did year 1 my PhD.
Inkshed had a firmly entrenched value for informality and collegiality
that I appreciated ... the talent nights, the sharing of drafts, etc. I
hope I sufficiently communicated and extolled that aspect of its
character in my ethnograpy of Inkshed, which Inkshed kept posted online
on their website (I wrote it as part of an ethnography course while
pursuing the rest of my PhD at Ohio State U).
I kept one leg firmly in Canada through Inkshed, CSSR and CATTW (which
is now the CASDW) while studying composition & rhetoric in the USA. I
continued to be involved in all three organizations after graduation in
2002 when I was hired in my home province, at U of Calgary. Inkshed
friends, you were supportive in my very rocky and traumatic early years
as an assistant prof. I hope I also offered a good dose of my sincere
encouragement and collegiality to you in return.
I agree with Doreen that CASDW can, and already has been carrying
forward the mandate to support writing studies that it has shared with
Inkshed all these years. Since CASDW's name change from CATTW it is more
clearly not just about "technical writing" but broadly about discourse
and writing, and a large cohort always present their research and
inquiry into writing instruction across many disciplines. CASDW could
embrace and take up many other things Inkshed did.
I also hope that some former Inkshedders will see the CSSR (rhetoric)
community as a place to go as well. I am currently president of CSSR,
and we share part of its mandate by supporting the interdisciplinary
study and teaching of rhetoric (viewing discourse, language and
literature primarily through a rhetorical lens). In between the many
rhetorical criticism papers and a few rhetorical history papers, people
do present about the teaching of rhetoric and writing across many
disciplines and even sometimes in nonacademic settings. This year, 2017
we have a significantly larger percentage of graduate students
presenting, as well as a larger number of Americans. This year also
I've invited Heather and Roger Graves, old Inkshedders like me, to
present the keynote on rhetoric and inter/disciplinarity. All this I
hope bodes well for CSSR's organizational renewal and diversity.
The siblings, children, and grandchildren of Inkshed are carrying on the
mandate.
Tania Smith
On 4/10/2017 4:32 PM, Doreen Starke-Meyerring wrote:
>
> Could the generative and generous spirit of Inkshed, along with its
> particular mission perhaps be rekindled –perhaps in a different
> form—at CASDW meetings? It seems that perhaps something like an
> Inkshed Scholars Forum (perhaps with a particular focus on research
> development and reflection? Or something else?) could be very valuable
> for many of us. And who knows what that may give rise to at some point?
>
> Doreen
>
> *From:*casll-l: Canadian Association for the Study of Language and
> Learning (Inkshed) [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of
> *Natasha Artemeva
> *Sent:* April-10-17 6:10 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: Farewell to Inkshed
>
> This is heart-breaking...
>
> Natasha
>
> --
>
> Natasha Artemeva, Professor
>
> School of Linguistics and Language Studies
>
> Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6
>
> Tel. +(613) 520-2600 ext. 7452
>
> Fax +(613) 520-6641
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>
> On Apr 10, 2017, at 2:36 PM, Paré, Anthony <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>
> As a participant at the first Inkshed conference, a regular
> attendee for 13 years in a row, an Inkshed conference organizer
> (twice), an early /Inkshed Newsletter /editor, and a frequent
> newsletter contributor, this news makes me feel sad and nostalgic.
> The community was absolutely central to my development as a
> teacher and researcher. And, most importantly, as a human being;
> no other scholarly collective in my experience was so welcoming of
> me as a whole person.
>
> But I do reluctantly support the Board’s decision. I think Brock
> is right on in his analysis; all things must pass.
>
> Thanks to Brock, Clare, Kim, J. Barbara, and Dena for steering the
> ship to shore.
>
> Anthony
>
> *From: *"casll-l: Canadian Association for the Study of Language
> and Learning (Inkshed)" <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> on behalf of Brock
> MacDonald <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
> *Reply-To: *"casll-l: Canadian Association for the Study of
> Language and Learning (Inkshed)" <[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
> *Date: *Monday, April 10, 2017 at 7:57 AM
> *To: *"[log in to unmask]
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>"
> <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
> *Subject: *Farewell to Inkshed
>
> Hi, all.
>
> (I’m sending this message to both the CASLL and CASDW lists, in
> the hope of reaching all former Inkshedders. Apologies for
> duplications!)
>
> The announcement Roger Graves recently sent out re the latest book
> from Inkshed Publications makes this a timely message . . .
>
> This is the second year in a row without an Inkshed conference.
> None of our efforts to reboot and reinvigorate the conference in
> the years 2012 through 2015, though sometimes moderately
> successful as one-off meetings, have generated the collective
> commitment needed to truly revive Inkshed and keep it going.
> Taking stock of this situation, the CASLL Board of Directors has
> decided that it’s finally time to face the music and accept that
> Inkshed and its parent association aren’t coming back. (Re the
> association, it effectively no longer exists: for several years
> now there have been no paid-up members apart from some of us on
> the Board and Margaret Procter, who manages the Inkshed/CASLL
> website.)
>
> No doubt there are a number of reasons for this situation: one is
> the growth of CWCA in recent years, based on its great success in
> bringing together the Canadian Writing Centre community; another
> is the way that CASDW has become a big tent association for
> Canadian writing studies and writing pedagogy in general since its
> metamorphosis from CATTW. Most pertinent of all may be the fact
> that a great many (almost all?) of Inkshed’s founding generation
> of members have retired in recent years: the core of the community
> that once sustained the conference and its parent association just
> isn’t there any more.
>
> I’m sure many of us will feel some sadness about this, remembering
> how significant Inkshed has been in our professional lives.
> However, although the Board has decided that it’s time to shut
> CASLL down, this isn’t an absolute ending. The Board proposes to
> transfer the remaining funds in the CASLL bank account, roughly
> $7000.00, to Inkshed Publications. Unlike the Inkshed conference,
> Inkshed publications is very much alive: besides the recently
> published /Cross-Border Networks in Writing Studies, /it has two
> more books coming out in the near future, following which it will
> still have sufficient funds to produce perhaps one more. The
> infusion of the funds from CASLL will make possible up to four
> more books over the next few years, following which new funding
> will be needed, perhaps from CASDW and CWCA. According to its
> Constitution, the purpose of CASLL is "to provide a forum and
> common context for discussion, collaboration, and reflective
> inquiry in discourse and pedagogy in the areas of writing, reading
> (including the reading of literature), rhetoric, and language.”
> We on the CASLL Board feel that devoting the association’s
> remaining funds to supporting Inkshed Publications, the one and
> only Canadian imprint devoted to work in our field, is the best
> way to ensure that CASLL’s dissolution is in keeping with its
> fundamental purpose.
>
> Regarding the association's online presence: it's currently (and
> rather awkwardly) in two cyber-places, the Inkshed newletter/blog
> site that Margaret maintains (http://www.inkshed.ca/blog/) and the
> older Inkshed site (http://inkshed.ca/), now essentially an
> archive of material from the association’s earlier years. Ideally
> all the association’s records should be brought together on one
> site, either under the aegis of CASDW or as part of an independent
> Inkshed Publications site (which would be effectively a repurposed
> version of the Inkshed newsletter site, where Inkshed Publications
> currently has its online presence). The key thing is that the
> association’s archive needs to be maintained by an active
> organization to ensure its long-term viability. This will be on
> the agenda for discussion at the CASDW AGM at Congress. As for
> the CASLL list serve, once the association has been dissolved it
> would be shut down.
>
> I should say something regarding the constitutional aspects of
> dissolving CASLL. The one explicit mention of dissolution
> procedures in the CASLL constitution is a clause that says "In
> case of dissolution of the association, the profits and
> liabilities of the association will be shared equally among all of
> the paid-up current voting members.” The Board’s plan to transfer
> the association’s remaining funds to Inskhed Publications is in
> effect an agreement among the paid-up current voting members to
> use their “shares” that way, rather than simply cashing out (!!).
>
> As for the decision to dissolve the association, while there is no
> specified procedure for this, the constitution does say that "The
> Board of Directors of the association shall have the
> responsibility of carrying out the management of the association.
> This responsibility should be carried out with the knowledge and
> cooperation of the membership.” In our view, in the absence of
> any specific clause re dissolution, it clearly comes under
> “management of the association.” As for "the knowledge and
> cooperation of the membership," as I’ve already mentioned, at
> present the membership is effectively non-existent, leaving the
> Board on its own. However, in keeping with the spirit of the
> constitution, the Board agreed that this notice should be sent
> out: we hope it will reach all former CASLL members and prompt
> some discussion, from which we further hope will emerge general
> agreement in support of the decision we’ve taken.
>
> If there is strong opposition to the Board's decision, those
> opposed would need to take a number of steps to give their
> opposition effect, starting with paying fees in order to become
> current CASLL members and thus be entitled to vote on the Board’s
> plan. If a sudden flood of membership payments materializes,
> obviously we’ll have to think again! However, we sincerely hope
> that this will not happen — that everyone will agree that it’s
> best to bid CASLL and Inkshed a fond farewell and let them rest in
> peace.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Brock
>
> On behalf of the CASLL Board of Directors (membership as of 2016,
> when we met and made this decision): Clare Bermingham, Kim
> Garwood, J. Barbara Rose, and Dena Taylor
>
> W. Brock MacDonald
>
> Vice-Principal
>
> Director, Academic Writing Centre
>
> Woodsworth College, University of Toronto
>
> 119 St. George Street
>
> Toronto, ON M5S-1A9
>
> (416) 978-0246
>
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>
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--
Dr. Tania Smith, Associate Professor
Dept. of Communication & Culture, Faculty of Arts
University of Calgary
2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4
Office: 403-220-7774, room SS326 (Social Sciences tower)
http://people.ucalgary.ca/~smit
blog: www.edurhetor.wordpress.com
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To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL-L command to
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