Presentation/Proposal Title
Confronting White Privilege: How Writing Centers Can Assist Students of Color in Meeting Academic Requirements While Maintaining Their Voice
Type of Presentation/Proposal
Special interest group/roundtable
Start Date
5-4-2019 4:30 PM
End Date
5-4-2019 5:30 PM
Keywords
White privilege, Academic requirements, Language
Description
As writing centers we must ask ourselves, are we helping writers express themselves in a way that accurately represents their true beliefs and intentions? Are we pushing writers to conform to academic standards while asking them to sacrifice their voice? If we are pushing writers to conform to academic language that is based in white privilege, are we then reinforcing this privilege? These questions were posed to ignite a discussion at the MiWCA Conference in Fall 2018. As a result of this discussion a good first step was achieved: acknowledging that white privilege exists in writing centers. This is monumental as acknowledgment can prove to be a difficult task as Harry C. Denny (2010) illustrates in his book Facing the Center. Still the question remained: How can writing center tutors enable students to meet academic writing standards while also allowing them to maintain their voice?
At ECWCA, we will lead a roundtable discussion with the intent of finding viable answers. The presenters will initiate the discussion by offering strategies gathered from research and scholarship. These strategies will encourage new commitments, such as those taken on by the University of Washington-Tacoma; regarding language usage, discussions surrounding racial issues, and assessments of writing center work. The group will then respond to these suggested strategies and offer their own. The goal of this discussion is that attendees will be able to develop strategies that best fit circumstances at their respective institutions and implement them in the future.
Confronting White Privilege: How Writing Centers Can Assist Students of Color in Meeting Academic Requirements While Maintaining Their Voice
M2265
As writing centers we must ask ourselves, are we helping writers express themselves in a way that accurately represents their true beliefs and intentions? Are we pushing writers to conform to academic standards while asking them to sacrifice their voice? If we are pushing writers to conform to academic language that is based in white privilege, are we then reinforcing this privilege? These questions were posed to ignite a discussion at the MiWCA Conference in Fall 2018. As a result of this discussion a good first step was achieved: acknowledging that white privilege exists in writing centers. This is monumental as acknowledgment can prove to be a difficult task as Harry C. Denny (2010) illustrates in his book Facing the Center. Still the question remained: How can writing center tutors enable students to meet academic writing standards while also allowing them to maintain their voice?
At ECWCA, we will lead a roundtable discussion with the intent of finding viable answers. The presenters will initiate the discussion by offering strategies gathered from research and scholarship. These strategies will encourage new commitments, such as those taken on by the University of Washington-Tacoma; regarding language usage, discussions surrounding racial issues, and assessments of writing center work. The group will then respond to these suggested strategies and offer their own. The goal of this discussion is that attendees will be able to develop strategies that best fit circumstances at their respective institutions and implement them in the future.
