Michigan CEA General Call for Academic Papers and Creative Works
(potential for publication in the MCEA Journal--see below)

CFP Deadline: 31 May 2006
Conference Date: 20 October 2006
Meeting Site: The Union at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

Empathy, Ethics, Eloquence, and Their Opposites

Recently, our world has experienced horrifying natural disasters like
hurricanes and earthquakes and also human-made tragedies like war and
ecological accidents. How should we respond to such events, and how should
we present them in our classrooms? In academia, what are appropriate and
ethical responses to cheating, discriminatory policies and adjunct
employment issues? Our classrooms have students from different cultural and
ethnic backgrounds. How can we teach students to care about and empathize
with one another and with people outside the classroom and in other
countries? How can we address issues like revenge and egocentrism in the
classroom? How can we teachers help students to think critically and
ethically so that they can question and write about their assumptions about
the universality of their own values and ideas? How do works of fiction,
poetry, film, and memoir discuss human suffering, handle values, and build
empathy? What are the connections between empathy, ethics and eloquence?
What cultural conflicts and ethical issues should we discuss in college
classrooms? How political should our classrooms be? Which topics work well
for term papers and other assignments? What problems of empathy and ethics
do we face within the classroom and the department and also between the
English department and other college departments? How does the
collaborative classroom handle these issues? What choices do we face with
new technology and on-line classes? How concerned with global issues should
our classrooms be? How can we help students to write and speak more
eloquently?

The Michigan College English Association seeks proposals for individual
papers and for complete or open panels for our Fall 2006 meeting. We look
forward to receiving proposals on diverse topics from experienced academics
as well as from young scholars and graduate students. We like a variety of
papers, including pedagogical and scholarly essays. We also welcome poetry,
drama, fiction, and nonfiction from creative writers. We will award prizes
of $25 for the best scholarly and creative writing by graduate students.
Prize-winning works will be published in the MCEA Journal.

Although we are calling for papers and panels that reflect the conference
theme, we welcome a variety of proposals in any of the areas English and
Writing departments encompass: e.g., composition and rhetoric; computers and
writing; creative writing; critical pedagogy; critical studies in the
teaching of English; cultural studies; film studies; film and composition;
film and literature; developmental education; English as a second language;
linguistics; literary studies; multicultural literature; on-line English
courses and the virtual university; popular culture; race, class, and gender
studies; progressive education; reading and writing across the curriculum;
student demographics; student/instructor accountability and assessment;
student placement; study skills; technical writing.

Proposals are due by 31 May 2006. Papers will be accepted on a space only
basis after that date. Early submissions are welcome. Please submit via
email to Janet Heller, MCEA Program Chair:

janet.heller_at_wmich.edu

Regular mail submissions also accepted:
Janet Heller
MCEA Program Chair
Department of English
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008

--Jill Kirsten AndersonVisiting Assistant ProfessorDepartment of WritingLake Ontario HallGrand Valley State UniversityAllendale, MI 49401-9403Work: anderjil_at_gvsu.eduHome: ander119_at_msu.edu ========================================================== From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List CFP_at_english.upenn.edu Full Information at http://cfp.english.upenn.edu or write Jennifer Higginbotham: higginbj_at_english.upenn.edu ==========================================================Received on Sat Jan 21 2006 - 13:49:40 EST