Call for Papers: The Aesthetics and Ethics of Teaching Writing

We invite proposals for participation in a series of discussions on the topic of “The Aesthetics and Ethics of Teaching Writing.” We invite participants from all disciplines to propose brief presentations on the significant intersections between aesthetic principles, ethics, and practice as faculty committed to the value of writing pedagogy. Presentations or proposals that consider or deploy interdisciplinary approaches, creative-critical hybrid strategies, or alternative methods are welcome.

Participants in the program will present briefly and be invited to take part in a round-table discussion, with the ambition of simultaneously sharing valuable strategies and interrogating practices. In addition to sharing philosophical principles that guide meaningful work as writers and teachers, this series hopes to generate an ongoing discussion of potential and explore possibilities, especially in response to developing current events.

Concerns of special interest to participants may include:

Why Write Now?

Relationships between how we teach and why it matters:

Connecting aesthetics and ethics in the classroom

Writing Dissent, Writing Assent

Writing and reading in a time of “Alternative Facts”

Whose writing, how we listen, to whose voices

Attending to the unsaid

Understanding writing as an act: tensions between writing and action

Subversion and the University

Pedagogy in times of crisis

A history of writing for social justice

Art for learning’s sake

Theoretical legacies in praxis: feminism, post-colonial theory, queer theory, etc.

Please submit a 250 word description of your proposal for a 10 minute presentation, including methodology. Please also include a brief bio that clarifies your relationship to the teaching of writing.

Deadline: _______April 25th 5pm EST____________

Submit to: aestheticsethicsteaching@gmail.com

With the support of the NYU Leadership Initiative and NYU’s Expository Writing Program, the series will take place on two evenings: the 12th and 26th of October, from 5.30 to 7pm.

Location: NYU’s Leadership Initiative, 12 Washington Place. This will be an intimate event: space limited to 40 people.  To be kept informed about program specifics closer to the date, click here.

Organizers: Bruce Bromley, Jenni Quilter, Leah Souffrant (New York University)