Dear colleagues,

We are pleased to invite proposals for the Writing About Writing (WAW) Standing Group Sponsored Panel at CCCC 2026. Our panel aligns with the conference theme “Conference and our Conversations” by focusing on how WAW pedagogies and scholarship respond to today’s critical challenges in education and public life.

In this moment—marked by restrictions on academic freedom, shifts in civic discourse, and uncertainty in higher education—we ask:
What can Writing About Writing approaches offer to support educators, students, and communities?

We welcome proposals that explore how WAW frameworks can:

• Empower civic engagement and public discourse
• Transfer into workplace and professional contexts
• Foster resilience and resistance in constrained or politicized environments
• Help us rethink evidence, literacy, or the classroom in light of current events

Panel format: Four presenters, 15-minute presentations (in person only), followed by Q&A.

Submission deadline: May 25, 2025 at 11:59 PM Central Time

How to submit: Send a 100–200 word abstract (with cover page info) to Joseph Robertshaw (jwr0015@uah.edu).

For full details, including proposal guidelines and review criteria, see below:

Our Panel Theme–Conference & Our Conversations: In This Moment

Overview: In this critical moment when executive orders, almost daily, challenge academic freedom and threaten to rend the fabric of democratic ideals, some of our professional and pedagogical practices have become rife with new obstacles (like the threat of economic pressures applied directly to colleges, and previously awarded research funds being withheld from universities). In some cases, they have even become illegal (like uttering “Divisive Concepts” in a deep red state: AL SB 247&HB 7 ). Challenges to academic freedom and security are even levied at the state level (e.g. ND HB 1437 and FL Senate Bill 7044). If Writing About Writing (WAW) approaches hope to continue to be effective in the midst of the cumulative constraints we have seen placed on educators in recent years, we are prompted to confer, together, in this moment to map that path. As we lean into our communities for the support and strength they confer upon us, we have the opportunity to re-imagine our conference—in conversation with students, professionals, educators, administrators, and allies—as part of the larger community of the public sphere. In the face of these obstacles and challenges, what approaches, texts, and frameworks does a WAW approach to Writing Studies offer to engage young scholars in studying writing and to enact its roles in preparing students as rhetorically engaged citizens?

The Writing about Writing (WAW) Standing Group invites educators, practitioners, and researchers involved in WAW practices and pedagogies to submit proposals exploring how engagement with WAW concepts, in this moment, might inform and sustain innovative approaches that permeate civic engagement, the workplace, and our own communities. What can
we do together to hold each other up, strengthen our positions, and move the community forward? Some possible connections inside the expanded idea of “Conference: in this moment” might include:

● What does WAW-style process pedagogy in the public sphere look like (and/or draw from) in this moment?
● What can be transferred from WAW classrooms to the workplace, in this moment?
● What can WAW practitioners, teachers, and scholars do together, in this moment, to hold each other up, strengthen our positions, and move the community forward?
● What does uncertainty about government in this moment mean for teaching, learning, and research in college-level courses taking up a WAW approach?
● What does the academic discourse of WAW communities have to say about transgression, resistance, or “good trouble,” in this moment?
● Analyzing this new context, what counts as evidence in this post-truth moment?
● What language & literacy do we invite into the classroom in this moment of our civic discourse?
● What does an ever-changing media mean in this moment for WAW?

Presentation Format: Traditional Panel with four presenters
Duration: 75 minutes total–Each presentation will last about 15 min. reserving the balance for
questions to the panel. Multi-authored paper welcomed. In person delivery only please.
Content: Presentations should focus on the context of Writing about Writing approaches, discussing theoretical and practical implications, methods, and strategies as it applies to this moment in the history of the USA.

Submission Instructions:
Submit your proposal before May 25th at 11:59 PM Central Time by email. Please send to Joseph Robertshaw (jwr0015@uah.edu) an abstract (100-200 words) that includes the following:

Innovative Perspective: (in the body of your submission)
What contribution(s) do you see your presentation making to the discourse of this
community at this moment.

Evaluation Criteria:
● Alignment with Theme: Proposals should align with the focus of how your Writing
about Writing pedagogies and practices help you meet the challenges of this moment in
conversation with this community.
● Innovativeness: Original insights into the kinds of conferences that WAW engenders in
educational settings.
● Practical Impact: The potential of the proposed approach to significantly influence
teaching practices and learning outcomes.
PLEASE: format your submission for blind peer review limiting all personally identifying
information to the cover sheet only (APA does this naturally).

Additional Resources
● Contacts: Joseph Robertshaw (jwr0015@uah.edu), Rebecca Babcock
(babcock_r@utpb.edu), Maria Assif (maria.assif@utoronto.ca), or
Samuel Stinson (samuel.stinson@minotstateu.edu) Ryan Roderick (roderickr@husson.edu)
● CCCC2026 Conference Information 

Presenter Information: (on the cover page only)
o Your name(s)
o Affiliation(s)
o Contact information
o A working title for your presentation

Content Details: (in the body of your submission)
o Working title for your presentation that matches one on the cover sheet.
o A statement that frames the way you are conceiving of the concept “Conference and our Conversations”
o A discussion of this moment in time and how it impacts pedagogical approaches, student learning, faculty roles, or institutional practices
o An explanation of how Writing about Writing helps to discuss or provide connections in this concept as you frame it