|
Articles Conference Reviews |
O.5 Writing CultureO.5 Writing Culture: Material, Media, and Popular Culture Scheduled during the next to last session of the conference, only one of the two presenters listed in the program was in attendance but the paper from University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cydney Alexis was well worth the time. In her presentation, "Where Writing Studies and Material Culture Meet: The Importance of Objects, Place, and Environment in the Teaching of Writing," Alexis began with the premise that composition studies has too often ignored the influence that material culture, the literal things with which we surround ourselves and use to generate text, has on the writing experience. Alexis is working with the idea of physical space and the “writing habitat” in which writers exist and her research, based on in-depth ethnographic interviews of writers from all over the spectrum, identifies several elements of the “practical elements” of writing that are left out of conventional composition pedagogy. Starting with the notion that the stereotype of the solitary writer is just that, a myth, Alexis then shared several of her findings regarding the influence of objects and rituals on the writing experience. Those that I found most intriguing included the ways in which objects demarcate space and identity and the complex relationship writers have with their technology. I personally also found her observation of the significance of “back to school” shopping almost uncomfortably familiar and see a lot of promise in this line of research, particularly for the emerging prevalence of Writing About Writing approaches to FYC. Alexis’s presentation is an example of what I found to be a common experience at this year’s CCCC: while she did follow the traditional “read a paper” model, her ideas and examples were well-considered and in-depth, demonstrating clearly that she was well prepared for the session and had taken the time to write out those thoughts to ensure that her ideas could be communicated effectively to her audience in the time and space allotted. In addition, her combination of theory and empirical research added to the value of her conclusions for those in attendance. |