2025 IWCA/NCPTW Joint Conference Call for Proposals

28 Mar 2025

Wednesday, October 15-Saturday, October 18
Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza
35 West 5th St  
Cincinnati, OH  45202

Proposal and Travel Award Application Deadline: May 15, 2025

Acceptance Notification: June 15, 2025

Websites

Colorful image of Cincinnati, Ohio skyline at night with bridge over the Ohio River.
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Call for Proposals

Movement and Metamorphosis: The (Non-)Spaces of Writing Center Work

Daniel Floyd, University of Cincinnati, NCPTW co-chair
Maggie Herb, SUNY Buffalo State University, IWCA co-chair

Conversations about space–physical, metaphorical, theoretical or possible–have been woven throughout writing center studies over the years. Writing center scholars have explored the physical space of writing centers (Hadfield et al., 2003; Carpenter et al. 2013; Zammarelli & Beebe, 2019; Kjesrud, 2021; Azima, 2022), as well as the way that writing center spaces may function within the institution. Writing center spaces have been theorized as liminal (Sunstein, 1998), as contact zones (Monty, 2016), as third spaces (Burns, 2009; Wittman, 2023). And, memorably, twenty years ago in her article “Leaving Home Sweet Home: Toward Critical Readings of Writing Center Spaces,” Jackie Grutsch McKinney (2005) implored us to look “at” rather than “through” the spaces writing centers occupy (18). Here and in her subsequent text Peripheral Visions of Writing Centers, she problematizes the narratives and metaphors often associated with writing centers as spaces/places, particularly those that characterize writing centers as comfortable, cozy homes. Other scholars have expanded on this critique, pointing to the myriad ways that the “home” metaphor can be exclusionary and can both mask and reinforce racist and colonialist power structures (Garcia, 2017; Camarillo, 2019; Faison 2019; Hutchinson & Torres Perdigón, 2024). And recently–particularly in the post-Covid 2020s–discussion of the need to reimagine our notions of writing center spaces (or non-spaces, to reference Marc Augé’s notion of non-place that he argues characterizes the late capitalist landscape) have been particularly exigent, especially as more writing centers operate in and with online environments. 

While this forced reckoning brings with it challenges, it may also point to new possibilities: Genie Giaimo (2023) describes the importance of “think[ing] about ways— outside of space—that the writing center can build community. This might include moving around campus, especially outdoors, and into the community around our institution” (40). And Shannon Brooks (2024) argues that the state of “centerlessness” that many experienced as a result of the pandemic may ultimately “provid[e] insights into how we might move forward to different, always emergent, and unrealized alternative praxis for decolonial and ecological…writing center futures” (87). Ultimately,  as higher education continually shifts and the modalities of education expand, it is important to consider the varied and shifting spaces (and non-spaces) of writing center work and the way they function, support, and build opportunities for students and staff.

This conference seeks to answer the questions of how writing center (non-)spaces can best adapt to our students, our contexts, our environments, our locations, and the many surprises that result. How can we employ our amorphous natures effectively? How can our physical space, online space, and non-space construct, critique, enhance, and adjust our practice? We seek proposals that scrutinize the (non-)spaces of writing center work to answer these questions.

Here are some possible starting points for proposals:

Physical Spaces

  • How do physical locations of writing center spaces impact the work they do? (ex. Proximity to other departments, programs, services? Proximity to other writing centers? Pedagogical benefits or limitations?)
  • How do accessibility concerns play a role in considerations of space?
  • What opportunities and challenges arise when writing centers move from peripheral campus locations to more central ones (or vice versa)?
  • What significance do design and decoration play in writing center functions (or not)?
  • How do writing center spaces reflect or challenge the contingent status of their workers?
  • Who owns the writing center space? (The director? The students? The tutors? Someone else? No one?) 
  • What role do tutors play in shaping the physical environment of writing centers? How can they make the space inviting for the students they work with?
  • How do writing center space needs and design priorities vary across different institutional contexts (research universities, community colleges, liberal arts institutions, HSIs, HBCUs, tribal colleges, secondary schools, international settings), and what can we learn from these differences?

Virtual/Hybrid Spaces

  • What are the ramifications of online/spaceless sessions? How do different modalities impact accessibility?
  • How might time zones, internet access, and digital divides impact virtual writing center spaces across borders?
  • What impact does generative AI have on writing center work, particularly as it pertains to space?
  • How does the labor of writing center work transform when tutors must navigate and maintain multiple spatial contexts simultaneously?
  • What are intangible elements of writing center space?
  • What possibilities exist for global writing center collaborations that transcend physical spaces?
  • What productive tensions emerge when we consider writing centers as sites that exist in both “place” and “non-place”?
  • What have been some of the positive and negative experiences of a hybrid (virtual and in-person) writing center space for the peer tutors?

Institutional Positioning

  • What new or existing partnerships across campus might help writing centers reimagine their spatial and conceptual boundaries?
  • How does a writing center’s administrative home (academic affairs, student services, specific departments) influence its spatial identity?
  • How do writing center spaces reinforce or challenge institutional hierarchies?

The Future of Writing Centers and Space

  • What does it mean for a writing center to be “centerless,” and what opportunities might this create?
  • What advantages might exist in embracing spatial liminality rather than seeking more conventional institutional spaces?
  • How are writing centers reimagining spatial needs amid budget cuts and austerity measures?
  • What role might peer tutors play in designing next-generation writing center environments?
  • How might writing center workers collectively shape their workspaces despite institutional constraints?
  • How might global perspectives on space and place inform new directions for writing center work across diverse institutional contexts?
  • What theoretical frames and metaphors can we expand upon, reimagine, or invent to better understand the spaces and non-spaces of writing center work?

Types of Sessions:

  • Individual Presentation: an individual scholarly presentation that the conference planners will combine with 2 other individual presentations in a session focused on a common theme.
  • Panel: 2-3 thematically linked sessions proposed all together as a panel
  • Roundtable: a conversation about a topic aligned with the conference theme and focusing questions that feature participants with different approaches or perspectives. 
  • Special Interest Group (SIG): a focused conversation about a specific topic or affinity group related to Writing Center work.
  • Work-in-Progress: a draft, project plan, or methodology that is ready for feedback from other writing center scholars
  • Workshop: should be a creative/active/makerspace session, with a clear, concrete takeaway for participants that can be achieved in an hour or so.

Conference Format

In an effort to make its annual conference as accessible as possible to all attendees, IWCA alternates each year between online and in-person conferences; as such, the format of the 2025 IWCA/NCPTW joint conference in Cincinnati is scheduled to be in person, with planning for the 2025 conference beginning in 2023 and hotel and event spaces contracted in February 2024. IWCA and NCPTW have committed significant funds to secure a hotel block, audio/video, and food and beverage for our in-person conference and must meet those commitments to avoid breach of contract and significant financial penalties for both organizations.

However, our conference participants’ safety is of highest priority, and some potential attendees will be reluctant to consider traveling to Cincinnati for our in-person event amid the ongoing political situation in the United States (see “Travel Safety Concerns” below for more). To facilitate participation by as many IWCA and NCPTW writing center professionals as possible, we have planned a one-day virtual mini-conference on Wednesday, Oct. 15. The proposal submission process will allow proposers to indicate whether they would like their proposal considered for remote synchronous presentation. The conference organizers will put together a program for synchronous remote participation that aligns with the conference theme and that prioritizes participation from those whose safety may be compromised by attending the conference in person. 

Travel Safety Concerns

The conference co-chairs, along with the IWCA-NCPTW planning team, IWCA Executive Committee, and NCPTW Officers, recognize that the ongoing political situation in the United States may render travel to the 2025 conference in Cincinnati inadvisable or unsafe, particularly for trans and nonbinary individuals, international students and scholars, activists, and others traveling to Cincinnati from outside the U.S.

The decisions from the Executive Branch of the U.S. government are volatile and ongoing, and while IWCA is limited in what the organization can do to address these developments, we do wish to alert potential attendees about this developing situation. As of March 24, 2025, at least five countries (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, and the UK) have issued travel warnings to their citizens who might be planning to enter the U.S. 

With these issues in mind, we urge potential participants at this year’s annual conference to consult with their institutions, home country governments, and/or consulates before finalizing travel plans. Additionally, this New York Times article provides some general guidance and information for those planning to visit from outside the U.S.. 

Proposal Process

Submit a 100-word abstract (to appear in the conference program) and a 300-word description (to help with the review process) of your proposal. Proposers will also be asked to include a brief (100 words or so) rationale for the format they selected (e.g., why this format suits your proposal topic). Those requesting to present virtually should indicate their interest, along with a rationale. 

You’ll be asked to mark at least one of the following categories when you submit your proposal: 

  • Administration
  • Assessment 
  • Collaboration(s)
  • DEI/Social Justice
  • ESOL/Multilingual tutoring
  • Methods
  • Theory
  • Tutor Education/Training
  • Tutoring Graduate Students
  • Tutoring Undergraduate Students
  • WAC/WID
  • Writing Fellows/Embedded tutoring