Conference programme
Download the conference programme.
Keynote speakers - Abstracts
Lisa Emerson
Looking back, looking forward: Writing instruction in New Zealand
Writing instruction in New Zealand tertiary institutions has come a long way since it first began to emerge 30 years ago. This keynote presentation takes the position that we should engage in reconnaissance in the interests of gearing ourselves for strategic influence in the future. How has writing emerged in New Zealand tertiary institutions? What have been the key features of, and constraints on, our writing programmes in each decade since the 1980s? How have these features impacted on present approaches to teaching writing? What are the key features of our current writing programmes? What have been our major successes and disappointments? And finally, what strategies can we use to harness our strengths in the current climate and how can we build relationships that will be strategically important to growth and development? Associate Professor Emerson, in her interactive presentation, will reflect on her own experience and interpretation of how New Zealand writing programmes have developed in the past and how they may be developed in the future, and facilitate similar reconnaissance, reflection and discussion amongst TWN participants.
Anne Surma
Words changing worlds: a cosmopolitan orientation to professional writing
Just a decade into the twenty-first century we have witnessed, either directly or indirectly, the dot com bubble, devastating natural and environmental disasters, 9/11, the explosion and proliferation of social media, the global financial crisis— to name just a few. These events affect all our lives in ways we are only now beginning to understand. What does this mean for the field of professional writing and for professional writers? What challenges do we face as communicators in this radically changed and continuously changing material and virtual landscape? Where do our responsibilities as writers lie, and how do we address the competing demands of local and global, our own and others' interests? This paper, arguing for cosmopolitanism as an ethical and imaginative orientation to writing in a contemporary context, sketches some examples from writing in corporate, government and academic contexts to illustrate the tensions as well as the possibilities facing the professional writing field in a globalised world.
John Macalister
An eye on the future: the role of curriculum design in keeping writing courses relevant
A risk associated with courses that are offered year in, year out is that they may begin to lose their dynamism. Even when they perceive a need for changes to their teaching, teachers may not make them, and for very understandable reasons, such as workload pressure and time constraints. However, as a result, courses may begin to lose relevance for the learners, may not make the most effective use of the class time available, and may not be delivering the best learning outcomes. One way to avoid this situation is to ensure that regular evaluation occurs. This presentation draws on a model of language curriculum design (Nation & Macalister, 2010) to explore the changes resulting from evaluation of a university writing course and the evaluation of those changes. The approach used can be applied by any teacher who wants to ensure a course remains relevant to the learners.
Nation, I. S. P., & Macalister, J. (2010). Language Curriculum Design. New York and London: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.
Greg O'Brien
The articulate fog - between poetry and non-fiction, some observations
Working in recent years as an art curator, critic and essayist, Gregory O'Brien has never jettisoned his priorities and concerns as a poet. He will discuss the different ways in which his books inhabit, or touch upon, conventional critical discourse while remaining operational in terms of his poetics. Drawing on his work as an artist, art writer, anthologist and literary critic, he will offer insights into how it might be that an imaginative writer, with his feet firmly on the ground, can inhabit a world that is made of both bricks and vapour.
Rachel McAlpine
Ditzimush for brains? New responsibilities for web writers
The neurological effects are now proven: reading hypertext shortens attention spans, impairs comprehension and reduces retention. Numerous studies show that our brains are being changed by habits generated by the internet and other super-distractors. We need to examine the implications of this daunting research. All tertiary teachers are web writers by default or by accident, e-teaching is inevitable and every page you write is a de facto marketing page. How can we write with integrity in the face of such trends? I'll suggest four ways web writers can help today's interesting cohort of online readers to read more, remember more, stick with an argument and stay focused.