When we published CF 20, we decided to make all content published in the journal open access using the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. I’d like to provide a bit of background on open access, explain how the license we chose works, and offer some reasons for our adoption of it. More
Volume 20 now available!
Posted by – July 4, 2009
The newest volume of Composition Forum is now available at the “Current Issue” link above.
This volume features an interview with Gary Olson and three articles focusing on different dimensions of the academic work of writing specialists. CF 20 also includes two Program Profiles describing the first year writing programs at California State University, Fresno and Eastern Michigan University. In addition, Volume 20 contains reviews of three new books in rhetoric and composition.
Thanks for visiting the journal, and we welcome your suggestions and comments about this volume.
Consider Submitting a Program Profile
Posted by – April 28, 2009
Those of us who direct writing programs recognize how difficult it can be to balance administrative and scholarly work. While we produce a number of in-house publications or internal program documents, we don’t have as many opportunities to frame and present these to our colleagues in the field. The Program Profiles section of Composition Forum provides an opportunity for those of us who engage in various kinds of program administration and curriculum development work to share that work with others in our field at the same time as it provides an opportunity to have that work recognized as scholarship.
As co-editors of the Program Profiles section of the journal, we invite you to submit profiles of your FYC, WAC, undergraduate, or graduate programs in Rhetoric and Composition. Profiles are generally 2,000 to 4,000 words and should include a general description of the program, the theory informing the program, a structural description of the program, institutional constraints, and a section that explains what you’ve learned from your directorship of the program or what you might do differently based on your experience.
To send queries or manuscripts, please contact our Program Profile Editors, Mary Jo Reiff and Anis Bawarshi.
Call for Editor: Book Review Editor
Posted by – March 23, 2009
Composition Forum seeks a Book Review Editor to replace the outgoing editor. This editor will be responsible for gathering reviews on books of interest to scholars and practitioners within the field. Editor’s duties will be soliciting reviews, offering editorial feedback to authors, and helping to format reviews for both annual issues. Duties also include maintaining contact with publishers to receive new titles, and ensuring that review authors receive copies of reviewed texts. In the future Composition Forum wishes to review as many new titles as possible within the field and further expand the number of review essays.
Please submit email indicating position, institutional affiliation, and reason for interest to Christian Weisser.
Composition Forum 19
Posted by – January 30, 2009
We are happy to announce the publication of Composition Forum 19, see our Spring 2009 issue. This volume features articles by Dan Fraizer, Caleb Corkery, and Nate Kreuter. CF 19 also includes a Program Profile focusing on a team teaching project at West Virginia University. In addition, Volume 19 contains reviews of six new books in rhetoric and composition.
We welcome your suggestions and comments about this volume.
Welcome New Programs Editor!
Posted by – October 9, 2008
It is a great pleasure to welcome Mary Jo Reiff to the Composition Forum staff. Mary Jo will join Anis Bawarshi as a Programs Editor, and she will help Anis develop and publish more great Program Profiles in the future. Mary Jo brings to the position her expertise as Director of Composition at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Welcome, Mary Jo!
New Volume, New Editors
Posted by – July 7, 2008
We’ve just finished creating Volume 18 of Composition Forum, which contains three essays, two program profiles, and four book reviews. In my completely biased opinion, this is one of our best volumes yet.
I’m also thrilled to announce the appointment of Michelle Ballif as Managing Editor and Anis Bawarshi as Programs Editor. Michelle has been with the journal for several years and has graciously agreed to take on more responsibility, while Anis has just begun working with us. Welcome, Anis!
For more information about the contents of this newest volume and about the changes taking place at CF, please visit our From the Editors page. And don’t forget to bookmark our new location: http://compositionforum.com/
Thanks for your support!
Starting to redirect
Posted by – July 5, 2008
I’m starting to redirect content from the FAU.edu server to Compositionforum.com. I’ve replaced the all the links on the FAU.edu front page with links to Compostionforum.com. At least for now, issues will live in an “issues” subdirectory. Soon I’ll be creating “soft” redirects from the old issues to the new ones, just noting that we’re in the process of moving. Once we’ve got permanent new URLs (and that depends on software), I’ll make sure-enough redirects.
Lots of automated find and replace today. I’m sure I’ll keep finding little issues to correct here and there…
CFP: Service-learning in the Composition Classroom
Posted by – June 18, 2008
Call for Papers: Service-learning in the Composition Classroom
Submissions are sought for a professional development book for both new and experienced composition teachers that will focus on the role of service-learning in the composition classroom. The book will be part of the Fountainhead Press X Series for Professional Development. Essays are sought that provide practical ideas for using service-learning pedagogy in the classroom; however, stuff the practical application should build on a pedagogical discussion that frames the teaching/learning activities. In other words, prostate do not only tell how, seek but also why.
The specific audience includes
- New teaching assistants, adjuncts and instructors teaching composition courses, including technical writing
- Service-learning/Community Literacy personnel
- Writing Program administrators interested in the creation of professional development courses or programs
- Writing Center personnel
- Writing Across the Curriculum personnel
Possible topics include
- Pedagogical pros and cons of using service-learning in the composition classroom
- Collaborative models for working with community partners
- Management of service-learning projects – planning documents, designating roles for community partners/teachers/students, designing legal documents to protect student interests and ownership/use of final products, forming/managing work teams, etc.
- Designing course schedules with flexibility, utilizing regular class meetings versus engagement time with community partners
- Models for working with profit/not-for-profit organizations
- Assessment models/assessment implications/role of community partners in assessment
- Strategies for gaining administrative/community support for projects
- Strategies for gearing service-learning approaches to programmatic needs
- Implications of service-learning related to community literacy
- The role of technology in service-learning and the learning opportunities presented
- Implications for the role of teacher in service-learning
- Strategies for dealing with ethical implications of service-learning engagement/products/expectations/responsibilities
- Discussions of end products developed through service-learning activities
- Discussions of student/teacher/programmatic/community partner attitudes about the reasons for service-learning activities
You are strongly encouraged to provide samples of
- Student writing
- End products
- Forms
- Syllabi
- Assignment descriptions
Submissions written collaboratively with students/administrators/community partners are especially encouraged. Submissions should be around 5,000 words and should follow MLA style. Please refer to http://www.fountainheadpress.com/english/xseries.html for series style guide. Submit essays in digital form (Word/rtf) by October 1, 2008 to susan.garza@tamucc.edu.