Unruly Rhetorics: Conversations about Activism and Pedagogy

Thanks to all who helped make UR at UCI a success!

Click here to read a write-up of the event and to access audio of the lectures by Mathieu and Welch!


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May 13th, 2016

Humanities Gateway 1030

10:00am-4:30pm

In the midst of complex conversations in our country and around the world about race, gender, immigration, policing, violence, civic participation, and more, what are the implications for the teaching of rhetoric and writing in our contemporary moment? What possibilities exist for pedagogues interested in enacting social change? How can we respond locally (in our classrooms, on our campuses, in our neighborhoods, etc.) to timely and enduring issues that are also resonating nationally and internationally? How can rhetorical interventions in history guide our pedagogical actions in the present?

We invite you to join us for an all-day event featuring lectures by Nancy Welch (University of Vermont) and Paula Mathieu (Boston College), two scholars well versed in addressing the parallel demands of activism and pedagogy.

The day will conclude with a reception at UCI’s Langson Library where attendees will be able to explore Speaking Up, an  exhibit of fifty years of student publications at UCI. Co-organized by Special Collections & Archives and the Campus Writing Coordinator, the exhibit will feature many publications that resonate with the themes of activism and pedagogy. Attendees will have exclusive access to additional archival material.

Presented by the Rhet/Comp Grad Collective.

Sponsored by the Composition Program, the Campus Writing Coordinator, Humanities Commons, the Department of English, the Department of Classics, and the Rhetoric Society of America.


Schedule:

10:00am: Welcome + Coffee

10:45am: Lecture by Paula Mathieu, “Writing about…living and dying and struggling and changing”

12:05pm: Lunch + Round-table Discussion on Rhetoric and Activism in Writing Courses featuring Bradley Queen (Associate Director of Composition; Course Director for Writing 39C at UC Irvine) and Lance Langdon (Lecturer at UC Irvine and Chapman University)

1:10pm: Lecture by Nancy Welch, “Who’s Afraid of Bread and Roses?: Lessons from Lawrence for Today’s Civility Wars”

2:30pm: Closing Remarks, Jonathan Alexander (Chancellor’s Professor of English; Campus Writing Coordinator)

3:00pm: Reception at Langson Library

While we don’t expect any significant changes, we do reserve the right to revise this schedule. We will make every effort to notify attendees of changes, and all changes will be reflected in the schedule above.


Logistical information for attendees:

The event will take place on the UCI campus in room 1030 of the Humanities Gateway (HG) building. Click here to see HG on an interactive map of the UCI campus.

Attendees are advised to park at the Mesa Parking Structure. An all-day permit costs $10. All vehicles are required to display a valid permit at all times. Permit dispensers, located throughout the structure, accept major credit cards and cash. Click here to see a map of the easiest walking route from the Mesa structure to HG.

As noted on the schedule, the afternoon reception will take place at Langson Library. Click here to see a map of the easiest walking route from HG to Langson. Should you need accommodation, please let us know.


To talk about this event on social media, use the hashtag #URUCI.


Featured as a student chapter special event for 2016 by the Rhetoric Society of America.

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Poster photo credit: “Students Gathering for the Vietnam War Moratorium at UC Irvine”; UCI Libraries, Special Collections and Archives. For more information regarding the protest depicted in this photo, visit the blog maintained by Special Collections and Archives.

Banner photo credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studios.