Jennifer Jackson presented a paper at the 2015 Pop Culture Association conference in New Orleans on Friday, April 3. On a Composition and Pop Culture themed panel, Jennifer presented her experiences teaching a successful writing course on the theory of horror film in the spring of 2014. Her paper, titled “‘I am the male gaze’: Horror Film Theory and Gender in a Composition Classroom,” explored the development of the course at the University of Arkansas at Monticello; the paper particularly focused on the significant role that gender theory played alongside horror theory in not only teaching students about horror film, critical analysis, and argument but also about opened dialogue in her class about real world issues like sexism and the “male gaze.” In her presentation, she offered a list of films she showed to the class, required texts, and a brief look at assignments from the course, including multi-modal extra credit opportunities and a multi-modal final. Also emphasized in her presentation were student responses and engagement in the course; she spent equal time discussing the most involved students and the most hostile, in this way opening a dialogue in the Q and A at the end on student behavior and response. Jennifer has proposed to teach a similar course at the University of Mississippi as a LIBA102, and her presentation on her class at PCA helped her more deeply reflect on what worked about the course and what she would like to revise. Overall, presenting her work and discussing it with others was an overwhelmingly enriching experience.
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Jennifer Jackson Presents at PCA About Using Horror Films to Understand Gender Theory
Writing Center Tutors Are Founding Co-Chairs of Identity Across the Curriculum Conference
Writing Center consultants Matthew Fernandez and Taylor Brack served as Co-Chairs for the inaugural Identity Across the Curriculum Conference at the University of Mississippi on April 9, 2015. Students presented their ideas on any type of topic related to identity, including race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, nationality, ability, religion, political affiliation, etc The student-led conference was made possible with support from The Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement. Pictured are, Matthew Fernandez, conference founder and organizer, as he addresses attendees about the relationship between inclusivity and identity, and Taylor Brack as she answers questions following her presentation, “Can I Call You Sister?”
Robert Cummings Presents Paper at Conference on College Composition and Communication
I traveled to Tampa, FL to present a paper entitled “Wikipedia Collaborations, Under-representations, and Lingering Doubts” at the Conference on College Composition and Communication on March 21, 2015. Also on my Saturday panel were Dr. Frances DiLauro of University of Sydney and Matthew Vetter of Ohio University.
This presentation extended the work I started at University of Sydney in February 2014. There we were able to submit surveys to students to determine how learning with Wikipedia in the writing classroom affected their attitudes about the site. We have been able to establish their reactions to “traditional” concepts of teaching and learning with Wikipedia, such as whether students believe that learning with Wikipedia improves or hinders their abilities to reach composition course student learning outcomes, perceptions about the legitimacy of Wikipedia, students’ use of Wikipedia within and beyond the academy, and students’ attitudes about composing in groups.
However, our study seeks to move beyond those initial concepts about students’ perceptions about teaching and learning with Wikipedia to entertain questions about the value of writing for Wikipedia and electronic networks as preparation for responding to professional contexts beyond the academy, the value of Wikipedia in helping students identify cultural difference and establish successful working partnerships with people different than them; the role of Wikipedia in helping students identify and transform a male-dominated workspace; and value of working with Wikipedia and helping students identify a new meaning for their place in the world.
In addition, I presented at a panel originally scheduled for Assistant Dean Stephen Monroe. This panel met on Thursday to discuss Independent Writing Programs.