The University of Mississippi Writing Project
The 2nd Annual NWP in the South Conference:
Writing for Change through Empathy and Engagement
Date/Time: April 24, 2021, 10:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Keynote Speakers:
Nicole Mirra
Assistant Professor of Urban Education
Author of Education for Empathy
“I Hesitate but I Do Have Hope: Critical Civic Empathy in Troubled Times”
In today’s polarized political climate, our students come to class trying to figure out who they are and what they stand for in the face of deepening social divisions and stark racial inequities. We educators have a responsibility to orient our teaching toward the ultimate goal of preparing young people to face the challenges of the 21st century with consciousness, compassion, and commitment to equity and justice. This talk will share literacy practices that teachers can integrate into their classrooms to foster a new kind of empathy – one that goes beyond simply encouraging “niceness” and instead fosters a shared sense of democratic community. We will discuss how textual analysis, classroom discussion, research, and digital literacy can be the basis for both powerful learning and transformative civic engagement. This talk will strive to help us think beyond traditional models of social emotional learning and achieve a critical perspective that we can integrate into our practice.
Brad Campbell
Director of the University of MIssissippi Writing Center
Oxford Campus
“Cultivating Empathic Writers through Authentic Research Pedagogies”
Brad explores how the use of authentic research pedagogies can transform writing classrooms into spaces that cultivate empathic writers who focus on the conceptualization, development, and implementation of multidimensional, ethically grounded, and socially transformative research projects. Reflecting on current approaches to topic development and research writing in their own classes, attendees will interrogate how nuanced research pedagogies offered as part of this presentation may advance students’ capacity for empathy within and beyond the classroom, and participants will consider how research-based writing courses offer ideal spaces for cultivating a heightened empathic awareness among students in writing courses.
Chris Goering
“For the Sake of Students: Integrating Songwriting in Your Curriculum”Registration
Cost: Free
Co-sponsored with the Upstate Writing Project:
Transitioning to College Writing Symposium
An annual symposium for teachers and students of composition, from middle school through university levels.
National Writing Project
The University of Mississippi Writing Project is one of 160 sites of the National Writing Project.