CFP for Axis: The Praxis Blog Special Issue on Imagining the Decolonizing Writing Center, Fall/Winter 2021

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The editors at Praxis: A Writing Center Journal are excited to invite submissions for a special edition of posts to run during late winter 2022, reflecting writing centers’ collective scholarship and practice completed during the Fall of 2021. We welcome work from undergraduates, graduate students, and professional scholars alike. 

In his article entitled “Burn the House Down: Deconstructing the Writing Center as Cozy Home” (2019), Eric C. Camarillo writes that, “It’s not enough to merely edit papers to acculturate students to an academic discourse. Writing centers should also strive to help students question these exterior forces, when possible.” He follows that, “We must work to decolonize the writing center space, thereby moving away from the regulatory function the writing center has historically performed.” At Praxis, we wholeheartedly agree. But we are left with some burning questions; namely, how? And, can we reconcile the demands of rigid academia with the practice of linguistic justice? Should we encourage our writers to be beacons for change when many simply long to succeed (and rightfully so)?

In our quest to answer these queries, we turn to you, our writing center community. Axis: The Praxis Blog invites short and candid submissions on what a decolonizing writing center looks like, from your own diverse contexts and perspectives. We ask that your posts reflect work done during Fall 2021, although your submissions will be run in one special focus issue to be published in January, 2021. Submissions should be directed to praxisuwc@utexas.edu by December 21, 2021.

For this special issue, you are invited to submit reflections and/or case studies which address creating the decolonizing writing center space in, but not limited to, the following areas:

  • Research and scholarship 

  • Writing center methodologies

  • Consultation practices

  • Personal or anecdotal experiences

  • International writing centers 

  • ESL and/or multilingual consulting approaches

  • Collaborations between writing centers

  • Administrative policy and intake/outtake form language 

  • Mission statement revisions

  • Accessibility practices

  • Outreach programs

  • Antiracism and equity in the writing center

  • Any other writing center areas where you see decolonizing work being done, or perceive the need for decolonizing work!

AXIS GUIDELINES

All submissions intended for the Axis blog should be emailed to the Managing Editors at praxisuwc@gmail.com by December 21, 2021.

Recommended length is 750 words or fewer, but we will consider longer pieces (between 1000 and 1500 words).

Because Axis is a blog, this is a good venue for writers with less experience or with a more informal, anecdotal approach to discussing writing centers; Axis hosts work from undergraduates, graduate students, and professional scholars. Unlike submissions for Praxis, we use an entirely in-house review process for Axis submissions, meaning that you will generally receive a quick response from one of our editors. We encourage submissions of all kinds: anecdotes/advice about writing consultations, reflections on the benefits of writing center experience, etc. If you are not certain Axis is the right venue for your idea, feel free to send us a 100-word pitch for your blog post, detailing its subject and expected length. When submitting something for possible inclusion in Axis, please indicate in the subject line of your email whether you are sending a manuscript (Word.doc or Word.docx format, please) or a pitch. 

As with Praxis, we expect that all submissions to Axis are original work, and that the work has not been simultaneously submitted for review or accepted for publication elsewhere. If your submission has been accepted for publication in any other venue (for example, in an edited collection or an institutional repository) or if you have questions about this policy, please email the editors to discuss any possible conflicts or issues with attribution.

Works Cited:

Camarillo, Eric C. “Burn the House Down: Deconstructing the Writing Center as Cozy Home.” The Peer Review, no. 3.1, Summer 2019, https://thepeerreview-iwca.org/issues/redefining-welcome/burn-the-house-down-deconstructing-the-writing-center-as-cozy-home/.