Conference Archive
Sidebar
The Thomas R. Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition has been convening biennially at the University of Louisville since 1996. Each conference engages a distinct theme in rhetoric and composition, bringing together scholars, practitioners and students to advance the field. Many conferences have resulted in published collections and special journal issues. Browse the archive below to explore past conferences and their outcomes.
Explore the Archive
The fourteenth biennial Watson Conference brought together scholars and practitioners to collaborate on 14 community-driven projects across Zoom and in-person formats, from app development to book proposals. Keynote speaker Dr. Marcus Croom addressed collaboration toward post-White fields in rhetoric and composition.
The thirteenth biennial Watson Conference focused on policies and practices for planning antiracist conferences, with presentations remunerated in recognition of the intellectual and emotional labor involved. The conference produced a public Policy & Practice Archive and a special issue of Writers: Craft & Context (vol. 3, no. 1, 2022).
The twelfth biennial Watson Conference explored making and materiality in rhetoric and composition, directed by Mary P. Sheridan. The conference resulted in the edited collection Making Future Matters (Utah State University Press, 2018).
Mobility Work in Composition: Translation, Migration, Transformation (2016)
Director: Bruce Horner
Assistant Directors: Megan Faver Hartline, Laura Sceniak Matravers, and Ashanka Kumari
Publication: Mobility Work in Composition,, edited by Bruce Horner, Megan Faver Hartline, Ashanka Kumari, and Laura Sceniak Matravers
Read Mobility Work in Composition online (Utah State University Press)
Responsivity: Defining, Encouraging, Enacting (2014)
Director: Mary P. Sheridan
Assistant Directors: Megan Faver Hartline and Drew Holladay
Publication: Journal of Advanced Composition (vol. 34, no. ½) Special Issue, 2014 & Writing for Engagement: Responsive Practice for Social Action, Rowman and Littlefield, 2018, edited by Mary P. Sheridan, Megan Bardolph, Megan Hartline, and Drew Holladay
Economies of Writing (2012)
Director: Bruce Horner
Assistant Directors: Amy Lueck and Brice Nordquist
Publication: Journal of Advanced Composition (vol. 32, no. ¾) Special Issue, 2012 & Economies of Writing: Revaluations in Rhetoric and Composition, Utah State University Press, 2017, edited by Bruce Horner, Brice Nordquist, and Susan M. Ryan
Read Economies of Writing online (Utah State University Press)
Working English in Rhetoric and Composition: Global-Local Contexts, Commitments, Consequences (2010)
Director: Min-Zhan Lu
Assistant Directors: Brice Nordquist and Vanessa Kraemer Sohan
Publication: Journal of Advanced Composition (vol. 29, no. ½) Special Issue, 2009 & Reworking English in Rhetoric and Composition, Southern Illinois University Press, 2014, edited by Bruce Horner and Karen Kopelson
The New Work of Composing (2008)
Director: Debra Journet
Assistant Directors: Ryan Trauman and TBD
Publication: The New Work of Composing, Utah State University Press, 2012, edited by Debra Journet, Cheryl Ball, and Ryan Trauman
Read The New Work of Composing online (Computers and Composition Digital Press)
Narrative Knowledge, Narrative Action (2006)
Director: Debra Journet
Assistant Directors: TBD
Publication: Narrative Acts: Rhetoric, Race and Identity, Knowledge, Hampton Press, 2011, edited by Debra Journet, Beth Boehm, and Cynthia Britt
Writing at the Center (2004)
Director: Carol Mattingly
Assistant Directors: Kara Poe Alexander and TBD
Publication: Writing at the Center: Proceedings of the 2004 Thomas R. Watson Conference, WCA Press, 2008, edited by JoAnn Griffin, Carol Mattingly, and Michele Eodice
Composing Identities (2002)
Director: Pamela Takayoshi
Assistant Directors: Kara Poe Alexander and TBD
Publication: Identity Papers: Literacy and Power in Higher Education, Utah State University Press, 2006, edited by Bronwyn T. Williams
Labor, Writing Technologies, and the Shaping of Composition in the Academy (2000)
Director: Pamela Takayoshi
Assistant Directors: TBD
Publication: Labor, Writing Technologies, and the Shaping of Composition in the Academy, Hampton Press, 2007, edited by Pamela Takayoshi and Patricia Sullivan
Multiple Literacies for-First Century (1998)
Director: Brian Huot
Assistant Directors: TBD
Publication: Multiple Literacies for the Twenty-First Century, Hampton Press, 2004, edited by Brian Huot, Beth Stroble, and Charles Bazerman
The Professionalization of Composition, 1963–1993 (1996)
Director: Debra Journet and Beth Boehm
Assistant Directors: TBD
Publication: History, Reflection, and Narrative: The Professionalization of Composition, 1963–1983, Ablex Publishing, 1999, edited by Mary Rosner, Beth Boehm, and Debra Journet
Next Conference
The next Watson Conference is on the horizon. Stay connected for announcements about themes, calls for proposals, and registration.