2024 Conference: Create, Connect, Reflect
Sidebar
The fourteenth biennial Thomas R. Watson Conference in Rhetoric and Composition, held in 2024 under the theme Create, Connect, Reflect, brought together scholars and practitioners to collaborate on 14 community-driven projects — from app development to website creation to book proposals — designed to be open and widely accessible to participants.
Over three days, attendees worked together on a shared project, either over Zoom or on-site at the University of Louisville. The conference featured a keynote address, structured reflection on the collaborative process, and social activities. Each group concluded the conference by presenting a project deliverable at a showcase, with the option to continue their collaboration beyond the event.
The 2024 conference was guided by a commitment to antiracist and anti-oppressive praxis — centering humanizing, rather than alienating, working environments — and by the writings of Croom (2022) and Johnston, Solomon Amorao, and Kim (2022).
Conference Details
"Collaborating Toward Post-White Fields"
Dr. Marcus Croom's keynote explored whether Education in the United States remains a viable field for post-White oriented critical inquiry and practice — and across fields where such work remains possible, how collaboration toward post-White fields might begin. He proposed seven practices toward that end and invited dialogue with conference participants.
Marcus Croom, PhD, is assistant professor of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education and adjunct assistant professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. A race critical researcher, his work focuses on improving living and learning within racialized societies through practice of race theory (PRT), case study, and qualitative methods. He is the author of Real Talk? How to Discuss Race, Racism, and Politics in 21st Century American Schools.
The 2024 conference featured 14 collaborative projects across Zoom-only, hybrid, and in-person formats.
Zoom-Only Projects (February 28–March 1, 2024)
- Building the Two-Way Street: A Guide for Two-Year/Four-Year College Writing Program Partnerships — Joanne Baird Giordano, Holly Hassel, Erin Lehman, Cassandra Phillips, Emily Suh, and Lizbett Tinoco
- Developing an App to Support Ungrading: Making Non-Traditional Grading Easier with a Standalone Web Application — Michelle Cowan, Liz Matthews, and Joe Schicke
- The Mother (Murdered) Tongues: Perspectives on Translingual Practices in English-Only Teaching and Learning among "Non-Native Monolingual" Speakers of English — Olalekan Adepoju and Ganiu Bamgbose
- Organizing and Humanizing the Teaching Track in Rhetoric and Composition Programs — Lindsey Albracht, Dev K. Bose, Megan Callow, Laila ElSerty, Al Harahap, and Clare Russell
- (Re)Building Connections and Collaborations Across High School and College Writing Contexts — Christina Saidy, Brad Jacobson, and Jessica Rivera-Mueller
- What's Attention Got To Do With It: On Reading and Reflexivity — Vrinda Chopra and Sonakshi Srivastava
Hybrid Projects (March 7–9, 2024)
- Aca(diy)mia: Making Zines, Remaking Worlds — Jason Luther, Kristin Prins, Aubrie Cox Warner, Megan Heise, and Kristen Wheaton
- Emergence: Toward a "State of the Field" Trans Studies Conference — Evangeline Thurston Wilder and Gabriel Fiandeiro
- Reawakening: Reclaiming Chatino Prayers and Political Speech — Hilaria Cruz, Tuesday Shaw, Clare Sullivan, Cody M. Smith, María Elena Méndez Cortés, and José Vásquez Canseco
In-Person Projects (March 7–9, 2024)
- Counterstories from the Reservation: Indigenous Americans Speak Back — Heather Hill and Kimberly Wieser-Weryackwe
- Composing a Public Syllabus: Writing for Movement-Building, Activism, and Social Justice — Erin Green and Gabrielle Isabel Kelenyi
- The Graduate Reading Exchange — Carolyne King, Lizzie Hutton, Michelle Sprouse, and Emily Sok
- Grit Is Not It: Reckoning with Resilience in "Post"-Pandemic FYC — Emily Rónay Johnston, Eileen Kogl Camfield, and Samantha Tetangco Ocena
- Writing Across the Graduate Curriculum: A Multi-Institutional Study — Enrique Paz, Tom McNamara, and Jasmine Castillo
The 2024 conference highlighted two Louisville organizations doing important community work.
Change Today, Change Tomorrow — Founded by UofL alumna Taylor Ryan, this organization serves marginalized communities in Louisville's West End through food justice and public health initiatives. Their Tribe Time project is a monthly gathering for parents and caregivers focused on belonging, empowerment, and resource sharing.
Sweet Evening Breeze — Provides housing assistance, therapy, peer support, career counseling, and other services for LGBTQ+ young adults (ages 18–24) experiencing houselessness in Louisville. The organization is named after Sweet Evening Breeze (1892–1983), a gender-non-conforming Black person who was among Lexington's first drag queens.
Organizers
- Andrea Olinger, Director — Associate Professor of English and Composition Program Director, University of Louisville
- Shayani Almeida, Assistant Director — Ph.D. student, Rhetoric and Composition, University of Louisville
- Steve Shoop, Assistant Director — Ph.D. student, Rhetoric and Composition, University of Louisville
Support Staff
- Michael Benjamin — Ph.D. candidate, Rhetoric and Composition
- Hung Nguyen — Technical Support
- Rae Stilwell — Website Support
Accessibility Team
- Michelle Houston — CART Captioner
- Desirae Jura — CART Captioner
- Angélica Zetina Gonzales — Spanish-English Interpreter and Translator
Next Conference
The next Watson Conference is on the horizon. Stay connected for announcements about themes, calls for proposals, and registration.