The Anti-Ableist Composition Collective is now accepting short submissions for our upcoming Online Symposium on Neurodivergent Literacies, Neurodivergent Writing. The online symposium will feature short written blog posts (see below) as well as a series of live-Twitter chats. The topics for the Twitter chats will be announced soon, and the chats will take place between March 29 and April 1, 2020. Click here to access the original call for participation.
Your short submissions should be around 250-500 words in length, but if you go a little over or remain under the word count, that is perfectly fine. Just be mindful of the reviewers’ time and energy as this work is uncompensated.
Deadline: March 23, 2020 | If you need a more flexible schedule, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at antiableistcomposition@gmail.com. We will be happy to work with you on establishing a timeline that works for you. We will review and publish posts as they are submitted and as time allows us to review them.
There will be no formal editorial process. Once you submit your proposal, the Collective will read your draft and confirm that you are ready to publicly share this material on our website for visitors. If any minor changes need to be made to the draft prior to publication, we will be sure to communicate those changes with you and engage in a collaborative effort until the post is ready to publish.
Topics of Possible Interest
Submissions should try to address the broad concerns and questions outlined here, but these are not limitations for the work you can do. Please submit what you want to write that may fall under the broad umbrella of “literacy” (see definitions below).
• Since neurodivergence affects our lives every second of every day, how do we engage writing processes?
• How should race inform conversations on neurodivergence, mental disability, and literacy? How does anti-Black racism, for instance, necessitate an anti-racist approach to autism and neurodiversity?
• How do we write with our bodies? How are stims a form of literacy practice?
• How do we participate in writing projects that are collaborative? What are the best ways to promote collaboration with neurodivergent writers?
• What disability or neurodiversity activism work are you currently involved with in your communities?
• How can we re-imagine the university/higher education to be more accessible for neurodivergent students (undergraduate and graduate)?
• How can we re-imagine the university/higher education to be more accessible for neurodivergent faculty, staff, and instructors?
• How do deadlines and time constraints impact our writing processes? How do we “manage” our time in oftentimes very restrictive work/school environments?
• Can we describe our writing spaces? Where do we usually write? What spaces allow us to write more fully and embodied? How does space impact our writing practices?
• How do our sensory impressions impact our writing practices and literacy practices?
• What questions are missing? What would you like to add or question about the assumptions we (educators, academics, teachers, etc.) make about neurodivergent and autistic people’s writing, literacy, and reading?
What is literacy? What are literacies?
Historically, “literacy” has been defined as the “ability” to write or read. However, a lot of folks are moving away from this limited notion of literacy in order to promote a more inclusive understanding of literacy practices. Therefore, we welcome your own interpretation of “literacies” as you see, hear, feel, and sense them otherwise.
Some readings that might be helpful (if you are interested in reading more about “literacies”) are listed below. If you need access to the readings, reach out to us at antiableistcomposition@gmail.com and we can try to help you find access.
- Literacies: A Critical Sourcebook edited by Ellen Cushman, Christina Haas, and Mike Rose
- Vernacular Insurrections: Race, Black Protest, and the New Century in Composition-Literacies Studies by Carmen Kynard
- Rural Literacies edited by Eileen Schell, Kim Donehower, and Charlotte Hogg
- From the Garden Club: Rural Women Writing Community by Charlotte Hogg
- Fashioning Lives: Black Queers and the Politics of Literacy by Eric Darnell Pritchard
- “African American Literacies” by Elaine Richardson
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