Call for papers and short presentations: Academic Writing and Innovation Seminar NUI Galway

National University of Ireland, Galway 17 April 2018

Confirmed Speakers

Prof. Tom Deans, University of Connecticut

Dr. Megan Jewel, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ann Nowak, Touro Law Center

Steven Engel, University of Michigan

Please send abstracts (300 words) with the subject-line INNOVATIONto  Irina Ruppo   by  7 March 2018.

In addition to 20-minute talks, the conference will include a discussion forum. Please contact Irina Ruppo iif you are interested in giving a 5 minute presentation on any of the above subjects or a new subject related to writing and innovation. Informal queries are also welcome.

While innovation is seen as a key ingredient for success in academia, good academic writing is a skill that is often taken for granted. We know from the work of Peter Elbow (1981) that writing is a creative and imaginative process, irrespective of the subject. Janet Giltrow (2002) has argued that ‘style is meaningful’ and impacts the development of ideas. More recently, Helen Sword (2012) has drawn attention to ‘stylish academic writing’, arguing that ‘intellectual creativity thrives best in an atmosphere of experimentation rather than conformity’ (1). Yet the precise relationship between academic writing and innovation remains to be explored; to do so means to highlight the crucial importance of writing centres, writing instructors, and pedagogical initiatives to academia at large.

            We welcome papers that explore the connection between writing and innovation from unusual angles and that challenge existing views of academic writing as a mechanical and easily acquired skill.  Possible topics include

·         Academic writing and discipline specific innovation

·         Academic writing and sports

·         Plagiarism, originality and innovation

·         Writing and innovation in the work place. 

·         Learning commons, academic writing and innovation