Conference 2023 – MENAWCA

MENAWCA 2023 Biennial Conference
8–10 February 2023
Education City, Doha, Qatar

Writing Centers: Multidisciplinary and Multimodal Spaces for Engagement

MENAWCA’s 8th biennial conference is a platform for teachers, tutors, peer tutors, center directors, and other professionals supporting student writers in the MENA region to share the innovative practices they have explored and report on their efficacy.

The technological advances of the twenty-first century have redefined literacy and composition. A critical thinker is a person who cannot only read and write complex texts, but can also understand and compose multimodal texts. Covid-19 accelerated the incorporation of technology into writing. These trends have transformed the role of the writing center, which is internationally regarded as a multidisciplinary hub for holistic student engagement. Writers and tutors use a variety of technological tools to compose messages that are translingual and transnational.

We invite proposals for sessions on any aspects of this theme, with specific reference to the MENA context.

MENAWCA’s 8th Biennial Conference is generously supported by the Qatar Foundation partner universities including: Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar, Georgetown University in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, and Texas A&M University at Qatar.

Conference Program

Plenary Speakers

Paul Kei Matsuda

Paul Kei Matsuda is Professor of English and Director of Second Language Writing at Arizona State University, where he works closely with doctoral students specializing in second language writing from various disciplinary perspectives.
Paul is Founding Chair of the Symposium on Second Language Writing and Series Editor of the Parlor Press Series on Second Language Writing. Former President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics, he has also served as the founding chair of the CCCC Committee on Second Language Writing and the chair of the Nonnative English Speakers in TESOL (NNEST) Caucus.
Paul has published widely on various topics on language, writing and professional development in applied linguistics, rhetoric and composition and TESOL, and has received a number of prestigious awards for his publications. He has been invited to present keynote and plenary talks as well as lectures and workshops in various countries and regions, including: Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Denmark, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and throughout the United States.
Paul has previously directed writing programs at the University of New Hampshire and Arizona State University. He has taught a wide variety of courses in applied linguistics, linguistics, rhetoric and composition, and TESOL at Chulalongkorn University (Thailand), Purdue University (USA), Jilin University (China), Kanda University of Foreign Studies (Japan), Mae Fah Luang University (Thailand), Miami University (USA), Nagoya University (Japan), Nanjing University (China), Shih Chien University (Taiwan), Tamkang University (Taiwan), Thammasat University (Thailand), the University of New Hampshire (USA), the University of Utah (USA), Xi’an Jiao Tong University (China), and Xidian University (China).
In addition, he has held visiting professor positions at Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Henan University (China), Nagoya University (Japan), Nanjing University (China), Penn State University (USA), the University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Xidian University (China), Zhengzhou University (China), where he gave lectures and workshops and provided consultations for doctoral students and faculty members.
In addition to teaching, research and professional service, Paul has served as a program developer, evaluator and consultant for various language programs and graduate programs throughout the United States and around the world.

Russell Carpenter

Russell Carpenter, Ph.D., is Assistant Provost and Professor of English at Eastern Kentucky University. Carpenter serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Faculty Development and past editor of the Communication Center Journal. Carpenter has written or edited a wide range of books including Engaging Millennial Faculty, Studio-Based Approaches for Multimodal Projects, Writing Studio Pedagogy, and Sustainable Learning Spaces. Articles have appeared in Computers and Composition, Journal of Learning Spaces, Across the Disciplines, Journal of Excellence in College Teaching, Academic Leader, WLN, and the Journal of Creative and Artistic Education, among others. Carpenter is the former President of the Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA) and Chair of the National Association of Communication Centers. He received the 2018 Turner Award from the National Association of Communication Centers, along with the 2015 Preston Award for Leadership. In 2020, he was awarded the Southeastern Writing Center Association’s highest recognition, the Achievement Award. Carpenter has received multiple top-panel awards from the National Communication Association’s Communication Center division for scholarship focused on innovations in multimodal communication, program design, and communication-focused partnerships.

Kelly Wilson

Kelly Wilson has spent over a decade working in higher education in Doha. She is currently the Writing Center Administrator at Northwestern University in Qatar where she also teaches First Year Writing courses in the Liberal Arts Program. Her areas of interest and growing expertise include writing center studies, pedagogies for peer-to-peer learning, and academic integrity. Kelly has been a member of the International Writing Center Association, and its regional affiliate in the Middle East, MENAWCA, since 2012. She was President of MENAWCA from 2015 to 2018 and served most recently as Past President from 2018-2019.