Millions of Dollars Might Get You Into the MLA: When NEH Funding Shaped the State of Writing Studies in English Studies

Panel Title Writing Studies at the MLA: The Past and Future of English Studie

"When the NEH Taught Rhetoric and Composition What they Had in Common"

Presented on a panel entitled “Rhetoric and Composition: Imagined (Dis)Continuities,” Division of the History of Rhetoric and Composition, at the Modern Language Association Conference, Los Angeles, CA, January, 2011

When Meaningful Writing Reflects Vincentian Values

In The Meaningful Writing Project – our study of over 700 seniors at three universities – students describe how education values are embodied in writing projects in and out of school. In brief, our results show that students find meaning when they are invited to tap into the power of personal connection, see what they are writing as applicable and relevant to the real world, imagine their future selves, immerse themselves in what they are thinking and writing about, and experience research for learning. In many cases, the experiences students reported are aligned with Vincentian values for higher education, namely participation in learning communities of service, stewardship and lifelong, integral development (Kelly, 2008)