Dave Healy addresses the concern that online conferencing environments might not only change the dynamics of the individual conference session, but also disperse the writing center into mini-centers. This is not a new concern for him since there have already been proponents of geographically dispersing the activities of the writing center; for example Geoffrey Chase argues that this function should be moved into dormitories and academic departments so it can be “connected to the central experience of students” (qtd. 542). Chase does seem to have a point at first glance, but then it becomes obvious his idea would eventually put students into social and disciplinary ghettos. I imagine dorm centers becoming last-minute fix-it shops and curriculum-specific writing centers turning into genre centers focused on perfecting templates of a particular field.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I don't know. There's potential, surely, for a resident hall center to be a fix it shop, but it seems likely that it could be what it wanted to be. In fact, I could imagine a lot of students coming who just need help getting started or getting going again when they get stuck. We have a center in the library because we saw that as a place where students were composing and wanted to be there if they need us.
Post a Comment