Category: Uncategorized

What does composition mean?

What does it mean to compose?

How do your definitions affect what you teach in first-year composition and how you teach it?

During the first Extended CCC Conversation, on March 4 at 4:00 pm EST, Cindy Selfe and Doug Hesse met in a  virtual environment to continue a conversation they began in the Interchange section of the current issue of College Composition and Communication. Along with CCC journal editor, Kathi Yancey, hope you enjoyed the conversation!

In the February 2010 issue, Doug responds to Cindy’s June 2009 CCC article, where she uses the metaphor of voice to theorize a definition of composition that is richly multimodal.  In response, Doug asks what the limits of our definition of composition might be and what a capacious answer might mean for our teaching.  Cindy offers a reply.

Together, live and online, they considered two questions. First, how do we define composition? And second, what does this definition mean for our teaching of first-year composition?  

Related Resource

In addition, you might be interested in a related resource on this topic that was recently published by NCTE, College Credit for Writing in High School: The “Taking Care of” Business by Kristine Hansen and Christine R. Farris (with a Foreword by David A. Jolliffe and Afterword by Douglas Hesse). 
  

Mission Statement

The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) is committed to supporting the agency, power, and potential of diverse communicators inside and outside of postsecondary classrooms. CCCC advocates for broad and evolving definitions of literacy, communication, rhetoric, and writing (including multimodal discourse, digital communication, and diverse language practices) that emphasize the value of these activities to empower individuals and communities. CCCC promotes intellectual and pedagogical freedom and ethical scholarship and communication. To this end, CCCC and its members

• sponsor and conduct research that produces knowledge about language, literacy, communication, rhetoric, and the teaching, assessment, and technologies of writing;
• create collaborative spaces (such as conferences, publications, and online spaces) that enable the production and exchange of research, knowledge, and pedagogical practices;
• develop evidence- and practice-based resources for those invested in language, literacy, communication, rhetoric, and writing at the postsecondary level;
• advocate for students, teachers, programs, and policies that support ethical and effective teaching and learning.

Strategic Governance Vision Statement, November 2012

By 2022, CCCC will be a clear, trusted public voice for the teaching and learning of writing, composition, rhetoric, and literacy in all higher education contexts. We will advocate for a broad definition of writing (including composition, digital production, and diverse language practices) that emphasizes its value as a human activity that empowers individuals and communities to shape their worlds. We will be the leading voice in public discussions about what it means to be an effective writer and to deliver quality writing instruction. We will provide conditions under which teachers and scholars can discuss, build, and practice sustainable, relevant, and ethical models of teaching and learning. We will encourage and support a wide and vibrant range of scholarship at the leading edge of knowledge about writing, composition, rhetoric, and literacy. To support this work, CCCC will enhance participation by members who represent a diversity of races, cultures, languages, identities, institutions, and institutional roles.

Constitution & Bylaws

The CCCC Constitution and Bylaws are the governing documents of the organization.  They were last updated in March of 2017.

Annual Financial Summary

This annual financial overview provides a brief synopsis of CCCC/NCTE financial strategy, a financial summary for fiscal year 2016, and a summary of the fiscal year 2017 budget.

Elections

Click here for information on the CCCC Elections process, how you can get involved, nomination information, and the listing of election offices and their responsibilities.

User’s Guide to CCCC

Learn more about CCCC, its organizational structure, and how CCCC members are involved.

Committees

CCCC accomplishes much of its work through the use of committees. It is because of committees that we have position statements, award programs, even a conference itself. We are always looking for potential committee members with expertise, energy, and colleagiality.  Click here for a complete listing of the currently active committees, links to committee websites, committee governance information, and information on how you can get involved.

Member Groups

The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) has a number of Member Groups that hold meetings, sponsor panels and workshops at the Annual Convention, publish newsletters, and carry on other activities within the framework of the organization. CCCC is pleased to recognize such groups, encourages their existence and growth, and provides time, space, and appropriate publicity to foster their effective operation. Please click here for more information about CCCC Member Groups.

 

 

Officers

• 

  Kofi J. Adisa, Chair
  (2025–2026) 

  Towson University, MD

• 

  Melissa Ianetta, Associate Chair
  (2025–2026)

  Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta

• 

  Donnie Johnson Sackey, Assistant Chair
  (2025–2026)

  University of Texas at Austin

• 

  Jennifer Sano-Franchini, Past Chair
  (2025–2026)
  West Virginia University, Morgantown

• 

  Becky Mitchell Shelton, Secretary
  (2023–2027)
  Bluegrass Community and Technical College, Lexington, KY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Committee Members

ELECTED MEMBERS

Suchismita (Suchi) Banerjee, NTT Faculty Representative, Indian River State College, Fort Pierce, FL (2025–2028)
Antonio Byrd, At-Large Member, University of Missouri–Kansas City (2025–2028)
Tiane Donahue, Standing Group Representative, Dartmouth College, NH (2025–2028)
Mellissa Gyimah, Standing Group Representative, Judson University, Elgin, IL (2024–2027)
Tommy Mayberry, NTT Faculty Representative, Yorkville University and Toronto Film School, Canada (2024–2027)
Federico Navarro, Standing Group Representative, Universidad de O’Higgins, Chile (2025–2028)
Kate L. Pantelides, Standing Group Representative, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro (2024–2027)
Jason Tham, At-Large Member, Texas Tech University, Lubbock (2025–2028)

CULTURAL IDENTITY CAUCUS MEMBERS

American Indian Caucus
Emily Legg, Miami University, Oxford, OH (2025–2026)

Arab/Muslim Caucus
Soha Youssef, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA (2024–2027)

Asian/Asian-American Caucus
Xiaobo Wang, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX (2025–2028)

Black Caucus
Marcelle Mentor, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY (2025–2028)

Jewish Caucus
Chaim McNamee, Indiana University in Bloomington (2023–2026)

Latinx Caucus
Consuelo Salas, San Diego State University, CA (2024–2027)

Queer Caucus
Gavin P. Johnson, Texas A&M University-Commerce (2024–2027)

GRADUATE STUDENT MEMBER

Purna Chandra Bhusal, University of Texas at EL Paso (2024–2027)
Corie Mesa, California State University, Northridge (2025–2026)

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EQUITY AND INCLUSION COMMITTEE (AEIC) MEMBER

Xuan Jiang, Florida International University, Miami (2025–2027)

COMMITTEE ON DISABILITY ISSUES IN COLLEGE COMPOSITION (CDICC) MEMBER

Ada Hubrig, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX (2023–2026)

EX OFFICIO

Kimberly Bain, Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL (2024–2027)
FORUM Editor

Matthew Davis, University of Massachusetts Boston (2024–2029)
CCC Co-Editor

Joanne Baird Giordano, Salt Lake Community College, UT (2021–2026)
TYCA Chair (2022–2024; appointed 2025–2026)

Darin Jensen, Des Moines Community College, IA (2020–2026)
TETYC Editor

Emily Kirkpatrick, NCTE Executive Director
Executive Secretary-Treasurer

Stephanie L. Kerschbaum, University of Washington, Seattle (2022–2027)
SWR Editor

Stephanie Dowdle Maenhardt, Salt Lake Community College, UT (2025–2026)
TYCA Associate Chair

Bethany E. Sweeney, Ridgewater College, Hutchinson, MN (2023–2026)
TYCA Secretary

Kara Taczak, University of Central Florida, Orlando (2024–2029)
CCC Co-Editor

PARLIAMENTARIAN

Christina Saidy, Arizona State University, Tempe (2023–2026)

A complete listing of CCCC Chairs from 1949 to the present

CCCC Officers and Executive Committee from 1994 to the present

Come with Concerns—Leave with Strategies for Action
#4C16ACT

No matter where we teach, whether we are full-time or part-time, all of us encounter issues and challenges in our work lives. Compensation, employment status, program structures, teaching loads, assessment, staffing . . . the list is long.

As often as we encounter these issues, though, we don’t always have time to think systematically about how to approach them. Taking Action Sessions at CCCC 2016 are designed to provide conference attendees the opportunity to develop systematic strategies for addressing their concerns.

Taking Action Sessions will take two forms at CCCC 2016:

1. Taking Action Workshops, offered throughout the conference during regular sessions and open to all CCCC attendees, will be facilitated by professional organizers and strategists.

Each workshop will focus on specific steps associated with Taking Action, like:

• naming and focusing issues;
• assessing resources and building alliances;
• framing and developing messages;
• identifying appropriate tactical and strategic actions; and
• making or contributing to policy.

To learn more about Taking Action Workshops and find others who share your concerns, join Twitter chats hosted by CCCC in April, September, December, and February. Follow @NCTE_CCCC and #4C16ACT for information!

2. Taking Action Presentations, proposed for CCCC 2016 through the submission process, will explore how writing has been used as a strategy for taking action. Taking Action Presentations will help attendees understand how presenters identified and took action about concerns. These presentations are intended to explicitly engage attendees in the development of frameworks for action that they can put into practice in the weeks and months after the conference.

You’ll hear more about the Taking Action Sessions in the coming weeks and months. For now, consider how these sessions might benefit you, your colleagues, and/or your program. Click here to share ideas or concerns and find out what others are thinking. Then submit a Taking Action Presentation or think about concerns to bring to the Taking Action Workshops at CCCC 2016!

Please check the mobile app for the latest information on all sessions.

 

Entire Convention Program

(Note: this is a large PDF file and may take several minutes to open)

2018 Program Addendum

Program by section

• Cover, Table of Contents, CCCC Officers, Schedule at a Glance
  
• Greetings from the Program Chair, Welcome from the Local Arrangements Committee
• Acknowledgments
• First Time at the Convention?
• General Information
• Other Events at CCCC 2018
• SJAC Task Force
• Scholars for the Dream
• Sessions on Two-Year College Concerns
• Committee Meetings
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• CCCC Past Chairs
• Maps
• Exhibit Hall
• Advertisements
• Index of Participants
• Final Advertisements

 

 

Please check the mobile app for the latest information on all sessions.

Entire Convention Program

(Note: this is a large PDF file and may take several minutes to open)

Program Addendum

Watch Linda Adler-Kassner’s 2017 CCCC Chair’s Address from the Opening Session on Thursday, March 16, 2017.

Program by section

• Cover, Table of Contents, CCCC Officers, Schedule at a Glance
  
• Greetings from the Program Chair, Welcome from the Local Arrangements Committee
• Acknowledgments
• First Time at the Convention?
• General Information
• Special Features of the Convention, Action Hub, Saturday Programming
• Sessions on Two-Year College Concerns
• Committee Meetings
•  Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Rules and Procedures for the Annual Business Meeting
• CCCC Past Chairs
• Maps
• Exhibit Hall
• Advertisements
• Index of Sessions by Cluster
• Index of Participants
• Final Advertisements

 

 

Please check the online searchable program for the latest information on all sessions.

Program Addendum

Additional Presenters

 

Entire Convention Program

(Note: this is a large PDF file and may take several minutes to open)

Program by section

• Cover, Sponsors, Table of Contents, CCCC Officers, Schedule at a Glance
  
• Greetings from the Program Chair, Welcome from the Local Arrangements Committee
• First Time at the Convention?
• General Information, Action Hub
• Taking Action Workshops
• Committee Meetings
• In Memoriam, Remembering Kent Williamson, Celebrating Eileen Maley
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• CCCC Past Chairs, Acknowledgements
• Maps
• Exhibit Hall
• Advertisements
• Index of Concurrent Sessions
• Index of Participants
• Notes
• Final Advertisements

 

   

Submitted by Jason Snart, Professor of English, College of DuPage

The example provided here addresses OWI Principle 11: “Online writing teachers and their institutions should develop personalized and interpersonal online communities to foster student success.” I use this technique in online and in hybrid freshman composition courses. We use Blackboard Version 9.1.

Explanation of effective practice:

Using the free Logitech software included with my webcam, I record a short video of myself talking to students. I include these kinds of informal videos throughout a term, but the initial (one time) “Welcome” video I find particularly important. In the “Welcome” video, I discuss things like course content, I welcome students to a new semester, and I remind students about due dates—in short, I use video as a medium for being “present” for online students.

Once the video is recorded, I upload it to my YouTube account and then embed the HTML code that YouTube provides into an announcement in the “Announcements” area in the Blackboard LMS. Since “Announcements” is the landing page for all of my courses, the videos are the first thing students see when they log in.

Challenge this practice addresses:

This practice allows me to be more present for my online students so they can see and hear me. Because many teachers and students affectively feel a distance in asynchronous courses particularly, seeing my face and hearing my voice can remind them that I am human, aware of them as people, and generally there for them. In short, this video increases presence awareness in an asynchronous setting. In addition to the course information I provide and the constant reminders to stay on task, I think some students are more engaged when they experience themselves as part of a class community with an instructor they can see. Being visible for online students has helped me to make teaching online a less isolating experience than it otherwise can seem to be for students. Ideally, they feel more connected to me and, thus, responsible to the course. I know that I certainly feel more connected to them, just by virtue of being more obviously present in the class.

How to implement this practice:

• Instruction guide in Word format (docx)
• Instruction guide in PDF format (pdf)

Sample Video of Welcome Announcement

 

 

A conversation with Heather Bastian, author of “Student Affective Responses to ‘Bringing the Funk’ in the First-Year Writing Classroom” (13:54).

Heather Bastian is the associate director of the Communication Across the Curriculum (CxC) program at the University of North Carolina–Charlotte. Her research interests include genre studies, composition pedagogy, and writing program administration. Her work has appeared in the WPA Journal, Composition Studies, Composition Forum, Across the Disciplines, and Reader.

 

 

 

 

 

A conversation with Chase Bollig, author of “’Is College Worth It?’ Arguing for Composition’s Value with the Citizen-Worker” (11:00)

Chase Bollig is an assistant professor at Gonzaga University. As a self-proclaimed “working-class PhD,” Bollig researches rhetoric, composition, literacy, and their intersections with class politics.