Crossing through Borderlines of Identification and Non-Identification: Transforming Writing Center Response to Faculty Outreach

Transformative change in writing center work can take place through a critical evaluation of histories and habits of practice. Writing Centers at universities that do not institutionalize an organized and funded Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) initiative can get overwhelmed by outreach from faculty in the disciplines. Prepackaged writing center heuristics for the interpretation of and response to faculty outreach workshop requests may create conflicts and destroy bridges of potential collaboration. By adopting participatory ethnographic research while employing Kris Ratcliffe rhetorical listening framework, I investigated causes of conflict between former writing center practices and faculty expectations of outreach workshops. This conceptual narrative documents fieldwork observations and lays out the roots of conflict involving various stakeholders: writing center administration, writing tutors, and faculty in the disciplines. Ultimately, this narrative demonstrates the outcomes of rhetorical listening and intercultural dialogue and describes two initiatives that transformed the culture of WAC outreach: (1) a new model engaging faculty partners in peer review workshops, remote lab tours, and mentoring consultations on workshop design and delivery, and (2) a conflict resolution training tutorial for professional development of tutors.University Writing Cente