Call for Proposals and Participation
49th Allerton English Articulation Conference

( Printable Allerton conference flyer )

Proposal Deadline: February 1, 2013

In cooperation with Liberal Arts and Sciences External Programming and the statewide Allerton Planning Committee, NIU’s Department of English is pleased to announce the 49th Allerton English Articulation Conference, to be held Wednesday and Thursday, April 17-18, 2013. 

The Allerton English Articulation Conference, bringing together faculty from two- and four-year colleges and universities for discussions and presentations, takes place at the Allerton Park and Retreat Center in Monticello, Illinois. In keeping with tradition, our two-day format will include plenty of opportunities for collegiality, entertainment, and woodland walks.

In honor of the reopening of the long-closed main entrance bridge to the Allerton Park, our theme will be Bridging the Divides, in the context of articulation in English Studies at two- and four-year institutions. This year’s theme challenges us to bridge some of the traditional gaps or divides we face, by investigating, discussing, and perhaps even deconstructing binaries such as (but not limited to) the following:

composition vs. literature                                            practice vs. assessment

teaching vs. administration                                         dream vs. reality                     

rural vs. urban                                                            white vs. minority

traditional vs. nontraditional                                        print vs. digital           

community college vs. university                                  student preparation vs. teacher expectation

collaboration vs. confrontation                                     public perception vs. faculty experience        

career-oriented vs. life-long learning                            process vs. product

Millie Davis, Director of the Division of Communications and Affiliate Services for NCTE, will be giving the keynote address, "The Case for College Composition:  Bridging the Divide Between What the Public Things and What the Faculty Knows."

Suggested proposal topics include but are not limited to composition, culture and diversity, English education, film, genre, literature, reading communities, and technology. Rather than formal paper-reading, we envision more informal discussion and interaction. Building upon the success of previous conferences at Allerton, we are inviting proposals for both panel and individual presentations, as well as discussion roundtables, which we will then group topically into a series of 50 minute roundtables and panels.

We hope you'll join us for convivial, productive conversation as we celebrate our connections at Allerton House.   If you know of interested high school instructors who might help us shape these discussions, we would be grateful if you would pass this invitation on to them. 

Please email a title and one-paragraph abstract of your roundtable or panel presentation proposal to AllertonConference@niu.edu by February 1, 2013. Those accepted will be notified by March 1, 2013.

Find us on Facebook (Friends of Allerton English Conference) for conference planning updates and conversations with participants past and present!

 We look forward to connecting with you at Allerton House in April!

 Your Allerton Articulation Conference Planning Committee,

 John Lansingh Bennett, Lake Land College
Christine Brovelli-O’Brien, North Central College
Suzanne Coffield, Northern Illinois University
Judith Cortelloni, Lincoln College
Michael Day, Northern Illinois University
Kathy Ford, Lake Land College
Ellen Franklin, Northern Illinois University
Jack Haines, Joliet Junior College
Rochelle Harden, Parkland College
Joann Heck, Rock Valley College
Spring Hyde, Lincoln College
Tom Irish, Sauk Valley Community College
Jeanne Jakubowski, Northern Illinois University
Sharon James McGee, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Jim Nagle, Columbia College Chicago
Janice Neuleib, Illinois State University
Sarah Quirk, Waubonsee Community College
Lise Schlosser, Northern Illinois University
Adam Scott, Heartland Community College
Will Toedtman, Lincoln College
Jan Vander Meer, Northern Illinois University
Joyce Walker, Illinois State University
Jill Wright, Illinois Central College
Ruijie Zhao, Parkland College