Writing Centers and Writing Across the Curriculum Programs : Building Interdisciplinary Partnerships

Writing Centers have traditionally been viewed as marginalized facilities within their institutions. At the same time, faculty in all disciplines have come to stress the importance of good writing, and institutions have created Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Programs to address this concern. Often, the interests of Writing Centers conflict with those of WAC programs, and the theoretical foundations of the two may not necessarily be the same. Nonetheless, Writing Centers―whether voluntarily or involuntarily―have become more involved with efforts to promote Writing Across the Curriculum and have formed fruitful partnerships with WAC Programs. While journal articles have begun to discuss these partnerships, this book offers an extended treatment of the topic. By examining the relationships between Writing Centers and WAC programs, this volume challenges the view that Writing Centers are marginalized and demonstrates how they are aggressively moving toward the curricular center of education.

Each chapter examines the evolving theoretical, practical, and institutional relationships between Writing Centers and Writing Across the Curriculum programs. By drawing from institutionally specific experiences, expert contributors present a variety of approaches for establishing and developing effective Writing Center/WAC partnerships. Included are perspectives from established and emerging theorists from all levels, including high schools, community colleges, small four-year colleges and universities, and major research institutions. The contributors accurately portray the true diversity of Writing Center/WAC partnerships and assess the compatibility of these partnerships with larger institutional missions. The volume touches on such topics as the use of computers in writing instruction, the use of student writing tutors, and the problems inherent in discipline-specific language. By deepening our knowledge of the merging of Writing Centers and WAC Programs, this book sets the foundation for more advanced future research.

ROBERT W. BARNETT is Assistant Professor of Composition and Rhetoric at the University of Michigan-Flint. He also directs the University Writing Center and co-directs the Writing Across the Curriculum Program. He currently serves as Chair of the Michigan Writing Centers Association and has published articles in such journals as The Writing Center Journal, The Writing Lab Newsletter, The Language Arts Journal of Michigan, and Exercise Exchange: A Journal for Writing Teachers.

JACOB S BLUMNER is Assistant Professor of the University of Michigan―Flint, where he coordinates Writing Across the Curriculum efforts and teaches composition. He also serves on the East Central Writing Centers Association Executive Board, and his work has appeared in Writing Center Perspectives and Alternatives to Grading Student Writing.