Diversifying Writing Centers: The Impact of Visibility and Accessibility

Connor Ferguson

Research Questions

• What are the best practices for presenting diverse tutors to college undergraduate students?

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• How does providing a multicultural, multidisciplinary staff and/or satellite site affect student attendance of resource centers?

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• Do students feel their education is improved by this implementation of diversity?

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Abstract

This presentation explores the importance of diversity in education spaces, particularly in regards to establishing welcoming resource centers such as the Center for Communication and Excellence, while still training tutors in mental agility and multigenre literacy.

“Knowledge is constructed, ”--Harry Denny

Important Tutoring Terms

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• Mental Agility
• Multigenre Literacy
• Power Dynamics
• Code-Switching

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“Knowledge is constructed, not transmitted.”

-Meg Woolbright

Denny, Harry. “Queering the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal, vol. 30, no. 1, 2010, pp. 95–124.

Writing centers are places overflowing with structuring binaries: directive/non-directive, editing/tutoring, expert/novice, teacher/student, graduate student/undergraduate, professional/ peer, women/men, American/ESL, advanced/basic, faculty/administrator, administrator/secretary, faculty/lecturer, lecturer/teaching assistant, teaching assistant/ tutor, white/people of color, black/Asian, latino/black, straight/gay, etc. These binaries and their negotiations of which side is privileged and which is illegitimate are ubiquitous in sessions. Queer theory advances awareness of the presence and multiplicity of these binaries as means for constructing individual and collective existences as well as knowledge of the politics involved in navigating and subverting them.

1. Denny, Harry. “Queering the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal, vol. 30, no. 1, 2010, pp. 95–124.

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Acculturation

• We risk “acculturating students… [who] often feel as if they are losing something in the transformation--giving up a level of complexity and an awareness of alternative perspectives” (1)
• “Knowledge of and being able to act on codes does not diminish the reality and effect of their existence when these codes privilege certain ways of writing and speaking over others” (2)

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1. Murphy, Christina and Sherwood, Steve. The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Pp. 1-34.
2. Denny, Harry. “Queering the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal, vol. 30, no. 1, 2010, pp. 95–124.

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Accessibility of Location

• Establishes an environment where minoritized identities are accepted
• Provides accessibility of space across campus
• Emphasizes the existence of “safe spaces”

Visibility of Identity

• Breaks a power dynamic through common ground
• Removes cultural deficit to create a “safe space”

Multiplicity of Discipline

• Instructs through a shared common language based on field of study
• Engages with multiple modes of composition and communication
• Facilitates discussions about research tools (such as AI) in specific fields

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Diversity: Why It Is Important

Accessibility

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• Creates safe, comfortable environment for minoritized groups that facilitates learning
• Location within Multicultural Center or similar spaces increases attendance

Visibility

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• Helps dismantle power dynamics
• Opens up conversations
• Benefits from multicultural literacy alongside mental agility and multigenre literacy

Student Survey

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1. What minoritized groups do you identify with? (Please circle any that apply)

LGBTQ+

African American

Asian American

Native American

Other (please specify)

2. What is your discipline of study? (Please write in)

3. Multicultural representation amongst peer-tutors is important to me.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

4. Multicultural representation amongst academic educators is important to me.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

5. If I had visibly multicultural educators, I would feel more comfortable seeking out academic

assistance.

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

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Diversity Begets Diversity

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• More diverse tutors, more diverse students

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• More diverse spaces, more diverse education

“Representation in the Media: An Empirical Study.” Discourses of Domination: Racial Bias in the Canadian English-Language Press, by FRANCES HENRY et al., University of Toronto Press, 2002, pp. 55–68.

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How do we begin to implement diversity into Writing Centers?

Student Survey Response

• Of the surveys collected, the demographic identified as queer, women, disabled, and single parent

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3. Multicultural representation amongst peer-tutors is important to me.

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4. Multicultural representation amongst academic educators is important to me.

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• Denny, Harry. “Queering the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal, vol. 30, no. 1, 2010, pp. 95–124.
• Murphy, Christina and Sherwood, Steve. The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Pp. 1-34.
• “Representation in the Media: An Empirical Study.” Discourses of Domination: Racial Bias in the Canadian English-Language Press, by FRANCES HENRY et al., University of Toronto Press, 2002, pp. 55–68.

WORKS CITED

Contact

Connor Ferguson

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University Of Maine

Writing Center Tutor & Undergraduate Researcher, 2019

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Email: connor.ferguson@maine.edu

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University of Maine Writing Center

Phone: 207.581.3828

Email: umwcenter@maine.edu

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