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Inaugural Expanding Literacy Studies Conference Hits a Home Run!
Graduate students from across Ohio State hosted graduate students from around the country and across the world at The Expanding Literacy Studies (ELS) International, Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference, the first literacy studies conference of its scale and scope. More than 250 attendees-including graduate student presenters, faculty chairs, and interested guests from the university and local community-enjoyed a weekend of scholarly exchange, intellectual camaraderie, good food and good cheer.
Maria Bibbs, a graduate student speaker from the University of Wisconsin-Madison described the conference as "invigorating...fascinating and provocative". "Well organized" was another theme expressed in attendees' comments, reflecting the two years of planning the organizing committee spent preparing for the conference. Steering committee chairs Michael Harker of the Department of English, Caitlin Ryan of the School of Teaching and Learning, and Vicki Daiello of Art Education together led 3 committees of almost 40 graduate students. Together, these students planned 3 very-well attended plenary sessions, two receptions, a formal buffet dinner Friday evening, and over 60 concurrent panels, roundtables, workshops, and performances. Valerie Lee, chair of the OSU English Department said "I was amazed by the huge turn-out, the camaraderie of the graduate students from near and far, the breadth of the presentations, [and] the strength of the keynote panels," adding that she appreciated the planning work the organizing committee had done to make the conference such a success. Dr. Leslie Moore of OSU's School of Teaching and Learning added that "I enjoyed the conference immensely. I have never seen the like in another grad student-organized conference with respect to professional and intellectual energy."
The talented graduate student organizers didn't pull the ELS conference off all on their own, however. Faculty Advisor Harvey J. Graff and LiteracyStudies@OSU as well as departments and campus units across the University, including English, The Institute for Collaborative Research and Public Humanities, and the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences, were key sources of support and guidance for this conference put on for graduate students by graduate students.
To learn more about the Expanding Literacy Studies Conference visit the ELS web site and Archive: http://literacystudies.osu.edu/conference.
To learn more about LiteracyStudies@OSU - including new and upcoming programming, visit: http://literacystudies.osu.edu.
To learn more about Literacy Studies listen to the "Writer's Talk Interview" on Central Ohio's NPR station WCBE: http://cstw.osu.edu/podcasts/mp3/CSTW_HarveyGraff.mp3
