Symposium on Second Language Writing 2011 (SSLW 2011)

Theme: Writing for Scholarly Publication: Beyond "Publish or Perish"

The 2011 Symposium will be held June 9-11, 2011, in Taipei, Taiwan. Taiwan has long been a major site of second language writing research, and in recent years, it has emerged as one of the growth areas where increasing numbers of researchers and teachers from various disciplinary backgrounds--computer assisted language learning, English for Specific Purposes, literacy studies, rhetoric and composition, and TESOL, among others--are drawn to the topic of second language writing. It is also a context in which the pressure to publish in certain international journals is strongly felt by researchers across the disciplines.

Given the immediate demands in this and many other parts of the world, it seems natural to focus on the practical question of how to publish successfully in international academic journals. This goal continues to be important to second language writing specialists--both as teachers and researchers of written discourse and as active researchers who are subject to the same kind of pressure. Yet, the uncritical and widespread acceptance of the "publish or perish" attitude also perpetuates a problematic situation, in which evaluation criteria and funding resources constrains the knowledge creation process in ways that are not consistent with the goals and values of the fields. While continuing to serve the needs of students and researchers in various disciplines, we second language writing specialists also need to examine larger issues of the politics of knowledge making.

This year's Symposium will seek to move the field beyond the "publish or perish" mentality by bringing together internationally known researchers, teachers, and journal and book editors in writing- and language-related fields the world over to question, resist, challenge, negotiate and overcome institutional expectations for international scholarly publication. In so doing, we hope to generate a better understanding of issues in international scholarly publication that can not only help improve the productivity of researchers from various parts of the world but also to generate new knowledge that can help shape the evaluation system in ways that facilitates the production of truly valuable knowledge.

Call for Proposals

The 2011 Symposium Organizing Committee seeks proposals for 20-minute presentations that address various topics within the field of L2 writing--broadly defined. Any topic related to second language writing theory, research, or teaching is welcome; we especially welcome proposals that seek to challenge the status quo in the field by introducing new topics as well as new theoretical and methodological approaches.

As with all previous nine Symposium iterations, we are interested in L2 writing issues in any second or foreign language for any age groups in personal, academic, professional and civic contexts. Given the theme of the Symposium, we particularly encourage proposals that address the issue of writing for scholarly publication from a critical perspective.

To submit your proposal, please use the online proposal submission form. Proposals must include both an abstract (limited to 300 words, including references) and a proposal summary (50 words).

Proposals must be received by 23:59:59 on October 15, 2010 (Taipei Time; GMT+08:00). Proposals will be peer reviewed by a panel of experts. Notification of acceptance will be sent out by around December 2010.

We look forward to receiving your proposal!

Paul Kei Matsuda and Tony Silva, Chairs
Yichun Liu and Yuching Jill Yang, Associate Chairs
Wu-chang Vincent Cheng and Chiou-lan Chern, Local Chairs