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Literature 4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington, DC 20016-8047 United StatesWriter as Witness Colloquium
![Book cover: Ashley Shew, Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement](/cas/literature/wsp/images/shewTechnoableism.jpg)
Dr. Ashley Shew’s Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement September 4, 2024
8:00-9:30 p.m. in Bender Arena
To set the stage for your first year here at AU, we have chosen a book that we call our “community text” for you to read before you arrive in August. Early in the fall semester, you and your peers from your College Writing class will have the chance to hear the author of this year’s book speak about their experiences with writing and publishing, as well as answer your questions! You’ll discuss the book and the author’s insights from the live interview with your peers in class, and you’ll write from inspiration or more questions that arise from these discussions. The Writing Studies Program and the Campus Store will also sponsor an essay contest to honor student writing inspired by the community text.
We believe the dialogue we develop around the challenging themes that define our community texts unifies our students and faculty in an intellectual experience. When we ask tough questions, consider what’s at stake for all involved, and listen to one another respectfully, we can develop our own positions and ideas about the world and participate in building an academic community. Welcoming our text’s author to discuss their work is an essential part of this shared intellectual experience.
We’re delighted to announce this year’s choice: Dr. Ashley Shew’s Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement. We will meet with Dr. Shew this fall for the twenty-seventh annual Writer as Witness Colloquium on Wednesday, September 4, from 8 to 9:30 p.m. in Bender Arena. She will address the American University community and meet with students and faculty to discuss the book, as well as the craft, artistry, and research that went into its creation.
Previous Writer as Witness Texts
- Why Didn’t We Riot? A Black Man In Trumpland, by Issac Bailey.
- Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America, by Laila Lalami
- Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower, by Brittney Cooper
- Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist, by Eli Saslow,
- The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, by Elizabeth Kolbert
- Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, by Arlie Russell Hochschild
- We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation, by Jeff Chang
- Notes from No Man's Land, by Eula Biss
- The Good Soldiers, by David Finkel
- The Devil's Highway: A True Story, by Luis Alberto Urrea
- Savage Inequalities, by Jonathan Kozol
How Do We Choose the Writer as Witness Book?
We do have some criteria for our Writer as Witness books. They must be non-fiction, and the author must be alive and available. We look for books that relate to current events and issues and that make an argument using research. Most importantly, we want a book that generates discussions about a writer’s rhetorical choices.
The Writer as Witness faculty committee in the Writing Studies Program starts the process in early October by asking for nominations for the book from people across campus, including current College Writing students. They review the books on that list and narrow it down to about ten books. Then they look at those books more closely, along with reviews of the books and any audio or video appearances by the author. The committee members are then able to narrow the list to four or five choices, and they send that list to the director of the Writing Studies Program, usually in December. In fall 2020, we added a student focus group to this process. The program director spends about a month contacting the authors’ agents to find out if they’re available on our Writer as Witness date and how much they cost. (There are many authors whom we just can’t afford.) Once the director comes to an agreement with an agent, they needs to get approval from the university to proceed with the contract, and the contract process can take one to two months. If all goes well, we have next fall’s book chosen and the contract signed by mid-spring.