The annual CEA conference is more than the typical conference. It includes book giveaways from over forty publishers, tours of the host city, lots of casual networking with congenial colleagues, a wide variety of papers focused on every aspect of English instruction, and the president’s reception with appetizers and a free drink. It’s clearly “user friendly”! After attending one conference, most attendees continue to present at future conferences.
The College English Association held its annual conference in March in Indianapolis, where over 400 papers and panels were presented on a wide variety of matters primarily focused on the conference theme, Imaginations, but including traditional areas of pedagogy, theory, rhetoric, technical writing, creative writing, and literature in the canon. Presenters came from nearly every state and countries including India, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, and Guyana. Other panels focused on areas such as: Disability in Literature, Service Learning, Speculative Fiction, Graphic Memoirs, Multimodality in the Composition Classroom, Genome Study in Literature, Digital Literacy, Travel Literature, Teacher Education, and Graduate and Adjunct Faculty Concerns.
Featured speakers included:
All-Conference Luncheon: Scott Russell Sanders
Plenary: Samantha Blackmon
Diversity Luncheon: Nelson Price
Michiganders on the program included: Kelsey McLendon, Eastern Michigan University; Bernie Miller, Eastern Michigan University; Aleesa Millet, Eastern Michigan University; Joseph Montgomery, Eastern Michigan University; William Daniels II, Eastern Michigan University; Christopher Stuart, Eastern Michigan University; Dody Mejeur, Michigan State University; Rebecca Fussell, Michigan State University; Christina Rann, Michigan State University; A’Kena LongBenton, Wayne State University; Janet Ruth Heller, Western Michigan University; Phillip Egan, Western Michigan University; Andrea England, Western Michigan University; Ed Demerly, Henry Ford College.
The following primarily graduate student presenters from Northern Michigan University made an especially impressive presence as moderators, individual presenters, and panelists. They and their leaders are to be commended for their particularly effective, enthusiastic contribution to this conference. These individuals were Davi Daldussi Alves, Sarah Bates, Michael Berry, Alyssa Bersine, Anne Bilancini, Jacqueline Boucher, Joshua Brewer, Cameron Contois, Tyler Detloff, Jessica Duncan, James Dyer, Matt Ftacek, Corey Ferrer, Haley Fitz, Molly Fox, Michael Giddings, Johanna Hardy, Sofie Harsha, Jerry Hosler, Lucy Johnson, Lynne Johnson, Sara Johnston, Kelsey Lueptow, Elizabeth Monske, Caleb Nelson, Ania Payne, Christopher Stuart, Emily Suess, Jason Teal, Tiffany Walters, Andrea Wourenmaa, and Zarah Moeggenberg.
Ed Demerly, Henry Ford College, was awarded the CEA Distinguished Service Award.
Next year’s conference will be held in Denver, Colorado, March 31 – April 2, 2016. The conference theme, Creation, encourages a wide variety of applications in all areas of English. The CEA welcomes papers given at the conferences of its regional affiliate organizations, so if members present at Davenport University in October, they may submit that same proposal by the November 1st deadline for consideration by the CEA. For further information, contact the Program Chair, Jeffrey DeLotto, at cea.english@gmail.com (put “Program Chair” in the subject line) or see the CEA web site at www.cea-web.org.