Date of Award
8-9-2017
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Rhetoric and Writing
First Advisor
Allison Holland
Abstract
This thesis uses oral histories to detail the history of the Center for Writing and Communication [CWAC] at the University of Arkansas- Monticello [UAM], which has gone undocumented since its assumed establishment in the 1980s. While an initial sampling of interview sources conducted in 2013 suggests that the center primarily served as an open computer lab and skills center for much of its lifespan, a more in-depth study suggests that this center evokes the same complexity and uniqueness that surrounds the historical narrative of other writing labs, centers, and clinics across the United States. The Center for Writing and Communication began as a tutoring service for writers, serving in support of the university’s English Department. The center’s obscure timeline witnessed several changes in directorship throughout the 1980s and 90s before settling into a multipurpose lab, which served UAM’s need for technology. Interviews with administrators, directors, and faculty members reveal that a lack of consistent directorship, administrative constraints, and shifts toward technology-based pedagogical practices, perpetuated misconceptions about the center’s purpose and function, ultimately causing its staff to battle similar issues, such as marginalization and misuse, that are common in other writing centers.
Recommended Citation
Holthoff, Franz Zeppelin, "Beyond Narratives: An Oral History of the Writing Center at the University of Arkansas-Monticello" (2017). Theses and Dissertations. 753.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/753
