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October 26, 2004
Resolution: Iraq War
TO: Officers, Conference on College Composition and Communication
FROM: Eileen Schell and Steve Parks, on behalf of Progressive Special Interest Group and Caucus Coalition
RE: Opening General Session Program Request
On behalf of the membership of the Progressive Special Interest Group and Caucus Coalition (PSCC), we are requesting that the following proposal be forwarded to all CCCC officers and voted upon prior to the convention in New York City.
The PSCC is an alliance of organizations representing Asian/Asian American, Labor, Latino, Lesbian/Gay, Native American, Non-Tenured Faculty, and Working Class interests. We believe it is vital that CCCC create a space at its New York City Conference where its membership can discuss how as teachers and public intellectuals they should respond specifically to the Iraqi crisis and, more generally, to the rhetoric of terror which has overtaken public debate. We believe such a discussion is particularly important given this will be CCCC's first conference in New York City after the World Trade Center attacks and on the eve of United Nation's vote concerning war in Iraq.
We have spoken to our colleagues across the nation who have had their classrooms, email, department meetings, and university campuses dominated by these events. There is clearly the hope that CCCC will alter its format in New York City to allow its membership an opportunity to discuss what is occurring. This hope is partially based upon CCCC's long history of supporting teachers engaged in studying the social impact of language and encouraging them to take on the role of public intellectuals.
As a service to the CCCC membership and as an opportunity to share insights and experiences, we propose the following: at CCCC alter the current format of the Opening Session of CCCC, the largest single gathering at the conference, to allow a ten minute announcement of a series of initiatives underway at the conference to foster such communication. Specifically, we would like to announce an initiative to have each session reflect upon how their work interacts with the current moment (see attached flyer), the existence of a table to collect/distribute relevant teaching materials, and the possibility of a special Friday workshop. Finally, we would like the following "Sense of the House" motion considered at the Annual Business Meeting (see second attachment).
At this moment, then, the coalition is not speaking in terms of its own identity group issues, but as common members of CCCC. We are requesting that our organization alter its New York City convention to allow a discussion of how we might respond to the events that took place at the World Trade Center and are taking place at the United Nations.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Posted by sparks at October 26, 2004 10:17 PM
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