Professor, institute director Perryman-Clark leads national convention

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—A Western Michigan University faculty leader is driving discussion about the future of college writing instruction. Dr. Staci Perryman-Clark, professor of English and African American studies and director of Western's Institute for Intercultural and Anthropological Studies, chaired the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) Annual Convention, held March 9 to 12.

CCCC is the largest organization devoted to the teaching and study of writing. At this year's convention, themed  "The Promises and Perils of Higher Education: Our Discipline’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Linguistic Justice," attendees were asked to consider the implications of work with diversity, equity and inclusion in relation to declining enrollment and shifting demographics for high school graduates.

Perryman-Clark’s call for proposals asked, “As a discipline, how do we remain relevant? How do we use the work that we have done with access to make the case for postsecondary enrollment to prospective students? What does college writing instruction promise to do for students who have the choice to attend/not to attend college? And what are the perils of not making our case?”

Conference presenters were also encouraged to connect recruitment and retention of students to linguistic justice for students. Traditional grammar instruction in edited American English has often been used as a means of gatekeeping, including admission into higher education based on SAT verbal or ACT English scores, placement in remedial writing courses and pass rates for English composition. While Western is currently a test-optional institution and no longer offers its remedial writing class, many institutions still do offer these gatekeeping systems.

Given new challenges with enrollment, Perryman-Clark notes that college students have flipped the script on gatekeeping. "Because they now have greater agency in making decisions about whether or not to enroll in postsecondary institutions, it is our responsibility as educators to respond by creating a relevant educational experience that positions their own linguistic decisions and choices as valuable to the stories they share about the value of a college degree and experience," she says. It's a topic on which Perryman-Clark has contributed extensively in the field, particularly in relation to Black students’ uses of African American linguistic practices in academic writing.

The Event

While initially intended to be held in Chicago, the conference pivoted to a virtual format in response to the omicron variant of COVID-19.

Diversity, equity and inclusion connections were embedded through every strand of the program. The convention program’s cover art was designed by artist Johana Nichols, an accomplished African American artist and retired adjunct art professor.

Attendees were able to view live and on-demand video recorded sessions, featuring approximately 500 live workshops, sponsored panels and special events. Featured sessions included a poetry slam sponsored by the Social Justice Advocacy Committee and featuring artists from the Chicago metropolitan area as well as a virtual concert highlighting the work of Midwestern BIPOC artists.

The session’s conversational keynote, moderated by Perryman-Clark, featured Dr. Anita Hill, professor of social policy, law and women's, gender and sexuality studies at Brandeis University. Hill discussed her most recent book, "Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence." In her introduction of Hill, Perryman-Clark connected her experiences as a 9 year old trying to understand Hill’s 1991 testimony during Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ confirmation hearing with trying to understand why many did not believe Hill—especially considering how commonplace gender-based violence and harassment was with her experiences on the playground as a child.

Topics in the Q&A included strategies for mandated reporting of gender-based violence by faculty; mentoring graduate students; accountability measures for tenured faculty found responsible for gender-based harassment; and ways to reform institutional structures, policies and procedures for reporting, investigating and taking disciplinary action on gender-based harassment and violence. As Hill noted in her keynote, “We need to be about the business of making change—it is about cultural change, in our own attitude, structural change. We need to become more active bystanders.”

A Lifelong Passion

The work of diversity, equity and inclusion, specifically in terms of the African diaspora, has always been central to Perryman-Clark’s teaching and scholarship. Her first book, "Afrocentric Teacher-Research: Rethinking Appropriateness and Inclusion," explored how first-year writing classrooms can design theme-based Afrocentric writing approaches while still teaching students the foundations of academic writing.

Her most recent book with Collin Craig, titled "Black Perspectives in Writing Program Administration: From the Margins to the Center," highlights models of writing programs that promote student success for Black students, while also pushing organizations like CCCC to adopt linguistic diversity standards in writing programmatic outcomes for assessment. The book received the 2020 Best Book Award from the Council of Writing Program Administrators.

Perryman-Clark’s scholarship and teaching contributes to the African American and African Studies (AAAS) program, now housed within the College of Arts and Science’s Institute for Intercultural and Anthropology Studies. The program, which was reinstated in 2018, emphasizes an interdisciplinary study of the African diaspora, applying “theories and methodologies from the humanities, fine arts and social sciences, students in AAAS will study economic, social, cultural, aesthetic and political factors and dynamics that undergird the structure, organization and impact of issues, movements, ideas and institutions that have influenced the historical and contemporary trajectories of people of African ancestry.” The program also emphasizes critical thinking and analysis; oral and written communication skills; global and international cultural competence; and an appreciation and understanding of human diversity.

Graduates of the program are prepared to enter careers in health and human services, public policy, education, executive directors of nonprofit organizations, and urban and community planning. They have also had success with admission into a wide range of graduate and professional programs.

For more information about the African and African American Studies program, please visit wmich.edu/intercultural/about/africana, which also includes a list of faculty teaching and research interests.