Subject: " creating sense : texts and realities "

* * * call for papers * * * creating sense texts and realities organized by the department of english language & literature national university of singapore with cambridge university press and materials development association ( matsda ) 7 - 9 september , 1998 venue : orchard hotel , singapore keynote presenters : david nunan ( university of hong kong ) liz hamp - lyons ( hong kong polytechnic university ) mario rinvolucri ( pilgrims , canterbury ) jane arnold ( university of seville ) the conference organisers invite papers , both theoretical and practical , that explore and characterise some of the main ways in which language is used to create " sense " in contemporary life . we encourage papers that present recent developments and address significant theoretical issues in studies of language and discourse , and that explore ideas and applications in the broad domains of language education and media studies . some possible areas of focus ( the list is not meant to be exclusive ) include the development of creative thinking and critical awareness , current issues in the teaching and assessment of listening , speaking , reading and writing , relations between language , literacy and curriculum " content " , the principled development and evaluation of educational materials and activities , and the impact of different media ( newspapers , television , computers and the internet ) on contemporary ideas about literacy , education and citizenship . papers from invited keynote speakers will last for 60 minutes . parallel papers will last for 40 minutes . speakers in parallel sessions are asked to limit their presentation time to 30 minutes , leaving 10 minutes for discussion of their paper . papers will normally be presented in the morning sessions of the conference . intending paper presenters who are interested in developing ideas in afternoon workshop sessions are especially encouraged to submit their proposals . * * * call for workshops * * * the organisers invite proposals for workshop sessions from intending conference participants ( not only paper presenters ) who are willing to take on the role of workshop leader . parallel workshops will be held as afternoon sessions , each lasting 3 hours , and some of these workshops will extend over more than one afternoon . the main aim of workshops at this conference is to provide participants with opportunities to become actively involved in developing , adapting or evaluating educational materials in language education and media studies , along lines that each workshop leader will first have related to some of the major theoretical issues arising from the conference theme . intending workshop leaders who can make links between workshop activities and paper presentations at the conference are especially encouraged to submit their proposals . the organisers assume that each workshop will comprise approximately thirty participants , and will be arranged such that at least 2 hours out of 3 will be spent by workshop participants working in pairs or groups , as the workshop leader arranges , on tasks corresponding to the workshop theme . please send abstracts of about 200 words to the programme committee , in accordance with the guidelines that follow . write or ( preferably ) e-mail to : programme committee ( attention : d . allison ) " creating sense " conference department of english language & literature national university of singapore 10 kent ridge crescent singapore 119260 departmental fax : ( 65 ) - 7732981 e - mail : ellconlk @ nus . edu . sg guidelines for submissions : your abstract must specify the category ( paper or workshop ) of the proposed presentation . please submit three anonymous copies of the abstract ( including the title of your paper or workshop ) for review purposes , plus a fourth copy that includes the author 's name and affiliation . please also include a notecard ( size 3 " by 5 " ) , stating author 's name , affiliation , title of paper or workshop , contact telephone and fax numbers , e-mail address , and postal address . paper presenters are asked to specify any special requirements for their presentation . ( all rooms will have overhead projectors . ) workshop presenters are asked to specify the intended length of the workshop ( a workshop may run for 3 , 6 or 9 hours ) and to specify any special requirements for their workshop session . deadline for abstracts : 15 may 1998 replies will be sent by end may 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - conference theme - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - the focus of this conference will be on notions of " creating " or " making " sense , both in education and more widely throughout society . " making sense " sounds reassuringly uncontroversial , and it has taken the insights of jerome bruner in the 1960s , and of michael halliday and his associates in recent years , to bring out the richness of meaning that this expression can carry . it is now widely accepted that sense is not simply " there " in the world , waiting to be discovered and documented , but that it is actually created by human beings in societies . the idea that " reality " is " created " in language also implies that there must be more than one reality , and that a number of realities can be articulated and compared . these possibilities carry major implications for language education , social identity and participation - - - or , less reassuringly , for educational and social exclusion . the thematic emphasis of this conference on " creating sense " , then , includes the essential notions that any single form of sense can also be questioned and " unmade " , and that alternative kinds of sense can be remade or " re-created " through texts . making , unmaking and remaking meanings are fundamental aspects of social and educational experience , from infancy through primary and secondary school years and beyond , continuing into adulthood and maturity . much education has to do with learning to think , talk and write about things in ways that differ from the initial " commonsense " knowledge or belief that children have already acquired in their communities . to bring this about without undermining what is valid and valued in children 's lives is an enormously challenging and problematic social and cultural activity . that it is also a necessary one can be argued both in terms of mainstream rationality ( the development of scientific thinking being a prime example here ) and of critical awareness , which includes learning to deconstruct powerful people 's accounts of how the world is and ought to be , and to propose alternative accounts . full participation in social and political life is only possible when people have learned , as ronald carter has put it , how to " see through language " . these concerns over creating , questioning and re-creating sense are explored in this conference in relation to two domains , those of language education and media studies . in the context of formal education , learners have both to discern meaning in what is offered to them and actively to make " their own " meanings as they interpret and analyse experience from a variety of perspectives which may be proposed to them or discovered by them . all this raises important issues of participation and exclusion relating to learners ' personal and social explorations of language , and the ways in which these two modes of exploration may be related . the conference will pursue these concerns in the broad context of language education as its first domain . the second conference domain is that of media studies , with particular attention to media discourse and reality construction . the conference seeks to bring to light some of the ways in which realities , like stories , are invented , told , represented and mediated through available technologies . diverse experiences and accounts of reality are constructed through the interplay of language and image . these can , for instance , be presented as fantasies , fictional explorations of experience , docu-dramas or documentary coverage of events , among other things . the impact of such accounts on audiences and " the public " depends on many social , cultural and educational factors , but the need for modern citizens to be able to make their own sense of accounts that are offered to them , and also to offer accounts of their own , increasingly appears fundamental to effective social participation as well as to social critique . the conference looks to stimulate debate that is grounded in - - - or informedly set against - - - current theories , practices and findings of teaching and research communities in language and communication studies . another main aim is to suggest guidelines for informed , responsible and reflective practice in the domains of language education and mediaoa studies . a theme of particular interest , to be developed especially in workshop mode , is that of materials writing for educational purposes in both conference domains .
