The Department of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education in the School of Education at Indiana Bloomington invites proposals for panels, individual papers, round table discussions, interactive workshops and poster sessions to be presented at the First International Conference on Literacy, Culture, and Language Education (ICLCLE) on October 5-7, 2018 at Indiana University - Bloomington.  

This international conference includes research, pedagogy and practice about diverse issues in language, literacy and culture in education.  The participants will be involved in a local and global dialogue and exchange of ideas, research and experiences on the themes of the event.

Download the Call for Proposals.

Date and Location: 

April 18, 2018 at 12 p.m.

LLC Conference Room, 422 Sherman Hall

Title: Spitfire: Framing White Rage in Response to Black Rhetoric

On March 26, 2014, for the first time in intercollegiate competitive debate history, two

African American women won top honors and were named champions of the Cross Examination Debate Associations national tournament. Using this particular incident, this dissertation explores the press reports published about this historic moment. Through a collection of 18 artifacts, this dissertation offers an emblematic example of how American culture emboldens the white gaze to impose a culture of oppression, intellectual repression of Black thought while victimizing and silencing Black women. This rhetorical analysis considers the 2014 Cross Examination Debate Associations final tournament outcome to explore press reports as an exemplary case of how American cultural standardization edifies the white gaze and its rage in reaction to Black youth and Black rhetoric.

Pulling from Whiteness Studies, this dissertation presents a history of intercollegiate

competitive debate alongside a history of the development of American culture to frame

unmarked whiteness as problematic. Citing this historic moment, this incident demonstrates how whiteness operates culturally and rhetorically to maintain a system of intellectual repression of Black youth. This project uses exnomination, abstract liberalism, American Africanism, and cooptation to frame the rhetoric of whiteness as rage and demonstrates how this rage acts as a violent terror tactic that passively and aggressively coopted the Debater's strategic use of the "nword" to create symbolic dissension that elevates the Black male debaters while simultaneously silencing the Black women debaters. It is the goal of this project to demonstrate how whiteness

operates, to resist its violent terror tactics.

Dissertation Committee: Craig Saper, Chair

Beverly Bickel

Kimberly Moffitt

Lester Spence

Christel Temple

The public is welcome to observe.

Nicole King, associate professor and chair of American studies, received the Presidential Teaching Faculty Award in recognition of her community-engaged pedagogy. King focuses on helping students develop a deeper understanding of Baltimore and its residents, whether studying gentrification or local environmental concerns. “It is especially wonderful to be honored for my work teaching at UMBC because UMBC has exceptional students,” she said.

King shared two core lessons from doing public humanities work, lessons she works to share with students: “showing up matters” and “listening is essential to learning.” To fulfill UMBC’s mission, she argued, “We must bring more voices into conversations at our public university today and we must better listen to one another because that is truly what teaching and learning are about.”

As a student majoring in an arts, humanities, or social science discipline, you may be asking yourself:

"What are my career options?"
"How can I apply my studies in the real world?"
"What skills can I offer to employers?"
"How can I find meaning in my future career?"

This year, the UMBC Career Center has partnered with the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) to co-sponsor the first-ever CAHSS Careers Conference on Thursday, April 12 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. in the UC Ballroom. Join us for an evening of getting to know the value of your unique degree and the resources your college and Career Center have to offer you.

The agenda will include:

• Stories from successful CAHSS alumni
• Employer panel discussing the benefits of your degree in the workplace
• Opportunities to connect with fellow CAHSS students
• Heavy hors d'oeuvres and dessert

Registration is required for this event. Please click here to reserve your spot and view the full agenda. Students of all arts, humanities, and social science disciplines are encouraged to attend. Please be aware that because this is a catered event, we must charge a no-show fee to those who cancel less than a week in advance.

If you have questions or need accommodations, please contact Kacie Lawrence, Associate Director of Internships & Employment, at klawrence@umbc.edu.