Skip to content
Home » The Online Writing Conference Using What Works – Engagement

The Online Writing Conference Using What Works – Engagement

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of higher education is changing. In the midst of this, the MLA Online Writing Conference (OWC) is reinventing itself to serve the needs of the literary community.

The OWC team is committed to ensuring that graduate students can continue their education during this time, and in doing so, providing a space for them to engage with leading scholars in their field.

Here, we will highlight five ways the OWC is rethinking its approach to ensure that graduate students can continue to thrive.

1. Remote Participation

As the world of higher education adapts to the pandemic, OWC is ensuring that remote participation is made accessible to all. While the majority of the conference will be virtual, the organizers are encouraging physical participation as much as possible. The goal is to replicate the in-person experience as far as possible while also respecting social distancing guidelines.

2. Limited Access To Conference Materials

It’s one thing to have a virtual event; it’s another to have no access to the materials needed to participate. The OWC team has worked hard to ensure that all graduate students have access to the same high-quality conference materials available to the more experienced scholars in their field. As a result, they are offering limited access to selected content in advance of the conference. The advantage of this strategy is that it will engage students and foster a sense of community before the academic year starts back up again.

3. Different Sustainability Goals

While most conferences have shifted to a virtual format, the OWC is prioritizing sustainability in terms of resources and impact. To this end, the conference is aiming to reduce their ecological footprint and be more sustainable in their approach to the virtual format. One way they are doing this is by encouraging participants to work remotely for the duration of the conference. Furthermore, they are committing to 100% renewable energy sources and minimizing their water usage.

4. Care For The Animals

In support of the ethical treatment of animals, the OWC is committed to using vegan or vegetarian lunch options and providing environmentally-friendly paper options. To further encourage participants to think about the ethical treatment of animals, the conference is offering bunny huggers filled with fluffy rabbits as a way of saying thank you for participating.

5. Accessibility

While the OWC is committed to providing accessible materials and encouraging remote participation, they also want to ensure that everyone can attend the conference. To this end, they are offering a full scholarship to students who identify as Black, Latinx, or Indigenous. They also want to ensure that students with disabilities can participate in this historical moment.

These are just some of the ways the OWC is rethinking their approach to ensure that their graduate students can continue to thrive. By investing in new technologies, connecting with leading scholars, and prioritizing sustainability, the OWC is confident that they will assist their students and their own field in this time of need.