Message from the Conference Host: MacLachlan College

MacLachlan College is proud to host CITE 2019 with the theme “Interweaving the Strands (Startling Discoveries Often Result).” The theme began as a conversation in an English Department meeting around the topic of intertextuality. What is it exactly? It seemed to us something more than allusion and something less than plagiarism. At some point, however, the ideas really took off, and we arrived at the notion that literature itself is a vast intertextual network, perhaps even an emergent intelligence! We were just getting on to Marshall McLuhan when … the bell rang.

Nevertheless, the initial explosion got the rocket moving in the right direction. By “strands,” we imagined as the curriculum strands of speaking, reading, writing and media study; the strands of conversation, observation and product; the strands of thinking, feeling, action, and reflection. By “interweaving,” we imagined something intertextual (of course), something hands-on, something vital being woven into eclectic fabric in a teaching and learning situation. The “startling discoveries” came when we saw the wide range of fascinating workshops that grew around the theme. And so, it is to the workshop facilitators that we offer our first thanks.

As for the writing prompt, the theme seemed best expressed by fan fiction. Spock meets Stranger Things meets A Star is Born. We knew that our judge, author and journalist Paul Keery, was well suited for the task. He is man with an abiding interest in pop culture and an encyclopedic knowledge of it. Thank-you for your discernment, Paul. We are also very thankful for the student authors who wrote their passion, as well as for their teachers who guided the process with editorial delicacy. Moreover, we are thankful for Adrian Hoad-Reddick and his expert craft at editing, designing and producing this 10th anniversary volume.

Continuing in this vein, we are indebted to the ongoing efforts of the CITE executive for making the conference and the InCITE collection a reality. We know that they are driven by the belief that English education matters deeply. Moreover, we are grateful for the fundamental support that CIS Ontario provides.

Finally, many thanks are due to our team at MacLachlan whose vision and attention to detail made working on this year’s conference so gratifying: Heather Birnie, Michael Piening, Samantha Brewer, Lisa Thompson, Lauren Granville, Brad McFarlane, Martha Bonner and, in particular, Leslie Leys.

CITE Conference 2019, MacLachlan College

Interweaving the Strands (Startling Discoveries Often Result)

CITE Conference 2019, Maclachlan College

Saturday. April 22, 2019, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm