About Praxis
Praxis is an annual multidisciplinary conference on various topics of writing pedagogy led by a group of graduate students for the University of Washington and UW affiliated community. Drawing on the activist educator Paulo Freire's conception of praxis as the intersection of theory and practice, faculty, staff, students, instructors, community partners, and others are welcome to participate. Varied insights help to enrich both our local/situated and broader understandings of writing, teaching, and learning practices. It is also a forum for making and continuing such conversations and connections across and beyond campus. Praxis conference debuted in 2015 with the help of Elizabeth Simmons-O'Neill as a faculty mentor and the organizing effort of graduate student and instructors, Jennifer Eidum Zinchuk and Yasmine Romero.
After a Covid pause, and with generous support from the Mary and Allan Kollar Teacher Community Support Fund, we are delighted to resume the Praxis Conference as an annual event.
"Just as we ask our students to see and value the diversity of experience and perspectives in our classrooms, the work we do in our writing programs is based on a reciprocal relationship between research and practice, and on working together with diverse disciplines and programs. And, as we ask our students to do in our writing classrooms, today we take a metacognitive step back together to reflect on and share our current thinking, and to continue learning from each other."
Elizabeth Simmons-O'Neill, English Department writing programs representative, from the introductory remarks of Praxis 2015
Check the links below for past and current conferences, including themes, programs, calls for proposals, and shared resources.
To request disability accommodation, contact the Disability Services Office at 206-543-6450 (voice), 206-543-6452 (TTY), 206-685-7264 (fax), or dso@uw.edu. The University of Washington makes every effort to honor disability accommodation requests. Requests can be responded to most effectively if received as far in advance of the event as possible, preferably at least 10 days.
Conference Themes
2025 Multiplicity
2020 Access in Education: Making Space, Changing Spaces
2019 Anti-Racist Pedagogy: Visions and Practices for Institutional Change
2018 Translation Practices: Negotiating Difference
2017 Learning through Doing: Crafting Meaning through Making-Oriented Pedagogy
2016 Transformative Language and Literacy Practices: Building Communities On and Beyond Campus
2015 Creating Global Communities: Engaging Students in Diverse Classrooms