A space of one’s own: A case of Stellenbosch University’s Writing Laboratory

Presenters

Abstract

Stellenbosch University Writing Laboratory was started in 2001 in response to a need for academic writing development on campus.

Emerging from the context of post-apartheid education, we profiled ourselves as a facility for all students, to avoid the stigma of being seen as remedial. We also acknowledged and reflected the multilingual nature of the South African higher education sector by formally having a degree of language ‘equity’ in our structure.

We work in different ways with different stakeholders, while maintaining our independence and identity. Our peripheral status primarily allows us to provide a space for student writers to rehearse their academic identities and to develop their own academic voices. It also allows us to work across boundaries of different sorts. In this presentation we reflect on our journey of the last 15 years and factors that impacted on our identity and positioning.

Presentation