Deconstructing Dress Codes: Professionalism and Performance in the Writing Center
This roundtable discusses the intersection of identity and institutional policy in writing centers by focusing on dress codes. Denny explains, “...[writers] come to us as an intricately woven tapestry...but this cloth often requires something extra to be legitimated in the academy” (103). This roundtable takes the “cloth” of identity literally, examining ways that writing centers have power in relation to dress codes by offering multiple perspectives on how writing centers are uniquely positioned to do the “extra” work of “legitimating” the cloth of identity not just for clients, but also for consultants and directors.
This roundtable discusses the intersection of identity and institutional policy in writing centers by focusing on dress codes. Denny explains, “...[writers] come to us as an intricately woven tapestry...but this cloth often requires something extra to be legitimated in the academy” (103). This roundtable takes the “cloth” of identity literally, examining ways that writing centers have power in relation to dress codes by offering multiple perspectives on how writing centers are uniquely positioned to do the “extra” work of “legitimating” the cloth of identity not just for clients, but also for consultants and directors.
