Hear
the stories of elder Portage County residents and learn how these residents are
connecting with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students at a free public
lecture in April.
“Documenting
Life Stories for Generations to Come” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April
14, presented by Lynn Ludwig, an assistant professor of English at UW-Stevens
Point. Held in the Pinery Room of the Portage County Public Library, 1001 Main
Street, Stevens Point, this is the seventh talk in the eight-part College of Letters
and Science 2014-2015 Community Lecture Series. The public may attend free of
charge.
Ludwig’s
English 399 Independent Study students are taking part in the “Life Story
Legacies” project, meeting weekly with residents of the Portage County Health
Care Center and Harmony Living Center in Stevens Point. They get to know them
and interview them to learn their history, then create a printed Life Story
booklet. This permanent keepsake is given to the resident, the student, the
residential homes, UW-Stevens Point Archives and the Portage County Library
Archives.
The
presentation will focus on the writing process between the students and the
elders, the personal bonding that occurs throughout the project and various
Life Story excerpts, read by some of the student writers.
“A
critical aspect of the project is the frequent interaction between the student
writer and the community elder, where the student develops a keen sense of the
elder’s personality, enabling the story to be told from the elder’s unique
perspective,” Ludwig said. “Family members are often involved, encouraging the
exchanges between the student and the elder.”
Ludwig
received her Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University, with an emphasis in
rhetoric and computer composition. Her teaching interests focus on student acquisition of professional communication and
problem-solving skills, workplace conflict resolution strategies, successful
team interactions, technology in literacy education, technical writing and
experiential learning opportunities like the Life Story Legacies project. Her
research focuses on technical writing, as well as student learning to improve teaching.
For
more information on the Community Lecture Series, visit www.uwsp.edu/cols/lectureseries or email stappa@uwsp.edu.
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