Welcome to Praxis: A Writing Center Journal. We are a new publication devoted to the interests of writing consultants: labor issues, writing center news, training, consultant initiatives, and scholarship.

Because this is a publication whose first issue’s theme is “Who We Are,” introductions are in order. We are Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, a new publication devoted to the interests of writing consultants: labor issues, writing center news, training, consultant initiatives, and scholarship. The journal is edited by graduate and undergraduate consultants at the Undergraduate Writing Center at the University of Texas at Austin, but we aspire to provide a forum for the voices and concerns of writing center practitioners across the country. So the “we” in “Who We Are” represents writing center consultants in high schools, institutions of higher education, and communities everywhere.

Our title, the Greek word praxis, is typically translated as “practice,” which for writing center consultants denotes both our work with writers and the training we do to prepare for it. Praxis resonates all the more because it connotes practice inextricably entwined with theory–the daily concerns of writing center practitioners. The term, championed by both ancient Greek and contemporary rhetoricians, makes explicit our connection with the field of rhetoric, the basis for much of how we think about writing. 

Though our home base is UT, we aspire to apply the same collaborative practices of a writing consultation to the journal and welcome participation and input from consultants of all stripes in all locations. We invite feedback on these issues, either in the form of letters to the editors or articles written in response to those found here. Our spring issue will focus on training writing center practitioners, both practically and theoretically. We are also particularly interested in people’s budget stories: Have budget cuts affected your center or your consulting work? How is your center responding? Also, if you’d like your center or one of your consultants to be featured in an upcoming edition, please contact us at praxis@uwc.fac.utexas.edu. (editor's note: this email is no longer functional. Please use praxisuwc@gmail.com to communicate with Praxis' editors)