Writing Center director initiates Bosporus Project in Athens
On a visit to Istanbul in 2006, University of Richmond English professor and director of the Writing Center Joe Essid was so inspired by seeing Greek and Turkish academics work together across cultural, linguistic and geopolitical divides, that he created the Bosporus Project using “wiki” technology.
Bosporus will enable faculty and tutors working in Writing Centers around the world to share lesson plans, ideas for conferences, commentary and personal development content.
The Bosporus Strait in Turkey separates the country’s European and Asian regions, with bridges connecting Europe to the west and Asia to the east.
“The Bosporus wikispace attempts in cyberspace what the actual bridges across the Bosporus accomplish,” explained Essid, “closing gaps between different worlds.”
He hopes the site will create a dialogue that will connect teaching and tutoring practices in Turkey with those used at partner universities.
“I’m proud to see other colleagues from Europe and the U.S. joining our efforts now,” Essid said.
Richmond’s Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum Program have been model programs for years, so Essid has frequently been called upon to share the University’s writing success stories. Similar programs at Sabanci University in Istanbul and Hellenic American University in Athens inspired the website, and university writing programs in Germany, the Netherlands and England are now joining the project.
Both “Bosphorus” and “Bosporus” are correct spellings of the project’s namesake but when Essid stumbled upon the less common version, he knew he’d found the name for his wiki.
“I rather liked that,” said Essid, “because to me this sort of international collaboration, even in the intensely collaborative world of writing centers, is unique.”
Essid’s hope for the long run is that the idea does not stay unique, but sets a standard that will benefit writing centers around the world.