Registration for the conference is closed.
We have emailed conference information to the registered participants.
We have emailed conference information to the registered participants.
We will start the day in Moore Hall 100 with our keynote speaker. The program will begin at 8:30, so please give yourself enough time to park, walk over to Moore Hall, enjoy some breakfast—and get yourself a seat in Moore 100.
Please check this campus map for parking and building locations.
The UCLA Writing Project invites you to the 34th annual With Different Eyes Conference, November 2, 2024. We focus on access and equity for all students, with our multilingual and multicultural students center-stage, including newcomers, students approaching advanced literacy, and speakers of African American English and indigenous languages. We attend to a spectrum of social justice issues—connected to matters of race and gender, environment, media. Given we are the Writing Project, we love to demonstrate how writing empowers all students, up and down the grade levels and across content areas.
Our conference theme this year: The Power of Words, The Strength of Story. Many students don’t think they have any stories to tell. We know otherwise. How do we as teachers encourage students to speak and write their own, everyday stories? And help them realize the stunning impact their words carry?
8:30 – 9:40 Keynote Speaker Joseph Velasco, “The Power of Story: Helping Students Find Their Voice”
9:50 – 11:05 First Session Workshops
11:15 – 12:30 Second Session Workshops
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch Break
1:45 – 3:00 Third Session Workshops
Keynote Speaker
Storyteller, Theater Artist &
High School ELA Teacher
JOSEPH VELASCO is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Theater Arts. He began his career with the renowned Chicano theater company, El Teatro Campesino, as a resident director. He went on to study physical theater at the international Estudio Busqueda de Pantomima Teatro in Guanjuato, Mexico and later joined James Donlon & Company in creating original movement theater works including the award-winning WRENCH. In 1994 he co-founded BOXTALES Theatre Company in Santa Barbara which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Joseph has also worked and taught in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco as well as with various local theater groups including the Lobero Theater, Speaking of Stories, and the Ensemble Theatre Company. He is the former Artistic Director for City at Peace Santa Barbara which used the performing arts to empower youth to create original theater.
Joseph teaches English with an Emphasis in Ethnic Studies, Mexican-American Literature, and AVID at Santa Barbara High School where he has been teaching for 23 years. He continues to be a storyteller and theater artist in the community working on various endeavors including The LAByrinth Project.