Imagination and Integration

So, KB, a co-teacher and I have made the move to submitting an abstract for a conference session in Vancouver on Imagination and the Curriculum. I'm proud of myself for being aggressive in this vein. Hopefully, this time, I'll be ballsy enough to actually go through with it. I figure 1. if we do it together 2. if CA decides to come to Canada with me and 3. if I can get in, then there's no reason NOT to do this. The conference proposal read as follows:

We argue that humanities (literature, writing, and history) integration fosters students’ abilities to make creative connections, deepen understandings, and weave stronger thematic webs between their studies. All types of learners are engaged in an integrated curriculum because they can use creative thought processes to connect factual information. By giving students access to a multiplicity of sources, they are given more of a way to think of these disciplines, not in isolation, but rather as connected curricular units. They then create their own access points, with a wider range of available material, and then can expand this to the larger world. Students make more text-to-self and text-to-world connections and think beyond the two dimensions of a textbook or novel. Students are encouraged not only to read and absorb factual information, but also to question, discuss, make art, and engage in both creative and expository writing. An integrated curriculum allows students to lead their own lines of inquiry, fostering not only their imagination but also their independent thought processes.
We would like to address issues in integrating humanities and how to foster imaginative inquiry within this integrated curriculum. This discussion would not only debate whether or not humanities integration fosters said imaginative inquiry but also define the parameters for what imaginative inquiry looks like and discuss whether this integration works only in theory or also in practice. We would also discuss the ways by which educators in the humanities could achieve fresh and independent modes of thinking in themselves and their students.

Here's hoping! I should hear soon...