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{{Short description|Principal professional association in the USA for language and literature scholars}}
{{Short description|US professional association for language and literature scholars}}
{{Infobox organization
{{Infobox organization
| name =
| name = Modern Language Association
| pronounce =
| pronounce =
| native_name =
| full_name = Modern Language Association of America
| native_name_lang =
| named_after =
| named_after =
| image =
| image =
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| map2_caption =
| map2_caption =
| abbreviation = MLA
| abbreviation = MLA
| motto = Scholarship, Teaching, Service
| predecessor =
| predecessor =
| merged =
| merged =
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| extinction = <!-- use {{end date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| extinction = <!-- use {{end date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| merger =
| merger =
| type = [[Non-profit organization]]
| type = [[Learned society]]
| tax_id = <!-- or | vat_id = (for European organizations) -->
| tax_id = <!-- or | vat_id = (for European organizations) -->
| registration_id = <!-- for non-profit org -->
| registration_id = <!-- for non-profit org -->
| status =
| status =
| purpose = [[Learned society]]
| purpose =
| headquarters = [[New York City|New York]], [[United States]]
| headquarters = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| location =
| location =
| region =
| region =
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| products =
| products =
| methods =
| methods =
| fields = [[Language]], [[literature]]
| fields = {{hlist | [[Language]] | [[literature]]}}
| language = [[English language|English]]
| owner = <!-- or | owners = -->
| owner = <!-- or | owners = -->
| sec_gen =
| sec_gen =
| leader_title = President
| leader_title = President
| leader_name = Christopher John Newfield
| leader_name = Christopher John Newfield
| leader_title2 = Executive-Director
| leader_title2 = Executive director
| leader_name2 = [[Paula M. Krebs]]
| leader_name2 = [[Paula M. Krebs]]
| leader_title3 =
| leader_title3 =
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}}
}}


The '''Modern Language Association of America''', often referred to as the '''Modern Language Association''' ('''MLA'''), is the principal [[professional association]] in the United States for scholars of language and literature.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} The MLA aims to "strengthen the study and teaching of language and literature".<ref name=About>[http://www.mla.org/about/ About the MLA"], ''mla.org'', Modern Language Association, 9 July 2008, Web, 25 April 2009.</ref> The organization includes over 25,000 members in 100 countries, primarily [[academia|academic scholars]], [[professor]]s, and [[graduate student]]s who study or teach language and literature, including English, other modern languages, and [[comparative literature]].<ref name=About /><ref name=ACLS>[http://www.acls.org/societies/societies.aspx?sid=81024862-C9A2-DB11-A735-000C2903E717 "Modern Language Association of America"], in "ACLS Member Learned Societies" (Directory), [[American Council of Learned Societies]] (ACLS), 2011, Web, 31 January 2011.</ref> Although founded in the United States, with offices in New York City, the MLA's membership, concerns, reputation, and influence are international in scope.<ref name=About />
The '''Modern Language Association of America''', often referred to as the '''Modern Language Association''' ('''MLA'''), is widely considered the principal [[professional association]] in the United States for scholars of [[language studies|language]] and [[literary studies|literature]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Working in academia means living in crisis — and experiencing the sublime |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/03/14/modern-language-association-convention/ |access-date=2022-09-08 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en}}</ref> The MLA aims to "strengthen the study and teaching of language and literature".<ref name=About>[http://www.mla.org/about/ About the MLA"], ''mla.org'', Modern Language Association, 9 July 2008, Web, 25 April 2009.</ref> The organization includes over 25,000 members in 100 countries, primarily [[academia|academic scholars]], [[professor]]s, and [[graduate student]]s who study or teach language and literature, including English, other modern languages, and [[comparative literature]].<ref name=About /><ref name=ACLS>[http://www.acls.org/societies/societies.aspx?sid=81024862-C9A2-DB11-A735-000C2903E717 "Modern Language Association of America"], in "ACLS Member Learned Societies" (Directory), [[American Council of Learned Societies]] (ACLS), 2011, Web, 31 January 2011.</ref> Although founded in the United States, with offices in New York City, the MLA's membership, concerns, reputation, and influence are international in scope.<ref name=About />

Hello Guys


==History==
==History==
[[File:Aaron_Marshall_Elliott.jpg|thumb|right|Aaron Marshall Elliott (''pictured'') has been credited with founding the Modern Language Association.]]
[[File:Aaron_Marshall_Elliott.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|Aaron Marshall Elliott has been credited with founding the Modern Language Association.]]
The MLA was founded in 1883, as a discussion and advocacy group for the study of literature and [[modern language]]s (that is, all but [[classical language]]s, such as ancient [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]]).<ref name=About /> According to its profile featured by the [[American Council of Learned Societies]] (ACLS), "The Modern Language Association is formed for educational, scientific, literary, and social objects and purposes, and more specifically for the promotion of the academic and scientific study of English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and other so-called modern languages and literatures."<ref name=ACLS />
The MLA was founded in 1883, as a discussion and advocacy group for the study of literature and [[modern language]]s (that is, all but [[classical language]]s, such as ancient [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]]).<ref name=About /> According to its profile featured by the [[American Council of Learned Societies]] (ACLS), "The Modern Language Association is formed for educational, scientific, literary, and social objects and purposes, and more specifically for the promotion of the academic and scientific study of English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and other so-called modern languages and literatures."<ref name=ACLS />


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==Activities==
==Activities==
[[Image:PMLA - Reproductions of Manuscripts and Rare Printed Books - 1950.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.5|Cover of ''PMLA'' issue from 1950]]
The MLA publishes several [[academic journal]]s, including ''Publications of the Modern Language Association of America'' (abbreviated as ''PMLA''), one of the most prestigious journals in literary studies, and ''Profession'', which is now published online on ''[https://commons.mla.org/ MLA Commons]'' and discusses professional issues faced by teachers of language and literature. The association also publishes the ''[[MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers|MLA Handbook]]'', a guide that is geared toward high school and undergraduate students and has sold more than 6,500,000 copies. A ninth edition was published in spring 2021. The ''[[The MLA Style Manual|MLA Style Manual]]'' was geared toward graduate students, scholars, and professional writers, and the third edition was declared out of print in September 2016. The MLA produces the online database, ''[https://www.mla.org/Publications/MLA-International-Bibliography MLA International Bibliography]'', the standard bibliography in language and literature.<ref>{{citation |title=eReviews: MLA International Bibliography |work=Library Journal |date=September 1, 2012 |url=http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/09/reference/ereviews/ereviews-mla-international-bibliography-september-1-2012ciation-international-bibliography-september-1-2012/ |access-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525142311/http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/09/reference/ereviews/ereviews-mla-international-bibliography-september-1-2012ciation-international-bibliography-september-1-2012/ |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The MLA publishes several [[academic journal]]s, including ''Publications of the Modern Language Association of America'' (abbreviated as ''PMLA''), one of the most prestigious journals in literary studies, and ''Profession'', which is now published online on ''MLA Commons'' and discusses professional issues faced by teachers of language and literature. The association also publishes the ''[[MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers|MLA Handbook]]'', a guide that is geared toward high school and undergraduate students and has sold more than 6,500,000 copies. The MLA produces the online database, ''MLA International Bibliography'', the standard bibliography in language and literature.<ref>{{citation |title=eReviews: MLA International Bibliography |work=Library Journal |date=September 1, 2012 |url=http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/09/reference/ereviews/ereviews-mla-international-bibliography-september-1-2012ciation-international-bibliography-september-1-2012/ |access-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525142311/http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/2012/09/reference/ereviews/ereviews-mla-international-bibliography-september-1-2012ciation-international-bibliography-september-1-2012/ |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


[[Image:LOA booth.jpg|thumb|right|Exhibit hall booths at MLA 2007 convention in Chicago]]
⚫
Since 1884 the MLA has held a national, four-day convention. Beginning in 2011, the convention dates moved to the first Thursday following 2 January. Approximately eight to twelve thousand members attend, depending on the location, which alternates among major cities in various regions of the United States. The MLA Annual Convention is the largest and most important of the year for scholars of languages and literature. Language departments of many universities and colleges interview candidates for teaching positions at the convention, although hiring occurs all year long. The organization's ''Job Information List'' (''JIL'') is available online.<ref>{{cite book|last=Burton|first=Antoinette|author-link=Antoinette Burton|title=After the Imperial Turn: Thinking with and through the Nation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-cQTZzbhc8C&pg=PA90|year=2003|publisher=Duke UP|isbn=9780822384397|page=90}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Formo|first1=Dawn M.|last2=Reed|first2=Cheryl|title=Job Search in Academe: How to Get the Position You Deserve|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uc307dJ-YgEC&pg=PA4|year=2012|publisher=Stylus|isbn=9781579225384|page=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://chroniclevitae.com/news/708-are-more-mla-faculty-jobs-on-the-way|title=Are More MLA Faculty Jobs on the Way?|last=Wood|first=Maren|author2=Brock Read |date=16 September 2014|publisher=Chronicle Vitae|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/12/21/report-reveals-divergent-trends-modern-language-job-market|title=English Down, Languages Up: Report reveals divergent trends in modern language job market|last=Flaherty|first=Colleen|date=21 December 2012|newspaper=[[Inside Higher Ed]]|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hume|first=Kathryn|title=Surviving Your Academic Job Hunt: Advice for Humanities PhDs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ifwavtz1ooC&pg=PA21|year=2010|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9781137068293|page=21}}</ref>

⚫
Since 1884 the MLA has held a national, four-day convention. For many years it was held the last week in December. Beginning in 2011, the convention dates moved to the first Thursday following 2 January. Approximately eight to twelve thousand members attend, depending on the location, which alternates among major cities in various regions of the United States. The MLA Annual Convention is the largest and most important of the year for scholars of languages and literature. Language departments of many universities and colleges interview candidates for teaching positions at the convention, although hiring occurs all year long. The organization's ''Job Information List'' (''JIL'') is available online.<ref>{{cite book|last=Burton|first=Antoinette|author-link=Antoinette Burton|title=After the Imperial Turn: Thinking with and through the Nation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-cQTZzbhc8C&pg=PA90|year=2003|publisher=Duke UP|isbn=9780822384397|page=90}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Formo|first1=Dawn M.|last2=Reed|first2=Cheryl|title=Job Search in Academe: How to Get the Position You Deserve|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uc307dJ-YgEC&pg=PA4|year=2012|publisher=Stylus|isbn=9781579225384|page=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://chroniclevitae.com/news/708-are-more-mla-faculty-jobs-on-the-way|title=Are More MLA Faculty Jobs on the Way?|last=Wood|first=Maren|author2=Brock Read |date=16 September 2014|publisher=Chronicle Vitae|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/12/21/report-reveals-divergent-trends-modern-language-job-market|title=English Down, Languages Up: Report reveals divergent trends in modern language job market|last=Flaherty|first=Colleen|date=21 December 2012|newspaper=[[Inside Higher Ed]]|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hume|first=Kathryn|title=Surviving Your Academic Job Hunt: Advice for Humanities PhDs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ifwavtz1ooC&pg=PA21|year=2010|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=9781137068293|page=21}}</ref>


In addition to its job-placement activities, the convention features about 800 sessions, including presentations of papers and panel discussions on diverse topics (special sessions, forums, poetry readings, film presentations, interdisciplinary studies involving art and music, governance meetings) and social events hosted by English and language departments and allied or affiliated organizations.<ref name=About /> There are also extensive book exhibits in one of the main hotel or convention center exhibition areas.
In addition to its job-placement activities, the convention features about 800 sessions, including presentations of papers and panel discussions on diverse topics (special sessions, forums, poetry readings, film presentations, interdisciplinary studies involving art and music, governance meetings) and social events hosted by English and language departments and allied or affiliated organizations.<ref name=About /> There are also extensive book exhibits in one of the main hotel or convention center exhibition areas.

[[Image:MLA13- Accessibility, Disability - 8432382667.jpg|thumb|left|Table for attendees with disabilities, at MLA 2013 in Boston]]


In November 2016, the association launched ''Humanities Commons'', an open-access, crossdisciplinary hub for anyone interested in humanities research and scholarship. Other not-for-profit organizations involved in this project include [[College Art Association]]; [[Association for Jewish Studies]]; and the [[Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies]].
In November 2016, the association launched ''Humanities Commons'', an open-access, crossdisciplinary hub for anyone interested in humanities research and scholarship. Other not-for-profit organizations involved in this project include [[College Art Association]]; [[Association for Jewish Studies]]; and the [[Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies]].
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The MLA's Web site features the MLA Language Map, which presents overviews and detailed data from the [[United States 2000 Census]] about the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages and seven groups of less commonly spoken languages in the United States and Canada.
The MLA's Web site features the MLA Language Map, which presents overviews and detailed data from the [[United States 2000 Census]] about the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages and seven groups of less commonly spoken languages in the United States and Canada.


The association has highlighted issues such as race, gender and class in its professional deliberations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kushner|first=Eva|date=2003|title=The Modern Language Association of America|journal=Diogenes|volume=50|issue=2|pages=136–137|doi=10.1177/039219210305000217|s2cid=146988960 }}</ref> In ''[[The New Criterion]]'', a [[Classicism|classicist]] and politically [[Conservatism|conservative]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-29/entertainment/ca-1737_1_hilton-kramer|title=ART : COMMENTARY : The Little Journal That Can't : The New Criterion, now in its 10th year under Hilton Kramer, has looked to neoconservative doctrine as its muse|last=Knight|first=Christopher|date=December 29, 1991|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=January 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/arts/think-tank-at-20-a-conservative-gadfly-can-still-bite.html|title=THINK TANK; At 20, a Conservative Gadfly Can Still Bite|last=Honan, William H.|author-link=William Honan|date=September 15, 2001|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> magazine, [[Roger Kimball]] and [[Hilton Kramer]] argued that this was part of a "rampant politicization of literary study that the MLA has aggressively supported" in American colleges and universities, including elevating popular culture to a position of parity with great works of literature as subjects for classroom study, and other "radical" postures.<ref>[http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/Farewell-to-the-MLA-5090 Farewell to the MLA"], Roger Kimball and Hilton Kramer, ''New Criterion'', February 1995. [[World Wide Web|Web]].</ref>
The association has highlighted issues such as race, gender and class in its professional deliberations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kushner|first=Eva|date=2003|title=The Modern Language Association of America|journal=Diogenes|volume=50|issue=2|pages=136–137|doi=10.1177/039219210305000217|s2cid=146988960 }}</ref> In ''[[The New Criterion]]'', a [[Classicism|classicist]] and politically [[Conservatism|conservative]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-29/entertainment/ca-1737_1_hilton-kramer|title=Art : Commentary : The Little Journal That Can't : The New Criterion, now in its 10th year under Hilton Kramer, has looked to neoconservative doctrine as its muse|last=Knight|first=Christopher|date=December 29, 1991|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=January 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115211534/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-29/entertainment/ca-1737_1_hilton-kramer |archive-date= Nov 15, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/15/arts/think-tank-at-20-a-conservative-gadfly-can-still-bite.html|title=Think Tank; At 20, a Conservative Gadfly Can Still Bite|last=Honan |first= William H. |url-access=subscription |author-link=William Honan|date=September 15, 2001|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 9, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> magazine, [[Roger Kimball]] and [[Hilton Kramer]] argued that this was part of a "rampant politicization of literary study that the MLA has aggressively supported" in American colleges and universities, including elevating popular culture to a position of parity with great works of literature as subjects for classroom study, and other "radical" postures.<ref>[http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/Farewell-to-the-MLA-5090 Farewell to the MLA"], Roger Kimball and Hilton Kramer, ''New Criterion'', February 1995. [[World Wide Web|Web]].</ref>


=== Proposed academic boycott of Israel ===
=== Proposed academic boycott of Israel ===
On January 7, 2017, the MLA rejected a proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions in a 113-79 vote during its annual meeting in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schuessler|first1=Jennifer|date=7 January 2017 |title=Modern Language Association Moves to Reject Academic Boycott of Israel|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/arts/mla-reject-academic-boycott-of-israel.html?_r=1|website=New York Times|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref> Activists within the association had since 2014 pushed for such a boycott because they believed Israel was guilty of human rights violations and should be subjected to a boycott similarly to how South Africa was boycotted by the [[Anti-Apartheid Movement]]. The inspiration for the boycott came from the [[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] (BDS) movement which is a global movement that calls for comprehensive boycotts of Israel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Resolution|url=https://mlaboycott.wordpress.com/resolution/|website=MLA Members for Justice in Palestine|date=15 November 2015 |access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>
On January 7, 2017, the MLA rejected a proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions in a 113–79 vote during its annual meeting in Philadelphia.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schuessler|first1=Jennifer|date=7 January 2017 |title=Modern Language Association Moves to Reject Academic Boycott of Israel|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/arts/mla-reject-academic-boycott-of-israel.html?_r=1|website=New York Times|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref> Activists within the association had since 2014 pushed for such a boycott because they believed Israel was guilty of human rights violations and should be subjected to a boycott similarly to how South Africa was boycotted by the [[Anti-Apartheid Movement]]. The inspiration for the boycott came from the [[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions]] (BDS) movement which is a global movement that calls for comprehensive boycotts of Israel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Resolution|url=https://mlaboycott.wordpress.com/resolution/|website=MLA Members for Justice in Palestine|date=15 November 2015 |access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>


The activists calling themselves ''MLA Members for Justice in Palestine'' presented a resolution in December 2016 calling for a boycott. The call to boycott received support from scholars such as [[Judith Butler]] and novelist [[Viet Thanh Nguyen]], but also opposition from scholars such as [[Cary Nelson]] and historian [[Kenneth Waltzer]] as well as the grassroots MLA Members for Scholars Rights .<ref name="bds2017mla">{{cite web | title=Why was BDS beaten at the MLA conference? | website=BDS Movement | date=January 16, 2017 | url=https://bdsmovement.net/news/why-was-bds-beaten-mla-conference | access-date=August 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Speyer|first1=Lea|title=Prominent Scholars Slam Modern Language Association for Entertaining 'Shameful' BDS Resolution, Politicizing Academia|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/01/03/prominent-scholars-slam-modern-language-association-for-entertaining-shameful-bds-resolution-politicizing-academia/|website=Algemeiner|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref> A group of Israeli scholars sent videotaped messages describing the multicultural reality of Israeli universities and explaining the harassment to which Israeli scholars, in Israel and abroad, have been subjected through repeated BDS campaigns to slander and ostracize them. <ref>{{cite web|title=Resolution| website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XV54KQFTEQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/2XV54KQFTEQ| archive-date=2021-11-18 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On the other side of the debate, another group of Israeli scholars came out in support of the boycott, arguing that "the Israel-led campaign against the boycott of Israeli academic institutions rallies around the claim that if adapted it will hurt progressive Israeli scholars. Campaigners use this tactic to divert attention from the plight of the entire Palestinian population living under Israel's elaborate system of colonial repression and injustice to a manufactured victimization of Israeli academics. This is a manipulative inversion of victimhood."<ref name="bds2017mla"/>
The activists calling themselves ''MLA Members for Justice in Palestine'' presented a resolution in December 2016 calling for a boycott. The call to boycott received support from scholars such as [[Judith Butler]] and novelist [[Viet Thanh Nguyen]], but also opposition from scholars such as [[Cary Nelson]] and historian [[Kenneth Waltzer]] as well as a group calling itself ''MLA Members for Scholars Rights.''<ref name="bds2017mla">{{cite web | title=Why was BDS beaten at the MLA conference? | website=BDS Movement | date=January 16, 2017 | url=https://bdsmovement.net/news/why-was-bds-beaten-mla-conference | access-date=August 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Speyer|first1=Lea|title=Prominent Scholars Slam Modern Language Association for Entertaining 'Shameful' BDS Resolution, Politicizing Academia|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/01/03/prominent-scholars-slam-modern-language-association-for-entertaining-shameful-bds-resolution-politicizing-academia/|website=Algemeiner|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref> A group of Israeli scholars sent videotaped messages describing the multicultural reality of Israeli universities and explaining the harassment to which Israeli scholars, in Israel and abroad, have been subjected through repeated BDS campaigns to slander and ostracize them. <ref>{{cite web|title=Resolution| website=[[YouTube]] |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XV54KQFTEQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/2XV54KQFTEQ| archive-date=2021-11-18 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On the other side of the debate, another group of Israeli scholars came out in support of the boycott, arguing that "the Israel-led campaign against the boycott of Israeli academic institutions rallies around the claim that if adapted it will hurt progressive Israeli scholars. Campaigners use this tactic to divert attention from the plight of the entire Palestinian population living under Israel's elaborate system of colonial repression and injustice to a manufactured victimization of Israeli academics. This is a manipulative inversion of victimhood."<ref name="bds2017mla"/>


In a strongly worded letter, the pro-Israeli [[Brandeis Center]] threatened to sue MLA if the resolution was adopted. In the letter addressed to the association's President [[Kwame Anthony Appiah]] and Executive Director Rosemary G. Feal, the Center claimed that the resolution was ''[[ultra vires]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=LDB to MLA: Drop Ultra Vires Boycott Resolution|url=https://brandeiscenter.com/ldb-to-mla-drop-ultra-vires-boycott-resolution/|website=Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law|date=20 December 2016 |access-date=27 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Speyer|first1=Lea|date=3 January 2017 |title=Prominent Scholars Slam Modern Language Association for Entertaining 'Shameful' BDS Resolution, Politicizing Academia|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/01/03/prominent-scholars-slam-modern-language-association-for-entertaining-shameful-bds-resolution-politicizing-academia/|website=[[Algemeiner Journal|Algemeiner]] |access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref> That is, that it would take the association in a direction that went beyond its original mission. Supporters of the boycott argued that it was not ''ultra vires'' because the Association had in the past been engaged in human rights issues.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Palumbo-Liu|first1=David|date=27 December 2016 |title=Brandeis Center Threatens Lawsuit Against Academic Organization for Supporting Call for Palestinian Rights|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-palumboliu/brandeis-center-threatens_b_13861048.html|website=Huffington Post|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>
In a strongly worded letter, the pro-Israeli [[Brandeis Center]] threatened to sue MLA if the resolution was adopted. In the letter addressed to the association's President [[Kwame Anthony Appiah]] and Executive Director Rosemary G. Feal, the center claimed that the resolution was ''[[ultra vires]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=LDB to MLA: Drop Ultra Vires Boycott Resolution|url=https://brandeiscenter.com/ldb-to-mla-drop-ultra-vires-boycott-resolution/|website=Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law|date=20 December 2016 |access-date=27 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Speyer|first1=Lea|date=3 January 2017 |title=Prominent Scholars Slam Modern Language Association for Entertaining 'Shameful' BDS Resolution, Politicizing Academia|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2017/01/03/prominent-scholars-slam-modern-language-association-for-entertaining-shameful-bds-resolution-politicizing-academia/|website=[[Algemeiner Journal|Algemeiner]] |access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref> That is, that it would take the association in a direction that went beyond its original mission. Supporters of the boycott argued that it was not ''ultra vires'' because the Association had in the past been engaged in human rights issues.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Palumbo-Liu|first1=David|date=27 December 2016 |title=Brandeis Center Threatens Lawsuit Against Academic Organization for Supporting Call for Palestinian Rights|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-palumboliu/brandeis-center-threatens_b_13861048.html|website=Huffington Post|access-date=27 February 2017}}</ref>


==Regional associations==
==Regional associations==
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==Affiliated and allied societies==
==Affiliated and allied societies==
[[Image:Transactions and Proceedings of the Modern Language Association of America 1884–5.png|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Cover of ''Transactions and Proceedings of the Modern Language Association of America 1884–5'']]
*[[Association of Departments of English]]
*[[Association of Departments of English]]
*[https://adfl.mla.org/ Association of Departments of Foreign Languages]
*Association of Departments of Foreign Languages
*[[Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship]]
*[[Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship]]
*[[The International Federation for Modern Languages and Literatures (FILLM)|The International Federation for Modern Languages and Literatures]] (FILLM)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fillm.org/news/2016/welcomeMLA.html|title=News: The Modern Language Association Joins FILLM! |date=15 September 2015 |website=FILLM. fillm.org |access-date=2016-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mla.org/About-Us/Governance/Organizational-Memberships|title=Organizational Memberships|website=Modern Language Association|access-date=2016-09-19}}</ref>
*[[International Federation for Modern Languages and Literatures|The International Federation for Modern Languages and Literatures]] (FILLM)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fillm.org/news/2016/welcomeMLA.html|title=News: The Modern Language Association Joins FILLM! |date=15 September 2015 |website=FILLM. fillm.org |access-date=2016-09-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mla.org/About-Us/Governance/Organizational-Memberships|title=Organizational Memberships|website=Modern Language Association|access-date=2016-09-19}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 132: Line 133:
* [[Florence Howe|Howe, Florence]], [[Frederick C. Crews]], Louis Kampf, [[Noam Chomsky]], [[Paul Lauter]], and [[Richard Ohmann]]. [https://www.nybooks.com/articles/11463 "Reforming the MLA."] Letter to the editor. ''[[New York Review of Books]]'', 19 December 1968. Web. 4 February 2007.
* [[Florence Howe|Howe, Florence]], [[Frederick C. Crews]], Louis Kampf, [[Noam Chomsky]], [[Paul Lauter]], and [[Richard Ohmann]]. [https://www.nybooks.com/articles/11463 "Reforming the MLA."] Letter to the editor. ''[[New York Review of Books]]'', 19 December 1968. Web. 4 February 2007.
*Kimball, Roger. ''Tenured Radicals: How Politics Has Corrupted Our Higher Education''. New York: [[Harper & Row]], 1990. Rev. ed. Chicago: Elephant Paperbacks ([[Rowman & Littlefield|Ivan R. Dee]]), 1998. {{ISBN|1-56663-195-5}}. {{ISBN|978-1-56663-195-2}}. Print.
*Kimball, Roger. ''Tenured Radicals: How Politics Has Corrupted Our Higher Education''. New York: [[Harper & Row]], 1990. Rev. ed. Chicago: Elephant Paperbacks ([[Rowman & Littlefield|Ivan R. Dee]]), 1998. {{ISBN|1-56663-195-5}}. {{ISBN|978-1-56663-195-2}}. Print.
*Kushner, Eva. "The Modern Language Association of America". ''[[Diogenes (journal)|Diogenes]]'' 50.2 (2003): 135-138. Web. 1 July 2016.
*Kushner, Eva. "The Modern Language Association of America". ''[[Diogenes (journal)|Diogenes]]'' 50.2 (2003): 135–138. Web. 1 July 2016.


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Official website|http://www.mla.org}}
*{{Official website|http://www.mla.org}}
* [https://mla.hcommons.org/ MLA Commons], an open source scholarly network for MLA members
* [https://mla.hcommons.org/core/ CORE Repository], an interdisciplinary open access repository by MLA
* ''[http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/004529018 Publications of the Modern Language Association of America]'', 1884–1922, full text online via [[HathiTrust]]
* ''[http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/004529018 Publications of the Modern Language Association of America]'', 1884–1922, full text online via [[HathiTrust]]


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[[Category:Bibliographic database providers]]
[[Category:Bibliographic database providers]]
[[Category:Member organizations of the American Council of Learned Societies]]
[[Category:Member organizations of the American Council of Learned Societies]]
[[Category:Literary criticism organizations]]

Latest revision as of 20:28, 19 March 2024

Modern Language Association
Modern Language Association of America
AbbreviationMLA
Formation1883; 141 years ago (1883)
FounderAaron Marshall Elliott
TypeLearned society
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, U.S.
Fields
President
Christopher John Newfield
Executive director
Paula M. Krebs
Websitemla.org

The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature.[1] The MLA aims to "strengthen the study and teaching of language and literature".[2] The organization includes over 25,000 members in 100 countries, primarily academic scholars, professors, and graduate students who study or teach language and literature, including English, other modern languages, and comparative literature.[2][3] Although founded in the United States, with offices in New York City, the MLA's membership, concerns, reputation, and influence are international in scope.[2]

History[edit]

Aaron Marshall Elliott has been credited with founding the Modern Language Association.

The MLA was founded in 1883, as a discussion and advocacy group for the study of literature and modern languages (that is, all but classical languages, such as ancient Latin and Greek).[2] According to its profile featured by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), "The Modern Language Association is formed for educational, scientific, literary, and social objects and purposes, and more specifically for the promotion of the academic and scientific study of English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and other so-called modern languages and literatures."[3]

Officers and governance[edit]

The officers of the MLA are elected by its members. The 2019–2020 president was Simon Gikandi, the first vice-president was Judith Butler and the second vice-president was Barbara Fuchs. The 2020–2021 president is Judith Butler.[4]

The MLA is governed by an Executive Council, elected periodically by its members, according to the MLA Constitution. The Executive Director is Paula Krebs.[5]

Activities[edit]

Cover of PMLA issue from 1950

The MLA publishes several academic journals, including Publications of the Modern Language Association of America (abbreviated as PMLA), one of the most prestigious journals in literary studies, and Profession, which is now published online on MLA Commons and discusses professional issues faced by teachers of language and literature. The association also publishes the MLA Handbook, a guide that is geared toward high school and undergraduate students and has sold more than 6,500,000 copies. The MLA produces the online database, MLA International Bibliography, the standard bibliography in language and literature.[6]

Exhibit hall booths at MLA 2007 convention in Chicago

Since 1884 the MLA has held a national, four-day convention. For many years it was held the last week in December. Beginning in 2011, the convention dates moved to the first Thursday following 2 January. Approximately eight to twelve thousand members attend, depending on the location, which alternates among major cities in various regions of the United States. The MLA Annual Convention is the largest and most important of the year for scholars of languages and literature. Language departments of many universities and colleges interview candidates for teaching positions at the convention, although hiring occurs all year long. The organization's Job Information List (JIL) is available online.[7][8][9][10][11]

In addition to its job-placement activities, the convention features about 800 sessions, including presentations of papers and panel discussions on diverse topics (special sessions, forums, poetry readings, film presentations, interdisciplinary studies involving art and music, governance meetings) and social events hosted by English and language departments and allied or affiliated organizations.[2] There are also extensive book exhibits in one of the main hotel or convention center exhibition areas.

Table for attendees with disabilities, at MLA 2013 in Boston

In November 2016, the association launched Humanities Commons, an open-access, crossdisciplinary hub for anyone interested in humanities research and scholarship. Other not-for-profit organizations involved in this project include College Art Association; Association for Jewish Studies; and the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies.

The MLA's Web site features the MLA Language Map, which presents overviews and detailed data from the United States 2000 Census about the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages and seven groups of less commonly spoken languages in the United States and Canada.

The association has highlighted issues such as race, gender and class in its professional deliberations.[12] In The New Criterion, a classicist and politically conservative[13][14] magazine, Roger Kimball and Hilton Kramer argued that this was part of a "rampant politicization of literary study that the MLA has aggressively supported" in American colleges and universities, including elevating popular culture to a position of parity with great works of literature as subjects for classroom study, and other "radical" postures.[15]

Proposed academic boycott of Israel[edit]

On January 7, 2017, the MLA rejected a proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions in a 113–79 vote during its annual meeting in Philadelphia.[16] Activists within the association had since 2014 pushed for such a boycott because they believed Israel was guilty of human rights violations and should be subjected to a boycott similarly to how South Africa was boycotted by the Anti-Apartheid Movement. The inspiration for the boycott came from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which is a global movement that calls for comprehensive boycotts of Israel.[17]

The activists calling themselves MLA Members for Justice in Palestine presented a resolution in December 2016 calling for a boycott. The call to boycott received support from scholars such as Judith Butler and novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen, but also opposition from scholars such as Cary Nelson and historian Kenneth Waltzer as well as a group calling itself MLA Members for Scholars Rights.[18][19] A group of Israeli scholars sent videotaped messages describing the multicultural reality of Israeli universities and explaining the harassment to which Israeli scholars, in Israel and abroad, have been subjected through repeated BDS campaigns to slander and ostracize them. [20] On the other side of the debate, another group of Israeli scholars came out in support of the boycott, arguing that "the Israel-led campaign against the boycott of Israeli academic institutions rallies around the claim that if adapted it will hurt progressive Israeli scholars. Campaigners use this tactic to divert attention from the plight of the entire Palestinian population living under Israel's elaborate system of colonial repression and injustice to a manufactured victimization of Israeli academics. This is a manipulative inversion of victimhood."[18]

In a strongly worded letter, the pro-Israeli Brandeis Center threatened to sue MLA if the resolution was adopted. In the letter addressed to the association's President Kwame Anthony Appiah and Executive Director Rosemary G. Feal, the center claimed that the resolution was ultra vires.[21][22] That is, that it would take the association in a direction that went beyond its original mission. Supporters of the boycott argued that it was not ultra vires because the Association had in the past been engaged in human rights issues.[23]

Regional associations[edit]

There are several regional associations that are independent of the primary MLA, and which host smaller conventions at other times of the year:

  • Midwest Modern Language Association
  • Northeast Modern Language Association
  • Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association
  • Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association
  • South Atlantic Modern Language Association
  • South Central Modern Language Association

Affiliated and allied societies[edit]

Cover of Transactions and Proceedings of the Modern Language Association of America 1884–5

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Working in academia means living in crisis — and experiencing the sublime". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
  2. ^ a b c d e About the MLA", mla.org, Modern Language Association, 9 July 2008, Web, 25 April 2009.
  3. ^ a b "Modern Language Association of America", in "ACLS Member Learned Societies" (Directory), American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), 2011, Web, 31 January 2011.
  4. ^ "The One Hundred Thirty-One Presidents". Modern Language Association.
  5. ^ "Modern Language Association of America Names La Salle University Alumna Paula M. Krebs, Ph.D., Executive Director". La Salle News. 8 June 2017. La Salle University. lasalle.edu. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  6. ^ "eReviews: MLA International Bibliography", Library Journal, September 1, 2012, archived from the original on May 25, 2017, retrieved July 14, 2014
  7. ^ Burton, Antoinette (2003). After the Imperial Turn: Thinking with and through the Nation. Duke UP. p. 90. ISBN 9780822384397.
  8. ^ Formo, Dawn M.; Reed, Cheryl (2012). Job Search in Academe: How to Get the Position You Deserve. Stylus. p. 4. ISBN 9781579225384.
  9. ^ Wood, Maren; Brock Read (16 September 2014). "Are More MLA Faculty Jobs on the Way?". Chronicle Vitae. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  10. ^ Flaherty, Colleen (21 December 2012). "English Down, Languages Up: Report reveals divergent trends in modern language job market". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  11. ^ Hume, Kathryn (2010). Surviving Your Academic Job Hunt: Advice for Humanities PhDs. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 21. ISBN 9781137068293.
  12. ^ Kushner, Eva (2003). "The Modern Language Association of America". Diogenes. 50 (2): 136–137. doi:10.1177/039219210305000217. S2CID 146988960.
  13. ^ Knight, Christopher (December 29, 1991). "Art : Commentary : The Little Journal That Can't : The New Criterion, now in its 10th year under Hilton Kramer, has looked to neoconservative doctrine as its muse". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on Nov 15, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  14. ^ Honan, William H. (September 15, 2001). "Think Tank; At 20, a Conservative Gadfly Can Still Bite". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  15. ^ Farewell to the MLA", Roger Kimball and Hilton Kramer, New Criterion, February 1995. Web.
  16. ^ Schuessler, Jennifer (7 January 2017). "Modern Language Association Moves to Reject Academic Boycott of Israel". New York Times. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  17. ^ "Resolution". MLA Members for Justice in Palestine. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  18. ^ a b "Why was BDS beaten at the MLA conference?". BDS Movement. January 16, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  19. ^ Speyer, Lea. "Prominent Scholars Slam Modern Language Association for Entertaining 'Shameful' BDS Resolution, Politicizing Academia". Algemeiner. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Resolution". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-11-18.
  21. ^ "LDB to MLA: Drop Ultra Vires Boycott Resolution". Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  22. ^ Speyer, Lea (3 January 2017). "Prominent Scholars Slam Modern Language Association for Entertaining 'Shameful' BDS Resolution, Politicizing Academia". Algemeiner. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  23. ^ Palumbo-Liu, David (27 December 2016). "Brandeis Center Threatens Lawsuit Against Academic Organization for Supporting Call for Palestinian Rights". Huffington Post. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  24. ^ "News: The Modern Language Association Joins FILLM!". FILLM. fillm.org. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  25. ^ "Organizational Memberships". Modern Language Association. Retrieved 2016-09-19.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Modern_Language_Association&oldid=1214578239"