Membership Bonuses for 2009

(Access the M/MLA Membership Form here. Also available in printable .pdf version)
(Access the Department Membership Form here.)

 ***NOTE: Those who plan to participate in the 2009 convention need to register for the convention in addition to paying membership dues. The combined membership/registration form can be accessed here.***

For a surcharge, payment of membership fees is possible through an outside vendor:

The Hyatt Regency at Union Station, now the St. Louis Union Station Marriott, is offering a new and improved rate for November’s convention. During 2009, the M/MLA will convene 12-15 November in St. Louis at one of the city’s landmark hotels. With plenty of meeting space and a memory of the 1904 World’s Fair in the Grand Hall and its Whispering Arch, the St. Louis Union Station Marriott is just a short distance from the Gateway Arch, the historic University City Loop and the Center of Contemporary Arts, Forest Park and the St. Louis Zoo, the Grand Center district with its EarthWays Home tended by the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the City Museum lodged in an old shoe factory. And the M/MLA rate? A remarkable $139 for all rooms—singles, doubles, triples, and quads. Great news for travel budgets.

The informal theme for convention 2009 will be “Migration.” This year’s theme has been proposed by incoming M/MLA President Jenifer S. Cushman, Associate Professor of German at Juniata College and Dean of International Programs, as well as a scholar of German and Czech literatures and an actor, director, and dramaturge at university theatres in the US and Germany. Possible topics for convention papers and thematic sessions, as well as the special issue of the M/MLA Journal to come, include diasporas, the metropole, becoming post-human, eco lit and species adaptation, flights of fancy, racial/ethnic “passing,” tenure encroachments, professional displacement, and disciplinary trespass. See the M/MLA’s website for further possibilities and information about thematic submissions.

As usual, special sessions may be proposed on any other scholarly subject likely to interest fellow members. Panel proposals seeking paper submissions will be posted upon arrival following the roster of this year’s calls for papers from permanent sections and associated organizations, which are already going up for 2009 with the email addresses of session organizers to contact. Deadline for all proposals, thematic papers and special sessions alike: March 1, 2009.

Just as in previous years, the annual convention will lead to a special issue of the M/MLA Journal that encourages submissions from conferees. Essays on “Migration” will be considered for publication during Fall 2010 and should be sent electronically via attachment in Microsoft Word by March 31, 2010, to Jenifer S. Cushman, 2009 President, at the M/MLA’s new email address, mmla@luc.edu.

Useful professionalizing workshops are coming up at this year’s meeting. In Minneapolis at the 2008 convention, two popular sessions on “Publishing an Essay” and “Placing a Book Manuscript” were augmented by an innovative comic sketch, “Staging the Job Search: ‘Unsure Thing,’” and the lively discussion that followed. All three sessions were generously co-hosted by the Department of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This year’s convention will build on that foundation by offering workshops on “Choosing a Publishing Venue,” “Writing a Grant Proposal,” and “Interviewing for Jobs: Negotiating the Market.”

In addition, the convention's new c.v. workshop will be available specifically to departmental members, who are welcome to take advantage of individual attention from Executive Committee members with plenty of search committee experience.

The M/MLA’s short-term fellowship at the Newberry Library continues to thrive, and the annual competition for members only is now open for 2009. It is a pleasure to announce that the M/MLA’s fifth annual fellowship has been awarded to Manushag N. Powell, Assistant Professor of English at Purdue University. For her first book, The Performance of Authorship in Eighteenth Century English Periodicals, Professor Powell will take advantage of the Newberry’s rare periodicals like the Tatling Harlot, The Connoisseur, and The Babler as she elaborates on Oliver Goldsmith’s magazine contributions, the Fielding-Hill paper war, and Frances Brooke’s The Old Maid. The pool in 2008 included thirteen applicants (one full professor, one associate professor, two assistant professors, two lecturers, one instructor, and six PhD candidates) of which only six were eligible as current M/MLA members. Everyone is free to reapply, along with equally qualifying M/MLA members. Deadline: March 2, 2009.

At the Newberry’s request, applicants must live outside the Chicago area and hold a doctorate or be enrolled in a PhD program. They should also anticipate a specific need for Newberry collections and foresee making use of them for up to a month in residence and up to $1600 in stipend. M/MLA membership must be current at the time of application and through the period of the fellowship, which may begin as early as July 1, 2009, and must be completed without interruption during the following year. Feel free to check the library’s online information and materials or to contact Diane Dillon at dillond@newberry.org or 312-255-3662.

The M/MLA Journal for the spring offers a continuing focus on shorter working papers, a brisker pace, and an open invitation. Relocating to Loyola University Chicago at the beginning of 2009, the journal will nonetheless continue the spring policy of inviting essays that are 12-15 pages in length and draw upon at least 12-15 sources. The M/MLA has been pleased to acknowledge more of the scholarly fields represented at the annual meeting and has willingly granted permission to publish later extended drafts elsewhere. Indeed, such continuing scholarship is heartily encouraged. The deadline for spring submissions each year is 12/15, time enough to formulate the arresting argument of a new research project or to make the most of convention success by revising presentations that have been warmly received.

For Fall 2009, guest editor Devoney Looser invites essays of varying lengths on “Fame/Infamy.” Interested? Just send an electronic copy of your submission in Microsoft Word via attachment to the M/MLA office at mmla@luc.edu. The deadline for fall submissions is March 31, 2009.

Want to take advantage of the journal’s broad readership to announce your own book just out? The M/MLA Journal is pleased to welcome the new year with a special ad rate for members with books completed during the last year or about to appear. A modest $100 and a print-ready file will buy a full-page ad. Hoping for reviews? Feel free to request that a copy of your book be sent to the new M/MLA office at the following address: Midwest Modern Language Association, Department of English, Loyola University Chicago, 6525 North Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60626. It will be a pleasure to post any new books on the M/MLA’s website, which members are welcome to check for books received and even more welcome to note when requesting review copies and providing c.v.s. New editors David Posner and Steven Venturino will be happy to insure that the specific training of reviewers enables their sound judgment.