1. Digital Humanities Summer Institute: Digital Humanities Tools and Methods for Students, Faculty Members, and Librarians

8:30–11:30 a.m., Manitoba, Fairmont Royal York

A special session. Presiding: Parham Aledavood, U de Montréal; Michael Eberle-Sinatra, U de Montréal

Speakers: Elisa Beshero-Bondar, Penn State U, Erie-Behrend; Jason Boyd, Toronto Metropolitan U; Susan Brown, U of Guelph; Laura Estill, Saint Francis Xavier U; Denna Iammarino, Case Western Reserve U; Kristine N. Kelly, Case Western Reserve U; David Joseph Wrisley, New York U, Abu Dhabi

This workshop offers participants theoretical and hands-on considerations of digital humanities tools, software, and methodologies in a humanities context and provides an overview of the Digital Humanities Summer Institute programming and activities. Preregistration is required.

For related material, visit dhsi.org/.

2. Preconvention Workshop: Grant Writing and Research Project Development in the Humanities

8:30–11:30 a.m., Alberta, Fairmont Royal York

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Julie-Françoise Tolliver, U of Oklahoma; Janine M. Utell, MLA

Facilitators provide information about grant and fellowship opportunities in the humanities and introduce the practice of grant writing as an integral part of long-term research projects. Geared to faculty members, graduate students, and independent scholars, the workshop outlines cycles of funding opportunities and explains the values and uses of grant writing. Preregistration is required.

3. Preconvention Workshop: Weathering Uncertainties in Writing Research and Teaching

8:30–11:30 a.m., Algonquin, Fairmont Royal York

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Zhaozhe Wang, U of Toronto

Speakers: Sheila Batacharya, U of Toronto; Mark Blaauw-Hara, U of Toronto; Jordana Garbati, U of Toronto; Nelesi Rodrigues, U of Toronto; Oguzhan Tekin, U of Toronto; Erin Vearncombe, U of Toronto; Kanika Verma, U of Toronto

This workshop invites participants to explore how writing scholars and educators navigate the uncertainty of political shifts, generative AI, instability in higher education, and funding challenges, featuring discussions of programmatic adaptation and sustainability, a resilient Canadian writing program, and DEI, assessment, pedagogy, and multilingual writers, concluding with collective reflection. Preregistration is required.

4. Preconvention Workshop on Teaching Banned and BADASS Books

8:30–11:30 a.m., British Columbia, Fairmont Royal York

Program arranged by the Association of Departments of English. Presiding: Samuel Cohen, U of Missouri, Columbia; Rozina Johnson, Miles C

This workshop focuses on teaching banned and BADASS books (Boldly Authoritative, Dangerously Audacious Signature Stylings), in three units: sticky subjects; politics in the department, campus, state, and nation; and building a class, developing a syllabus, and designing assignments. Participants produce and share knowledge about conditions and build assignments and syllabi they can take back to their own campuses. Preregistration is required.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HcxofqwkA45clZUEq9r7Wt7JQshxemF1?usp=drive_link after 5 Jan.

5. Preconvention Workshop: Become a Certified External Reviewer for the ADE

8:30–11:30 a.m., New Brunswick, Fairmont Royal York

Program arranged by the Association of Departments of English. Presiding: Lisa Berglund, Buffalo State U, State U of New York; Gaurav G. Desai, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

This workshop trains faculty members to become expert external reviewers of departments and programs of English. Faculty members who wish to acquire experience in reviewing or to learn more about the process are strongly encouraged to attend; those with experience will also benefit from the full review of current best practices. Preregistration is required.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HcxofqwkA45clZUEq9r7Wt7JQshxemF1?usp=drive_link after 5 Jan.

6. Preconvention Workshop: Become a Certified External Reviewer for the ALD

8:30–11:30 a.m., Nova Scotia, Fairmont Royal York

Program arranged by the Association of Language Departments. Presiding: Muriel Cormican, Texas Christian U; Jennifer M. William, Purdue U, West Lafayette

This workshop trains faculty members to become expert external reviewers of departments and programs of world languages, literatures, and cultures and related disciplines. Faculty members who wish to acquire experience in reviewing are strongly encouraged to attend; those with experience will also benefit from the full review of current best practices. Preregistration is required.

7. Planning for What’s Next with AI on Your Campus

8:30–11:30 a.m., Salon B, Fairmont Royal York

Program arranged by the MLA Task Force on Generative AI Initiatives. Presiding: David Green, Jr., Howard U; Sarah Z. Johnson, Madison Area Technical C, WI

Speakers: Kathi Inman Berens, Portland State U; Leonardo Flores, Appalachian State U

Drawing on the work of the MLA’s AI task forces, this workshop will explore how generative AI affects scholarship, teaching, academic labor, and marginalized student populations, as well as the critical stances that have developed in response. After lightning talks, participants will join discussion groups to develop pedagogies, policies, or program recommendations to take home to their institutions. Preregistration is required.

8. Dickinson’s Kinships

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the Emily Dickinson International Society. Presiding: Judith Scholes, Saint Mark’s C and Corpus Christi C

1. “Kinship as Heaven: Biblical Play in the Letters and Poems of Emily Dickinson,” Emma Duncan, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

2. “‘Until the Moss had reached our lips—’: Dickinson’s Ecological Queering of the Transatlantic Literary Kinship,” Li-hsin Hsu, National Chengchi U

3. “The Interiority of Emily Dickinson and Its Complication by the Portraiture of Lillian Westcott Hale,” Cole Phillips, Indiana U of Pennsylvania

9. Jewish Writing, Dictatorship, and Democracy

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Global Jewish. Presiding: L. Scott Lerner, Franklin and Marshall C

1. “American Democracy in Howard Fast’s Freedom Road,” Eric Strand, BNU-HKBU United International C

2. “Scholarship in the Third Reich: Victor Klemperer’s Diaries and Academic Freedom,” Courtney Hodrick, Stanford U

3. “Epistolarity and the Forgetting of Jewishness: Vasily Grossman’s Realist Project in Life and Fate,” Adam Kerker, Indiana U, Bloomington

4. “‘Normality and Uniqueness’: Holocaust Memory and Argentina’s Dictatorship,” Stephanie Pridgeon, Bates C

10. Literature and Taxonomy

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 605, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Grace King, Washington U in St. Louis

1. “The Rekindling: A New Taxonomy of Species Revival,” Sarah Bezan, University C Cork

2. “A Weed by Any Other Name: André Alexis’s Botanical Nomenclatures,” Emma Ferrett, Queen’s U

3. “Unfurling Taxonomies: Margaret Fuller’s Responses to Science in Magnolia of Lake Pontchartrain,” Christina Katopodis, Graduate Center, City U of New York

4. “The Flickering Affinities in Elizabeth Bishop’s Taxidermal Poems,” Ye Sul Oh, Seoul National U

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/special-session-literature-and-taxonomy/.

11. Family Resemblances: Hybridity and Genre in Midwestern, Working-Class, Middle-Class, and Radical Literature

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature. Presiding: Marilyn Judith Atlas, Ohio U

1. “The Poetics of Collective Efficacy: Gwendolyn Brooks and Eve Ewing in Chicago,” Jared Hackworth, U of Illinois, Chicago

2. “Reclaiming Richard Wright’s Radical Racial and Proletarian Politics,” Lydia Burleson, Stanford U

3. “‘A Partitioned City’: Liminality and the Working-Class in Bette Howland’s, Blue in Chicago,” Kane Kijek, Ohio U

4. “Resemblances and Feminist Agency in Sanora Babb’s 1939 Dustbowl Novel, Whose Names Are Unknown,” Marilyn Judith Atlas

12. African American Century: New Thoughts on Black Aesthetics and Cultural Politics during the Cold War

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 601B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Lauren Jackson, Northwestern U

Speakers: Peter J. Kalliney, U of Kentucky; Jesse McCarthy, Harvard U; Joel Rhone, U of Louisiana, Lafayette; Penny Von Eschen, U of Virginia; Kenneth W. Warren, U of Chicago

Recent attention to the Cold War from scholars of African American intellectual history has prompted a range of new critical questions concerning black internationalism, anticolonial literature, and the periodization of this decades-long era. Panelists point to new directions for Cold War scholarship and pedagogy, beginning with a discussion of Jesse McCarthy’s The Blue Period: Black Writing in the Early Cold War (2024).

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/11S3s01qh-KMnUvvnxQAv24YJfLW17OGK8Y5ib5f_SYQ/edit?tab=t.0.

13. Contested Spaces of the Korean Diaspora in Japan: Situating Zainichi Culture across Place, Region, and Discipline

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Korean and the forum LLC Japanese since 1900. Presiding: I Jonathan Kief, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Nobuko Yamasaki, Lehigh U

1. “The Publicness and Peripherality of Laboring Spaces: Focusing on Kim Dalsu and Kim Saryang,” Heesang Yoon, Stanford U

2. “Other Tongues: Ikaino as a Multilingual Literary Landscape,” Julia Clark, Sarah Lawrence C

3. “The Power of Song: Cultural Memory of Zainichi Koreans in Shin’ya Eiko’s Solo Performances,” Eun Young Seong, Grinnell C

4. “Relocating Diasporic Memory? Rikidōzan Recalled in Two Koreas,” We Jung Yi, Vanderbilt U

14. Literature and the Archive

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS European Regions. Presiding: Julia Elsky, Loyola U, Chicago

1. “Ghost Books: Digital Methods for Studying Absences in Legal Deposit Libraries,” Milan Terlunen, Johns Hopkins U Libraries

2. “An Empire of Letters: Émile Pinet-Laprade’s 1865–68 Situation Politique Correspondence,” Amber Bal, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3. “Fiction as an Archival Reading Guide: Herta Müller’s Literature and Secret Police Files,” Cristina Vatulescu, New York U

15. Global Hispanophone Soundscapes

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Javier Zapata Claveria, Colby C

Speakers: Jeanne Rosine Abomo Edou, Washington U in St. Louis; Ana M. Forcinito, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Shanna Lino, York U; Paula Pérez-Rodríguez, Spanish National Research Council

Participants explore soundscapes in the global Hispanophone through case studies on cinema, archives, orality, performance, and poetry, with a focus on aurality, resistance, and decolonial listening.

16. Natural Time and Human Narratives: Competing Temporal Orders in the Premodern World

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Pre-14th-Century Chinese. Presiding: Natasha Heller, U of Virginia

1. “Blowing Charis: Prophecy and Reproduction in Aeschylus’s Agamemnon,” Kate Gilhuly, Wellesley C

2. “Astral Immediacy in Early Empires,” Heng Du, Wellesley C

3. “Arboreal Temporalities in Buddhist Monasteries,” Natasha Heller

4. “Periodizing Premodernity: Early Modern European Scholarship on the Ancient/Medieval Divide,” Frederic Clark, U of Southern California

17. Comparative Comfort Women Studies

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Min Ji Kang, Denison U; Seon-Myung Yoo, Blinn C

1. “Transpacific Diasporas and the Genealogy from the Comfort Woman to the ‘Multicultural Woman,’” Yei Won Lim, U of Oregon

2. “Economies of Gratitude: Adoption, Military Violence, and Comfort,” Seon-Myung Yoo

3. “Testimonies across Time and Place: Traces of Filipina Comfort Women in the Work of Alicia Partnoy,” Kimberly Nance, Illinois State U

4. “Floating Archives: Comfort Women and Memory in Tomiyama Taeko and Nora Okja Keller,” Ji Nang Kim, U of Texas, Arlington

For related material, visit comparativecomfortwomenstudies.mla.hcommons.org/ after 4 Jan.

18. Alternate Relationalities

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Amelia Cruz, U of Southern California

1. “Affect, Environment, and Precarity: Queer Relationality in Kim de l’Horizon and Camille Cornu,” Flora Roussel, LaSalle C, Montreal

2. “‘An Idea You’ll Have to Give Birth To’: An Exploration of Astronomy and Queer Relationality in X-Men,” Elijah Mullens, Cornell U

3. “Objects of Love: A Quest for Intimacy without Subjectivity in Kazuo Ishiguro and Ottessa Moshfegh,” Weston Richey, U of Texas, Austin

4. “Alternate Archives and Intimacies: Aromantic Methodologies and Aesthetics in I Am What I Am,” Shanna Killeen, U of California, Santa Barbara

19. Enlightenment Exchanges: France in the Eastern Mediterranean

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 18th-Century French. Presiding: Zoe Beenstock, U of Haifa; Hanna Roman, Dickinson C

1. “Enlightenment Exchanges: France and the Levant,” Benoît Prieur, Paris Nanterre

2. “Quatremère de Quincy’s De l’architecture égyptienne: Vernacular Architecture in the Enlightenment,” Laure Anne Katsaros, Amherst C

3. “Photographic Encounters: Orientalism, Travel, and Science in Nineteenth-Century France,” Michelle C. Lee, Wellesley C

20. “On ne peut plus rien dire?”: Self-Conscious Aesthetics and Politicized Nostalgia in Contemporary French Culture

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Tony Haouam, Tufts U; Emily Shuman, Radboud U

1. “‘Woke’ Anxiety, Cancel Culture, and Nostalgia in Florence Foresti’s Boys Boys Boys,” Tony Haouam

2. “Racial Melancholia, Preempted Failures of Representation, and Nostalgia for the ‘Original’ in Irma Vep,” Emily Shuman

3. “Miss Representation: Antoine Volodine’s Radical Feminism in Débrouille-toi avec ton violeur,” Ben Streeter, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

21. Expanding the Music Memoir Family

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Life Writing. Presiding: Kimberly Hall, Wofford C; Kimberly Mack, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

1. “Latin American Rap and Hip Hop as Oral History, Voice of Resistance, and Site of Collective Identity,” Alexander Waid, US Coast Guard Acad.

2. “‘Der arme Spielmann von Grillparzer’: Telling a Life through Music and Words,” Ulrike Baur, U of Oregon

3. “Narrating a Life through Music? Feminist Autobiographical Songs from Turkey’s Era of Confession,” Rustem Ertug Altinay, U of Milan

4. “‘Writing a Life in Song’: The Musical Memoir of Brían and Diarmuid Mac Gloinn of Ye Vagabonds,” LeeAnn Derdeyn, U of North Texas

22. Dread and Black Cinematic Experience

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 709, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Xavier Lee, U of California, Davis

1. “Desire and Desirability, Intimacy, and the Dread of Black Queer Love Stories in B-Boy Blues,” Henry Washington, Jr., U of California, Berkeley

2. “‘Wait ’Til You’re Out-Out’: Dread as Memory in Ramell Ross’s Nickel Boys,” Andie Berry, Brandeis U

3. “The Terror of Despair in Devil’s Pie,” Zuri Arman, Brown U

4. “Black Death and Anticipation: Malcom X,” Xavier Lee

23. Translating the Unverifiable: Family Resemblances between Literature and Mathematics

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 206D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Pratistha Bhattarai, Grand Valley State U; Moyang (Moya) Li, California State U, Long Beach

1. “Planetary Topologies: Dimensionless Spaces in J. M. Coetzee’s Elizabeth Costello,” Pratistha Bhattarai

2. “The Early Novel’s Intuition: Translating Dilemmas from Formal Logic and Early Experimental Science,” Kelly Swartz, Princeton U

3. “Love Objects: Math as Fetish in Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day,” Moyang (Moya) Li

4. “Mathematical and Literary Formalisms,” Bill Kroeger, U of Toronto

24. Moral Agency in a Nonmoral World

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Philosophy and Literature. Presiding: Julia Chi Yan Ng, Goldsmiths U of London

Speakers: Geoffrey Bennington, Emory U; Daniel Boyarin, U of California, Berkeley; Maureen E. Ruprecht Fadem, Kingsborough Community C, City U of New York; Ranjana Khanna, Duke U; Andrew C. Parker, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

Scholars from a variety of disciplines gather in response to the need to defend academic freedom regarding Palestine. They explore the future of purposiveness in a transactional world, whether reduced to fiduciary concerns or reducing Gaza to real estate. The themes under discussion include freedom (academic or otherwise), infrastructures of colloquy, and self-, dis-, and reorganization.

25. Psychoanalysis of the Mother

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 205A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Psychology, Psychoanalysis, and Literature. Presiding: Nathan Gorelick, Barnard C

1. “The Child as Project: A Beauvoirian Reading of Klara and the Sun,” Shannon Mussett, Utah Valley U

2. “Playing with the Mother’s Body: Writing the Maternal in Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts,” Anwita Ghosh, Fordham U, Bronx

3. “Body against Body: Rethinking Maternal Subjectivity,” Zhuoran Deng, U of Toronto

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/psychology-psychoanalysis-and-literature/forum/topic/psychoanalysis-of-the-mother-2/.

26. Agency through Objects: The Role of Materiality in Literature and Art Depicting Women

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Haihong Yang, U of Delaware, Newark

1. “Between Agency and Gender Norms: Women’s Poetry on Flowers in Hongloumeng (Dream of the Red Chamber),” Wanming Wang, independent scholar

2. “Sensing Spices: Transcorporeal Resistance and Affective Assemblages in Mirch Masala,” Komal Nazir, Oklahoma State U, Stillwater

3. “‘Each Picture Told a Story’: Text Objects and Art in Jane Eyre,” Emma Marie Duke, U of Texas, Austin

For related material, write to hyang@udel.edu after 30 Dec.

27. Literary Climate Solutions

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 206B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Matt Morgenstern, Purdue U, West Lafayette; Kate Ostrom, Wayne State U

Speakers: Bailey Flannery, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Jace Jung, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Sofia Mattson, Cornell U; Paola Yuli, Howard U

Panelists consider how literature (including fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction) imagines climate solutions at local, regional, and global scales. These representations function as literary climate solutions that imagine and inspire responses to the climate crisis. Participants aim to assemble a category of texts that represent climate solutions from different periods of literary history.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CXKgN6PvZMUQNa9kb_837g03FyQ1pgTn?usp=sharing after 5 Jan.

28. German Orientalism from the Outside

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC 19th- and Early-20th-Century German. Presiding: Jason Groves, U of Washington, Seattle

1. “The Saffron Afterlife of the Tirolean Priest Joseph Tieffenthaler,” Ambika Athreya, U of California, Berkeley

2. “Woodcuts and Westernization: Orientalist Imaginary in German Japanese Legal Exchange of the 1880s,” Todd Maslyk, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3. “The Trials of Friedrich Schlegel: Seeking a Nation across the Banks of the Rhine, Nile, and Ganges,” Varol Kahveci, Columbia U

29. Collaboration, Failure, and Form in Michelangelo Antonioni’s Early Projects

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 715B, MTCC

A special session

1. “The Unmade Pasinetti-Antonioni Screenplays: Three Ways to Write about Venice,” Alberto Zambenedetti, U of Toronto

2. “The Space of Dispersion: Michelangelo Antonioni’s Gente del Po,” Andrea Malaguti, U of Massachusetts, Amherst

3. “Michelangelo Antonioni’s Temps Vivant: Weathering Time by Capturing the Landscape,” Emilie Jacob, U of Toronto

30. RESOLUTION!!!!!!

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 606, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 19th-Century American. Presiding: Xine Yao, University C London

Speakers: Oliver Baker, Penn State U, University Park; Max Chapnick, Saint Mary’s C, IN; Jess Goldberg, New Mexico Highlands U; Alex Moskowitz, Mount Holyoke C; Martha E. Schoolman, Florida International U

To protest the MLA’s suppression of Resolution 2025-1, participants discuss how to organize, teach, and research nineteenth-century American literary studies with a commitment to staying and fighting; a failed resolution is a lack of resolve.

31. Challenging Anthropocentrism through the Representation of Nonhuman Animals in Latin American Literature

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session

1. “Learning Life from Dogs: Identification, Death, and Representations of Womanhood in Contemporary Latin American Literature,” Renata Villon, Brown U

2. “Buzzing beyond Boundaries: Mosquitoes, Mutants, and More-than-Human Ways of Knowing in Michel Nieva’s Dengue Boy,” Oscar A. Pérez, Skidmore C

3. “Dismantling Indifference: An Approach to the Life of Fish in Latin American Literature,” María de los Ángeles Aldana-Mendoza, U of California, Riverside

32. Reading Borges Today: Between Archive and Thought

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 803A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Patrick E. Dove, Indiana U, Bloomington

1. “Repetition, Reference, and Nihilism in Heidegger and Borges,” Patrick E. Dove

2. “Uncanny Birth in Borges’s Reading of Nietzsche,” Kate Jenckes, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3. “Why Nobody Can Consume Just One Piece of Borges,” Brett Levinson, Binghamton U, State U of New York

4. “The Immanence of the Finite in Borges’s Poetry: An Alternative Epistemology,” Hugo Moreno, Lewis and Clark C

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/1z8y9f_N6NdGqvH8coTO7ZoWeugZdRPz3WBYsls6lC9o/edit?usp=sharing.

33. Subtitling, Closed Captioning, and Accessibility: Working across Codes and Modalities

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Linguistics and Literature. Presiding: Roshawnda Derrick, Pepperdine U

1. “Inventing Access: Image Description as Linguistic Translation in Museum Space,” Chad Duffy, Pepperdine U

2. “Rendezvous with History: Gaa-Ezhiwebag Nagishkaadiwining,” Tessa Culleton, U of Maryland, College Park; Margaret Noodin, U of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/linguistics-and-literature/docs/ after 1 Dec.

34. Multiethnic Communities in the Spanish Empire

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 707, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Miguel Valerio, U of Maryland, College Park

1. “A Mulato Leader of a Multiethnic Catholic Community,” Miguel Valerio

2. “Fluid Lives: Indias, Mestizas, Mobility and Welfare in the Spanish Atlantic World,” Sara Guengerich, Texas Tech U

3. “Indio, Negro, and Mulato Petitioners in Philip II’s Madrid, 1561–98,” Felipe Ruan, Brock U

35. Global Care Chains in Spain

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century Spanish and Iberian. Presiding: Xavier Dapena, Iowa State U

1. “Cuidadoras (in)visibilizadas: Trabajos domésticos, migraciones y reivindicaciones en el cómic social,” Marina Bettaglio, U of Victoria

2. “Resisting the Care Crisis for Children of Immigrants in Safia El Aaddam’s Hija de inmigrantes,” Oana Alexan Katz, Northwestern U

3. “The Role of Community in the Global Care Chain in Reunión: Lengua o muerte,” Hyerim Hong, Northwestern U

4. “Gender, Care, and Transnational Migration in the Canarian Graphic Novel Garafía,” Nayra Ramirez, U of Pittsburgh

36. (Re)Thinking AI on Language Pedagogy: Discourses of Resemblances and Disparities

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LSL Language and Society. Presiding: Inés Vañó García, Framingham State U

1. “Reimagining Language Pedagogy: Critical Perspectives on AI Integration,” Kristen Keach, U of Nevada, Las Vegas

2. “‘Make It Sound More Human’: Teaching Students to Distinguish AI-Generated and Human Texts,” Svetlana Tyutina, California State U, Northridge

3. “Student Writers Caught between Originality and Algorithms: The Impact of PDS on Multilingual Writing,” Abdullah Al Musayeb, U of Memphis

4. “(Re)Thinking AI in Language Pedagogy: Between Assistance and Authority,” Meghan E. McInnis-Domínguez, U of Delaware, Newark

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/language-and-society/.

37. Beyond the Professoriat: Demystifying Humanities Career Pathways

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Ayanni Cooper, MLA

Speakers: Jocelyn Frelier, Brown U; Amber Hodge, Choate Rosemary Hall, CT; Michael Smith, Fine Foundation

Representatives from across the humanities ecosystem share information about their specific career pathways and trajectories, including at private high schools, in nonprofit grant making, and program management across industries. Speakers provide insight into their specific career, including guidance on application preparation and maintaining a scholarly life alongside a career outside the professoriat.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1A4ObnSrhi-y2Neo9OeFMuR65BnsHSlqc?usp=drive_link after 7 Jan.

38. Slight Forms

1:45–3:00 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Early American. Presiding: Michelle Sizemore, U of Kentucky

Speakers: Thomas W. Howard, Bilkent U; Nathan Motulsky, Columbia U; Rebecca Rosen, Murray State U; Lauren Santoru, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Leah Thomas, Virginia State U; Holly Wiegand, Boston U

Participants interrogate patterns of “slight forms” in early American literature—forms that are small or delicate and those treated as unimportant or given insufficient attention.

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/early-american/.

39. Allen Ginsberg at One Hundred

1:45–3:00 p.m., 706, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: John Whalen-Bridge, National U of Singapore

1. “A Prescription for Patriotism: Ginsberg and Censorship in an Era of Book Banning and Challenges,” Jericho Williams, U of Alaska, Fairbanks

2. “Yelp! The Parodic Afterlives of Ginsberg’s Howl,” Deborah R. Geis, DePauw U

3. “‘When You Change Someone’s Language’: How Beat Poetry Helped Shaped ‘Gay Sensibility’ and Liberation,” Eric Keenaghan, U at Albany, State U of New York

4. “Late Ginsberg and Queer Temporality,” John Whalen-Bridge

40. From the Spectral Borderlands to Latinx Vampire Lore: Tracing a US Latinx Horror Genre

1:45–3:00 p.m., 709, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Magda Garcia, U of California, Riverside

1. “The Rise of BIPOC Horror: Contextualizing US Latinx Horror,” Magda Garcia

2. “Hueseras, Mestizas, and Lloronas: Surviving Deadly Occupants and Séancing Feminist Specters,” Brenda Lara, U of California, Santa Cruz

3. “Laughing through Dark Times: Chicanx Nerdcore at the Intersection of Horror-Comedy,” Alexandro Hernandez, California State U, Dominguez Hills

4. “‘Your Lips, My Lips,/Apocalypse’: Latinx Love at the End of the World in Junot Díaz’s ‘Monstro,’” Roberto Macias, Jr., U of California, Riverside

41. White Liberal Subjects and American Writers

1:45–3:00 p.m., 707, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Amy Foley, Providence C

1. “Toni Morrison on Politeness and Fear: Playing in the Dark and the Liberal Subject,” Robert A. Jackson, U of Tulsa

2. “‘The Death of the Heart’: James Baldwin and the Limits of White Liberal Sentiment,” Rich Blint, U of Pennsylvania

3. “Baldwin’s Gestural Coding: White Feminine Performance and Transracial Irony,” Amy Foley

4. “Bodies, Film Viewing, and the Pre–Civil Rights Era: The Cinematic Suasions of Intruder in the Dust,” Peter Lurie, U of Richmond

42. Conflicts and Kinship in Contemporary Sinophone Films

1:45–3:00 p.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jack Hang-tat Leong, York U

1. “Negotiating Linguistic and Cultural Conflicts in The Greatest Wedding on Earth,” Jessica Tsui-Yan Li, York U

2. “Women in the Middle: Family Ties in Ho Chao-ti’s Sock ’n Roll,” Hsiu-Chuang Deppman, Oberlin C

3. “Queering Kinship and Polylocality in Sinophone Cinema,” Alvin K. Wong, U of Hong Kong

Respondent: Carlos Rojas, Duke U

For related material, write to jli@yorku.ca after 15 Dec.

43. Fight Creatively: Visual and Performance Cultures of Protest in South Korea

1:45–3:00 p.m., 711, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Hong Kal, York U; Vicki Sung-yeon Kwon, Royal Ontario Museum

1. “Acting Portraits of the Victims of the Sewol Ferry Disaster,” Hong Kal

2. “Performing Ghostly Gatherings: Hologram Protests and the Reimagining of Activism in South Korea,” Hayana Kim, Ohio State U, Columbus

3. “Resurrected Memory: Mediated Representations of US Military Comfort Women in Virtual Reality,” Christine Choi, U of Pittsburgh

4. “Fighting Military Imperialism with Ecofeminism: The Artistic Practice of Gangjeong Peace Activists,” Vicki Sung-yeon Kwon

44. Chaucerian Attention Economies

1:45–3:00 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Chaucer. Presiding: Adin E. Lears, Virginia Commonwealth U

Speakers: Andrew Albin, Fordham U, Lincoln Center; Matthew Boyd Goldie, Rider U; Kashaf Qureshi, U of Chicago; George Shuffelton, Carleton C; Kathleen A. Tonry, U of Connecticut, Storrs

Respondent: Katherine G. Zieman, U de Poitiers

Exploring premodern attention economies in the literature and art of Chaucer and his contemporaries, panelists address attention with respect to manuscript reading; sound, voice, and listening; cognitive capitalism; medieval ideas of the experiment-experience spectrum; and mediation and immediacy.

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/chaucer/.

45. Going Global: Questions, Challenges, Opportunities

1:45–3:00 p.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 17th-Century English. Presiding: Sarah Wall-Randell, Wellesley C

Speakers: Abdulhamit Arvas, U of Pennsylvania; Andrew Bozio, Skidmore C; Rhema Hokama, U of Washington, Seattle; Carmen Nocentelli, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Participants address the methodological and theoretical implications of global and transcultural frameworks in seventeenth-century studies. How have these frameworks transformed our understanding of canonical texts, cultural movements, and religious and economic networks? What are the pedagogical implications of decentering England? How might we productively navigate between different scales of analysis?

46. Catalonia and the Ends of Empire: Memorialization and Erasure in the Philippines and Morocco

1:45–3:00 p.m., 713B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Anna Casas Aguilar, U of British Columbia

1. “From Catalonia to the Philippines and Back: Understanding Slave Trade Networks,” Aurélie Vialette, Yale U

2. “Catalan Presence in Colonial Print: Positionality and Empire in the Philippines,” Robert Sanchis Alvarez, U of Virginia

3. “Colonial Struggles against Castilianization: Catalans in the Hispano-Moroccan War,” Carles Ferrando Valero, Bowling Green State U

4. “Quatre gotes de sang: Dietari d’un català al Marroc: Explaining Catalan Orientalist Perceptions,” Sandra Ortiz-València, Averett U

47. Autotheory: History, Practice, Genre

1:45–3:00 p.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC History and Literature. Presiding: Bruce Holsinger, U of Virginia

1. “Before Autotheory: Queer Theory’s AIDS Novelesque,” Sylvie Thode, U of California, Berkeley

2. “The Psyche of the Postmortem Self in Susan Taubes’s Divorcing,” Lucy Onderwyzer Gold, Brown U

3. “Autotheory’s Mothers in Two Acts: From Augustine’s Confessions to Hartman’s Lose Your Mother,” Andrew Kaplan, Emory U

4. “Sensing, Feeling, and Writing Feminist (Film) Theory,” Angelica Fenner, U of Toronto

48. Cuerpos Furiosos: Travesti-Trans Politics in Revolt across the Americas

1:45–3:00 p.m., 205D, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century Latin American. Presiding: Carmen Jarrin, C of the Holy Cross

Speakers: Ezekiel Acosta, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Maria Cecilia Azar, Brown U; Yuri Fraccaroli, U of California, Santa Barbara; Malú Machuca Rose, Northwestern U; Alejandrina Medina, U of California, San Diego; Georgie Sanchez, Princeton U; Kerry White, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Join contributors to the spring 2025 NACLA Report special issue, Cuerpos Furiosos: Travesti-Trans Politics in Revolt, as they reflect critically on anti-fascist resistance, transborder solidarities, and the force of travesti-trans politics. The authors examine the rise of fascism in the Americas and explore creative, insurgent strategies for survival, resistance, and liberation in the face of colonial, racial, and sexual fascisms.

49. French and Francophone Studies in Higher Ed: Success Stories and Innovative Pedagogy

1:45–3:00 p.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Academic Program Services. Presiding: Xavier Moquet, French Embassy in the United States

1. “French Everywhere All at Once,” Carine Bourget, U of Arizona, Tucson; Alain-Philippe Durand, U of Arizona, Tucson

2. “Art for Active Language Learning in French for Healthcare: A Pedagogical Approach,” Viviana Pezzullo, U of Miami

3. “Trends and Tendencies: An Overview of Success Stories in French and Francophone Studies,” Emmanuel Buzay, Expertise France / Ambassade de France

50. Sixteenth-Century French Environment(s)

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206F, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 16th-Century French. Presiding: Alison Calhoun, Indiana U, Bloomington; Pauline Goul, U of Chicago

1. “Montaigne and Oikeiôsis: Of Ecological Attunement in the Essays,” Chad Córdova, Cornell U

2. “‘Maringouin’ Bites Back: Exposing Settler-Colonialism to the Environment,” Timothy Messen, Emory U

3. “From the Wild to the Domesticated: The Environment in Le Théâtre d’agriculture, by Olivier de Serres,” Claire Varin d’Ainvelle, U Bordeaux Montaigne

4. “‘La schelette en sa verte jeunesse’: Dying, Necromancy, and Conservation in Pierre de Ronsard’s Derniers Vers,” Jesse Marie Keruskin, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

51. After Reconciliation: Collective Apologies and Ontologies of Relation

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206E, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Shukri Bana, U of Texas, Austin

1. “Foot Washings and Failures: Collective Apology and Split Guilt in Post-TRC South African Writing,” Shukri Bana

2. “National Affects, Memory, and Queer Temporalities in El pecado social: Los sobrevivientes del olvido,” Silvana Scott, U of Texas, Austin

3. “Process without End(s): The Politics of Perpetual Reconciliation and Indigenous Dispossession,” Dallas Hunt, U of British Columbia

For related material, write to silvana.scott@utexas.edu.

52. Comics as Physical Objects

1:45–3:00 p.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for the History of Authorship, Reading, and Publishing. Presiding: Edward Whitley, Lehigh U

1. “A Queer Print History of Comics,” Margaret Galvan, U of Florida

2. “The Comics Megatext: Floppies, Trades, Marvel Unlimited, Podcasts, and The X-Men,” Bradley Fest, Hartwick C

3. “Multimedia and Digital Materialities: The Blue Age of (Web) Comics and Fostering Multimodal Literacy,” Devon Harvey, Queen’s U

4. “Framing Matter: Materiality and the Medium of Comics,” Christina Kraenzle, York U

53. Right Critique

1:45–3:00 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM Literary Criticism. Presiding: Stephen Best, U of California, Berkeley

1. “The Red-Pilled Right: Binary Codes, Trans Erasure, and Critical Misremembering,” Michael Harrington, New York U

2. “The Cultural Politics of No-Outside: Land’s The Dark Enlightenment and Derrida’s Of Grammatology,” Kyle Garton-Gundling, Christopher Newport U

3. “Thiel’s Girard,” Jason Maxwell, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

4. “Neoreactionary Futurism and Its Utopias,” Rhona Jamieson, University C Dublin

For related material, visit rightcritique.mla.hcommons.org/.

54. Some Thing Gay, Some Thing Latino: On Likeness and the Analogical

1:45–3:00 p.m., 602A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Joshua Guzmán, U of California, Los Angeles

1. “The Analogy Complex; or, Latinidad in the Series,” Joseph Miranda, Yale U

2. “The Literary Aperture: Speed, Exposure, Manifestation,” Joshua Guzmán

3. “Occasions of (Sensate) Refusal and Collapse: Blackouts, Fantasmas, and Other Ongoing Evanescences of Queer Latinidad,” Ricardo L. Ortiz, Georgetown U

55. Convergences around the Ineffable: Science, Religion, and the Evolution of Contemporary Fiction

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206D, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Science and Literature. Presiding: Stephanie Shirilan, Syracuse U

Speakers: Sayan Bhattacharyya, Yale U; Jack Dudley, Mount Saint Mary’s U; Everett Hamner, Western Illinois U; Joshua Schuster, Western U; Kyra Sutton, Bilkent U

Participants engage with diverse twenty-first-century fictional imbrications of science and religion, including Benjamín Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World and The Maniac, Richard Powers’s The Overstory and Playground, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Sheila Heti’s Pure Colour, and Samantha Harvey’s Orbital. How do these novels reframe apparently oppositional discourses through shared questions, epistemologies, habits of mind, and affective responses?

56. Echoes beyond Humans: Translating Nonhuman Voices in Literature

1:45–3:00 p.m., 712, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Odile Cisneros, U of Alberta

1. “Translating the Nonhuman Voice: Bridging Translation Theory and Practice in Ecotranslation,” Hongyang Ji, U of Alberta

2. “Translating the Voices of the Nonhuman in Contemporary Italian Ecopoetry,” Gabriele Belletti, U of Florida; Silvia Valisa, Florida State U

3. “Consider the Octopus,” Caroline Bailey, Stanford U

4. “‘The Outside Doctors the Inside’: Translating the Postmodern Environment,” Odile Cisneros

For related material, visit hcommons.org/groups/mla-convention-2026-translating-non-humans/.

57. Goethe as World Literature

1:45–3:00 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the Goethe Society of North America. Presiding: Matt Erlin, Washington U in St. Louis

1. “Goethe’s Metamorphosis of Plants in the Global South: Janice Pariat’s Everything the Light Touches,” Anmol Sahni, Emory U

2. “Neo Werther: Adaptation and Popularization in Contemporary Japan,” Stefan Keppler-Tasaki, U of Tokyo

3. “Worlding Goethe through Epigraphs,” Tomás Espino Barrera, U du Luxembourg

For related material, write to merlin@wustl.edu.

58. Crisscrossing Identities: Family Resemblances in Italian American Literature and Film

1:45–3:00 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Italian American Studies Association. Presiding: Loredana Polezzi, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

1. “Pavese, Cecchi, and the ‘Family Resemblances’ of Italian American Literary Identity,” Darren Kusar, U of Chicago

2. “Myths of Authenticity: The Familial and Familiar in Italian American Women’s Memoirs,” Loredana Polezzi

3. “Threads of Belonging: Diaspora, Faith, and Literary Legacy in Fante and Lahiri,” Alan J. Gravano, Rocky Mountain U of Health Professions

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/italian-american/documents/.

59. Exiled Literatures: Women, Displacements, and Archives in the Global Hispanic World

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the Feministas Unidas. Presiding: Ana Simon Alegre, Adelphi U

1. “Exile, Nonbelonging, and the Futility of Alternative Worlds: ‘Sara la obrera’ and ‘El recluta,’” Luz Ainaí Morales Pino, Pontificia U Catolica de Peru

2. “Finding Memory, Finding Voice: Journeys Home through the Latinx Nineteenth Century,” Nicole Eitzen Delgado, Hunter C, City U of New York

3. “Between Image and Absence: The Literary Insilio of Guadalupe Marín,” Ariadna Tenorio, U of Florida

4. “The Inner Exile: The Orphan of the Living in Adiós María, by Xohana Torres,” María Medín-Doce, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

Participants explore the themes of exile, displacement, and identity in Latinx and Hispanic women’s literature, examining how marginalized voices navigate historical and emotional legacies throughout literary archives.

For related material, write to president.feministasund@gmail.com.

60. Antarctica: Everyone’s Home

1:45–3:00 p.m., 710, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Ellen Cressman Frye, William Paterson U

1. “Bringing Antarctica Home: Theater, Performance, and Social Engagement,” Ellen Cressman Frye

2. “Writing Women into the Ice: The Evolution of Women’s Voices in Antarctic Literature,” Hayley Bowen, Temple U, Philadelphia

3. “Infinite Intimacy: The Cosmic Everyday in the Antarctic Landscape of Marie Darrieussecq’s ‘White,’” Matthew Rodriguez, Harvard U

60A. Do Crowds Have Minds?

1:45–3:00 p.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Cognitive and Affect Studies

1. “On the Principal Characteristics of Crowd Minds,” Sowon S. Park, U of California, Santa Barbara

2. “The Precarious Autonomy of the Relational Self,” Valerio Amoretti, U of California, Santa Barbara

3. “In Defense of the ‘Inner Heart’: Orwell, the Moi Fondamental, and the Impenetrable Incognito,” Patricia Rae, Queen’s U

Respondent: Laura Christine Otis, Emory U

61. Artivism: Social Justice and Solidarity in Lusophone Cultures

1:45–3:00 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Luso-Brazilian. Presiding: Ana Claudia Sao Bernardo, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

1. “Brazilian Feminist Punk and Hardcore Bands: Their Contribution to Transnational Feminism through the Fight for Social Justice,” Catalina Joseph, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

2. “‘Bereu,’ ‘Pega Nega,’ and Rapper Azul’s Artivism,” Paulo Dutra, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

3. “Subverting Censors: Candido Portinari’s Political Artivism,” Rex Nielson, Brigham Young U, UT

4. “Decolonial Artivism and the Politics of the Body in Mari Paula’s Trilogia Antropófaga,” Alicia Piñar Díaz, Johns Hopkins U, MD

62. Can You Guess My Name? Pen Names, Pseudonyms, and Anonymous Authorship in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Iberian Texts

1:45–3:00 p.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 18th- and 19th-Century Spanish and Iberian. Presiding: Gabrielle Miller, Baylor U

1. “Between the Spotlight and Anonymity: Stage Names and Theatrical Identities in Late-Eighteenth-Century Spain,” Oscar Ruiz Hernandez, U of Massachusetts, Lowell

2. “Hidden in Plain Sight: Female Names, Authorship, and Modern Critical Reception of the Eighteenth Century,” Elizabeth Franklin Lewis, U of Mary Washington

3. “Female Impostures: The Pseudonymous Poet ‘Rosa Espino,’” Catalina Rodriguez, Boston U

4. “Métodos y academias en las controversias autoriales: Bartolomé Gallardo y Leandro Fernández de Moratín,” Elena Deanda, Washington C

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/18th-and-19th-century-spanish-and-iberian/ after 1 Jan.

63. Cross-Talk: Pedagogical Approaches to South Asian Literature and Connections across Cultures

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the South Asian Literary Association

1. “Trauma and the Limits of Anthropomorphism in Murugan’s The Story of a Goat and Bong Joon Ho’s Okja,” Aniruddha Mukhopadhyay, Texas A&M U, Kingsville

2. “Cowboys and Indians: Confusing and Connecting Classical and Western Literature,” Moumin Quazi, Tarleton State U

3. “Free and Easy Wandering,” Cynthia Leenerts, East Stroudsburg U

64. Laughing Allowed? Humor and Human Rights in the Literature Classroom

1:45–3:00 p.m., 606, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Sandy El Bitar, Not for Laughs

Speakers: Danielle R. Bobker, Concordia U; Sandy El Bitar

For a lot of people, “always punch up, never down” was, is, and will always be the golden rule for comedy. But today many down-punching jokes are making their way from the extreme corners of the Internet into the mainstream. How are clashing styles of humor affecting you and students? How do you respond? Participants consider how to encourage and support nuanced, inclusive classroom conversations about provocative humor.

65. Theory and Resistance

1:45–3:00 p.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for Critical Exchange. Presiding: Jeffrey R. Di Leo, Texas A&M U, Victoria

Speakers: Keith Feldman, U of California, Berkeley; Carol Hay, U of Massachusetts, Lowell; Julia Chi Yan Ng, Goldsmiths U of London; Sandra Ruiz, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; P. Khalil Saucier, Bucknell U; Zahi Zalloua, Whitman C

Panelists explore the relationship between theory and resistance with respect to both the current state of our profession and contemporary social and political issues.

For related material, visit societyforcriticalexchange.org after 31 Dec.

66. Automation, AI, and the Future of Contingent Teaching: What’s Next?

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Contingent Labor in the Profession. Presiding: Lauren Fournier, independent scholar

Speakers: Nina Begus, U of California, Berkeley; Doaa Omran, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Alexander E. Pichugin, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; Virginia Ramos, U of San Francisco

Participants explore how artificial intelligence and automation are reshaping higher education and contingent academic labor. What might a postadjunct future look like—for English and language departments and for the academy—and how could radically new institutional models emerge? What role might AI play in either entrenching precarity or enabling transformation?

67. Writing in the Margins: The Freedom of Scholarly Work in Nondisciplinary Spaces

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Katina Rogers, Inkcap Consulting

Speakers: Jaj Karajgikar, U of Pennsylvania; Ashley Cheyemi McNeil, Full Spectrum Education; Brandon Walsh, U of Virginia

A scholarly writing voice is often forged in intensely disciplinary spaces. For participants in this panel, writing has taken on new life in later career stages when these disciplinary strictures have been loosened. This kind of writing can be rigorous, insightful, and joyful. As librarians, administrators, nonprofit leaders, and independent scholars, we ask: What does it look like to reclaim our writing in new and changing contexts?

67A. Running from the Rising Tide

1:45–3:00 p.m., 802B, MTCC

A special session

1. “Expedition to Exodus: Climate Change, Migration, and the Precarity of Himalayan Labor,” Priyanka Sharma, George Washington U

2. “Listening to the Dead: Slow Violence and Racial Ecologies in Sing, Unburied, Sing,” Rashi Maheshwari, U of Maryland, College Park

3. “The Role of ‘Spiritual Ecologies’ in the Critique of the Capitalocene,” Sarah Jenkins, Howard U

4. “Traveling with the Trees: Forced Plant Migrations through the Colonial Migrations of Humans,” Ananya Bhardwaj, George Washington U

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/members/bhardwaj/.

68. Latinx Fracasos: Past, Present, and Future

3:30–4:45 p.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Latina and Latino. Presiding: Maria A. Windell, U of Colorado, Boulder

1. “A Sense of Failure; or, Brownness and Its Discontents,” William Orchard, Queens C, City U of New York

2. “Categorical Failure, Poetic Opportunity: Listening for the X in Contemporary AfroLatinx Poetry,” Rebecca Foote, U of California, Los Angeles

3. “When US Settler Democracy Refuses Fracaso,” José F. Aranda, Jr., Rice U

4. “Nineteenth-Century Narratives of Creole Degeneracy and Latinx Racialization,” Evelyn Soto, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/members/mawindell/docs/.

69. The Imperiled Public Sector: Professionalism in Contemporary American Literature

3:30–4:45 p.m., 711, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Stephen E. Schryer, U of New Brunswick

1. “‘I Am a Fucking Tenured Professor’: Professional Redemption and the Prison Teaching Narrative,” Sean Joseph McCann, Wesleyan U

2. “Mourning the Black Professional in Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys,” Stephen E. Schryer

3. “Seeing like an Anthropologist: E. L. Doctorow’s The Waterworks and Critical Infrastructure Studies,” Mary Esteve, Concordia U

70. From the Beinecke to Birmingham: New Work on Counterarchives

3:30–4:45 p.m., 713B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Kathy M. Lavezzo, U of Iowa

1. “The Infrastructural Archive: Staging Fantasies of Infrastructure and Ecology,” Christopher Breu, Illinois State U

2. “‘The Method is the Meaning’: Stuart Hall’s Dissertation on James,” Kathy M. Lavezzo; Harilaos Stecopoulos, U of Iowa

3. “‘In Profusion’: The Beinecke Library’s Wallace Thurman Collection, and a Discovery,” Sarah Gleeson-White, U of Sydney

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/from-the-beinecke-to-birmingham-new-work-on-counter-archives/ after 28 Nov.

71. The Afterlives of a Movement: Representations of Protest in the Sinophone World

3:30–4:45 p.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Modern and Contemporary Chinese

1. “Spectral Witnessing: Literary Testimonies of Postmovement Hong Kong Literature,” Gang Huang, Washington U in St. Louis

2. “Aqueous Logics: Toward a Hydro Feminist Approach to Hong Kong’s Futurisms,” Carissa Ma, Florida Atlantic U

3. “Disconnect and Reboot: The Spatial Choreography in Taiwan and Hong Kong’s Social Movements,” Yen Jen Chen, U of Texas, Austin

4. “The Writing’s on the Wall: Hong Kong’s Prodemocracy Movement Post–National Security Law,” Jerrine Tan, City U of Hong Kong

72. Family Resemblances in East Asian Anthologies

3:30–4:45 p.m., 706, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Edward B. Kamens, Yale U

1. “A Social Network Analysis: Exchange Poetry in Yutai xinyong 玉臺新詠 (New Songs from a Jade Terrace),” Mengling Wang, Colgate U

2. “Literati Families in Honcho monzui,” Niels van der Salm, Leiden U

3. “In the Eyes of the Beholder: Familial Resemblances in The Tale of Genji,” Edward B. Kamens

4. “Familial Clusters in Tekagami (‘Calligraphy Albums’),” Mary Gilstad, U of California, Los Angeles

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org after 1 Dec.

73. Early Modern Disability beyond Tragedy

3:30–4:45 p.m., 601B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Deyasini Dasgupta, Washington State U, Pullman

Speakers: Sam Bozoukov, Harvard U; James Kuzner, Brown U; Pasquale Toscano, Vassar C; Katherine Schaap Williams, U of Toronto

Respondent: Deyasini Dasgupta

By moving beyond Shakespeare’s Richard III, panelists chart new possibilities for thinking disability and tragedy together, working from an orientation to disability gain that refuses a deficit model of disability. What role can disability play in early modern tragedy when it is not—or at least not only—driving a play’s tragic engine?

For related material, write to ks.williams@utoronto.ca after 6 Jan.

74. Biological Muses of Baroque Literatures

3:30–4:45 p.m., 803B, MTCC

A special session

1. “Vermin in the Verse: Biological Muses of John Donne,” John Doucet, Nicholls State U

2. “Cobra’s Marble Veins: Neobaroque Nature and the ‘Realm of Stone’ from 1647 to 1972,” Emery Jenson, U of Wisconsin, Madison

76. The Literary Interview: Theory and Practice

3:30–4:45 p.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Michael Lackey, U of Minnesota, Morris

1. “The Interview as Dialogic Imagination,” Virginia Rademacher, Babson C

2. “What the Interview Offers,” Jeffrey J. Williams, Carnegie Mellon U

3. “Interview Studies and Generative AI,” Rebecca Roach, U of Birmingham

For related material, visit umn-morris.academia.edu/MichaelLackey.

77. Weakening Masculinities in Modernist Contexts

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: John Zilcosky, U of Toronto

1. “Weakening Masculinity and the Gender Ambiguity of Impotentiality in European Modernist Literature,” Teresa Valentini, U of Toronto

2. “The Romantic Male: An Alternative Masculinity as an Aesthetic Mode of Resistance in Chinese Modern Literature,” Ying-Hsiu Chou, U of Washington, Seattle

3. “Lethargic Existence as Weak Masculinity: Wuwei, Postmetaphysics, and Wallace Stevens’s Modernism,” Ruoshui Zhang, U of Cambridge

4. “Old Trails and New Masculinities in the Modernist Wilderness,” Andre Furlani, Concordia U

78. (Ab)Use of the Body in the Long Nineteenth Century

3:30–4:45 p.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 19th-Century French. Presiding: Sara Phenix, Brigham Young U, UT

1. “Plot Twist! Surprising Bodies, Surprised Minds in Nineteenth-Century French Fiction,” Milan Terlunen, U of Sussex

2. “Fertility Politics in Émile Zola’s La curée,” Heidi Brevik-Zender, U of California, Riverside

3. “Reading Hystérilité in Two Rachilde Novels,” Victoria Cheff, Brown U

4. “‘He Doesn’t Know That He Is Able’: The Mind-Body Hierarchy and ‘Curative’ Abuse in Great War France,” Katherine Ellis, Westminster C

79. André Gide, Identity, and Alterity

3:30–4:45 p.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association des Amis d’André Gide. Presiding: Christine Armstrong, Denison U

1. “André Gide et les terrae incognitae du cinéma,” Karine Abadie, Memorial U of Newfoundland

2. “André Gide: The Entangled Dynamics of Sexuality and Travel,” Pamela Antonia Genova, U of Oklahoma

3. “Gratuity, Gender, and Postwar Youth in Europe,” Ian Curtis, Kenyon C

4. “Transgressive Acts, Transformed Selves: Gide’s Gratuitous Act and Self-Transformation,” Samuel Holmertz, New York U

For related material, write to armstrong@denison.edu.

80. Galicia Externalized

3:30–4:45 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Galician. Presiding: Ryan Goodman, Wake Forest U

1. “Enslaved Galicians in Colonial Cuba: Historic Implications and Representations in Contemporary Media,” Diego Baena, Trinity C, CT

2. “Couto Mixto: Liminalidade e mestura,” Sofia Fernández González, Yale U

3. “All and Deleuze: Relational Poetics in the Galician-Portuguese Muwashshahat,” Adam Mahler, Harvard U

4. “Entangled, Exiled, Exterior: Externalizing Galicia’s Enclaves in Mid-Twentieth-Century Caracas,” José M. Rodríguez García, Duke U

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/galician.

81. Age and Political Protest

3:30–4:45 p.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Age Studies. Presiding: Lan Dong, U of Illinois, Springfield; Margaret Morganroth Gullette, Brandeis U

Speakers: Susan Bussey, Georgia Gwinnett C; Christopher Gortmaker, U of Chicago; Ilana Larkin, Massachusetts Maritime Acad.; Anita Rescia, Stony Brook U, State U of New York; Laura Soderberg, Southern Illinois U, Edwardsville

Participants theorize the intersection of age and political protest, considering how age and aging figure into protest literature and media, age-based organizing (e.g., youth movements, elder activism), and generational perceptions, affiliations, and divides related to different political ideologies and modes of protest.

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/age-studies/ after 7 Jan.

82. Open Source Humanities in the Age of AI

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206F, MTCC

Program arranged by the Electronic Literature Organization. Presiding: Anastasia Salter, U of Central Florida

Speakers: Kavi Duvvoori, U of Waterloo; Lai-Tze Fan, U of Waterloo; Leonardo Flores, Appalachian State U; Abigail Moreshead, independent scholar; John Murray, U of Central Florida; Kiera Obbard, U of Guelph; Lee Skallerup Bessette, Georgetown U

With edtech approaches to generative AI increasingly taking center stage on campus, how can we learn from ethical, feminist, and open-source efforts in digital humanities and electronic literature to build meaningful alternatives? Participants share brief provocations with examples ranging from material zines and feminist poetics to software platforms and sustainable publishing, followed by a discussion of strategies and tools.

For related material, visit anastasiasalter.net/OpenSourceHumanities/.

83. Settler Colonialism, Palestine, and the Digital Humanities

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum TC Digital Humanities. Presiding: Dhanashree Thorat, Mississippi State U, Starkville

Speakers: Arun Jacob, U of Toronto; Nat Leduc, U of Toronto; Roopika Risam, Dartmouth C; Cathy Schlund-Vials, U of Texas, Austin

To protest the MLA’s suppression of Resolution 2025-1, participants engage in a critical dialogue on settler colonialism, Palestine, and digital humanities, taking up issues related to carceral and surveillance technologies, digital heritage projects, digital activism, and data resistance to address the question of how the digital humanities can take up Edward Said’s charge to “make the question of Palestine a subject for discussion and political understanding.”

84. Family Resemblance, Family Romance: Psychoanalysis on Repeat

3:30–4:45 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Psychoanalytic Association. Presiding: Vera Camden, Kent State U; Valentino Zullo, Ursuline C

1. “King Lear at Colonus,” James J. Marino, Cleveland State U

2. “Trauma and the Origins of Psychoanalysis: Returning to Alice Munro,” Naomi E. Morgenstern, U of Toronto

3. “The Ghost in the Attic: Freud, Sedgwick, and the Family Legacy of Spectral Reading,” Yael Segalovitz, Ben-Gurion U of the Negev

85. Authenticity and Criticism

3:30–4:45 p.m., 205A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Benjamin Mangrum, Massachusetts Inst. of Tech.

Speakers: Amanda S. Anderson, Brown U; Timothy R. Aubry, Baruch C, City U of New York; Andrew DuBois, U of Toronto; Kinohi Nishikawa, Princeton U; Emily Ogden, U of Virginia

Does authenticity still occupy a central part of modern civic culture, as Lionel Trilling argues in Sincerity and Authenticity? Does authenticity matter to our contemporary critical practices? Participants discuss these questions and reflect on the role of authenticity—as either an ethical value or a literary mandate—in contemporary criticism.

86. The Affordances of Frustrating Narratives

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Daniel Newman, U of Toronto

1. “Frustration and Interpretation in Video Game Narratives,” Marco Caracciolo, Ghent U

2. “The Texture of Extraction: The Affordances of Slowness in Antiextractivist Documentary,” Isidora Cortes-Monroy Gazitua, U of Toronto

3. “The Life of the Mind, the Stuff of the World: Greg Egan’s Recalcitrant Novels of Science,” Simona Bartolotta, Justus-Liebig-U Giessen

4. “Narrative Disintegration as Cultural Semiotics: Absurdist Strategies in Romanian Modernist Literature,” Marius-Virgil Florea, Shanghai International Studies U

87. Waste Ecologies

3:30–4:45 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment. Presiding: Jeremy Chow, Bucknell U

Speakers: Adwoa Owusuaa Bobie, Kwame Nkrumah U of Science and Tech.; Stephanie Eccles, U of the Fraser Valley; Jennifer Gutman, Vanderbilt U; Sayantika Mandal, U of Georgia; Ela Przybylo, Illinois State U

Respondent: Myra Hird, Queen’s U

Participants—environmental humanists whose methods and epistemological work explore waste and discard studies—recenter waste from its peripheral nature to a focal node of inquiry, demonstrating interdisciplinary exploration by unpacking how waste is not an isolable, fixed entity but rather an assemblage of the human and ecological.

88. Critical Digital Humanities in Practice: Reflections and Visions

3:30–4:45 p.m., 714A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Peizhen Wu, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Speakers: Yann Audin, U of Montreal; Hanieh Bakhtiari, U of Toronto; Xuezhao Li, Ohio State U, Columbus; Dez Miller, Emory U; Zhihui Zou, Duke U

As AI technology exerts increasing influence on literary studies, it is time to critically examine the potential and complications of digital tools. Panelists discuss critical concerns related to gender representation, linguistic challenges, and power dynamics, as well as the ethical considerations and theoretical frameworks that shape digital humanities research.

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/1HcP6lmUBSo4lt90nMS8-hNWGFOv0nS5zUxo0Jsz2Q2E/edit?tab=t.0.

89. Born Translated: The Linguistic Exiles of Stefan Zweig

3:30–4:45 p.m., 602B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Caroline A. Kita, Washington U in St. Louis

1. “Translating Baudelaire: Zweig versus Benjamin,” Birger Vanwesenbeeck, State U of New York, Fredonia

2. “Stefan Zweig and the Poetics of Translation,” Martina Wörgötter, U of Salzburg

3. “Stefan Zweig in and on Yiddish and Hebrew,” Mark H. Gelber, Ben-Gurion U of the Negev

For related material, write to vanweseb@fredonia.edu.

90. Teaching Indigenous Languages: Building Programs within Settler-Colonial Universities

3:30–4:45 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the ALD Executive Committee. Presiding: Claudia Yaghoobi, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Speakers: Jeremy Green, York U; Americo Mendoza-Mori, Harvard U; Amee Schmidt, Marshalltown Community C, IA

Speakers address the challenges and best practices for building Indigenous language-education programs within settler-colonial university structures and how best to build and maintain ties of trust and support with Indigenous elders and communities.

91. Lecturae Boccaccii

3:30–4:45 p.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Boccaccio Association. Presiding: Francesco Ciabattoni, Georgetown U

1. “Decameron 5.7,” Kristin Phillips-Court, U of Wisconsin, Madison

2. “Decameron 5.10,” Eugenio L. Giusti, Vassar C

For related material, visit www.boccaccio-usa.org/events-conferences after 1 Dec.

92. Exploring Exile, Archival Erasure, and Women’s Resistance in Latin American Literature

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Luz Ainaí Morales Pino, Pontificia U Catolica de Peru

1. “The Erasure of Migrant Children’s Voices from Official Archives in Valeria Luiselli’s Lost Children,” Shweta Gupta, Indira Gandhi National Open U

2. “Displacement, Archive, and Inexpressibility in Verónica Gerber Bicecci’s Conjunto vacío,” Katherine Tilghman, Washington U in St. Louis

3. “Disappearance and Disidentification in Uribe’s Antigona Gonzalez and Herrera’s Signs Preceding the End of the World,” Clara Jimenez, U of Pennsylvania

4. “Trauma’s Blurred Lines: Care and Harm in Edwidge Danticat’s Breath, Eyes, Memory,” Gissel Ruiz, U of Nevada, Las Vegas

Participants delve into the themes of exile, archival erasure, and women’s resistance in Latin American literature, examining how authors like Valeria Luiselli, Verónica Gerber Bicecci, Sara Uribe, and Edwidge Danticat challenge narratives of disappearance.

For related material, write to president.feministasund@gmail.com.

93. Rethinking Connections between Latin American Colonial and Dutch Atlantic Worlds

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Colonial Latin American and the forum LLC Dutch. Presiding: Giovanna Montenegro, Binghamton U, State U of New York

1. “Living with Water: Aquatic Engagements in Colonized Neerlandophone Deltas,” Julée Al-Bayaty de Ridder, U of Amsterdam

2. “Native Lands and Plantation Kinships in Surinamese Literature and Life,” Thalia Ostendorf, U of Amsterdam

3. “Connections between Marronage in the Dutch and Latin American Caribbean,” Giovanna Montenegro

94. Exclusion and Broken Ties in the Catalan Context

3:30–4:45 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Catalan Studies. Presiding: Eloi Grasset, U of California, Santa Barbara

1. “Beyond Family Resemblance: Migration, Memory, and Belonging in Sílvia Soler’s Estimada Gris,” Enrique Muñoz-Mantas, U of North Dakota

2. “Family Resemblance and Manipulation of the Nineteenth-Century Archive,” Aurélie Vialette, Yale U

3. “Landscape, Identity, and the Limits of Affiliation in Contemporary Catalan Cinema,” Maria Boguszewicz, U of Warsaw

4. “Navigating Exclusions: Translational Strategies in Salvà and Marçal,” Nuria Alishio-Caballero, Indiana U, Bloomington

95. Motivations for Enrolling in World Languages in Higher Education: Perspectives from across the United States

3:30–4:45 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

1. “National Perspectives from ACTFL,” Larry Paska, ACTFL

2. “World Language Enrollment: Perspectives from a Large Public University,” Dianna Murphy, U of Wisconsin, Madison

3. “A Survey on World Language Enrollment: Design and Administration Opportunities,” Angelika N. Kraemer, Cornell U

4. “Perspectives on Student Enrollment in World Languages: A Local Study,” Emily Heidrich Uebel, Michigan State U

96. Navigating the Data Crisis: Finding Humanities Data to Advocate for Your Program or Institution

3:30–4:45 p.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Research

Speakers: Carolyn Fuqua, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Natalia Lusin, MLA; Jason Rhody, MLA; Sarah Touborg, W. W. Norton and Co.

Ongoing perceptions about the value of the humanities relative to the sciences contribute to the recurring narratives of the decline of the humanities, which actualize through decreased student enrollments, majors, funding, tenure-track faculty hires, and other metrics. Participants consider what data are and are not available to help make the case for supporting the humanities.

97. Managing Budgets, Maximizing Political Capital

3:30–4:45 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association of Departments of English. Presiding: Erin Templeton, Converse U

Speakers: Alanna Frost, U of Alabama, Huntsville; Cecilia Konchar Farr, West Liberty U; Alison Langdon, Western Kentucky U

Chairs and program coordinators are increasingly called on to manage budgets in times of scarcity. How can department chairs leverage data and efficiencies to advocate for resources, our disciplines, and our people?

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HcxofqwkA45clZUEq9r7Wt7JQshxemF1?usp=drive_link after 5 Jan.

98. Professional Deformation

3:30–4:45 p.m., 716A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Simon Reader, C of Staten Island, City U of New York

1. “Postcolonial Studies: An Obituary,” Vikrant Dadawala, York U

2. “Bad Formalisms: Method Exhaustion at the End of a Discipline,” Jacob Romanow, U of Texas, Austin

3. “What Is Literary Criticism without Poetry?,” Justin Sider, U of Oklahoma

99. How to Get Published in a Scholarly Journal

3:30–4:45 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals. Presiding: Christina Cedillo, U of Houston, Clear Lake

Speakers: Sarah E. Chinn, Hunter C, City U of New York; Douglas Eyman, George Mason U; Nathan Grant, Saint Louis U

Editors address various aspects of drafting, revising, submitting, and publishing journal articles, including selecting a journal and considering fit, decoding submission guidelines, processing and acting on reader reports, and navigating the revise-resubmit process.

100. Inside Special Collections: Tips and Strategies to Make the Most of Special Collections in Teaching and Research

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

Presiding: Elizabeth Berkowitz, American Trust for the British Library

Speakers: Paul Erickson, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Olivia Loksing Moy, Lehman C; Philip Palmer, Morgan Library and Museum

Respondent: William P. Stoneman, Harvard U

Learn how to help students and faculty members get the most from special collections research visits. Each panelist addresses a facet of effective engagement with special collections in individual research and in the classroom. The audience is invited to ask panelists tips and tricks for productive special collections use.

101. Poe and Games

5:15–6:30 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the Poe Studies Association. Presiding: Philip Edward Phillips, Middle Tennessee State U

1. “Playing the System: Game Theory, Deception, and Metastrategy in Poe’s ‘Dr. Tarr and Prof. Fether,’” Seyedeh Zahra Moosavi, Western U

2. “A Game of Puzzles Played upon a Map: Poe’s Agonistic Literary Criticism,” Robert Tally, Texas State U

3. “Poe and the Cryptographic Moment: A Look Back, a Look Forward,” Stephen Rachman, Michigan State U

102. The American Novel at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

5:15–6:30 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Late-19th- and Early-20th-Century American. Presiding: Laura Fisher, Toronto Metropolitan U

1. “Mighty Liars in the Utopia: Science, Violence, and Belief in Mark Twain’s Connecticut Yankee,” Max Chapnick, Saint Mary’s C, IN

2. “‘Some Phantom in His Ears’: Will, Consciousness, and Vocality in Pauline Hopkins’s Of One Blood,” Sara Marcus, U of Notre Dame

3. “Paul Laurence Dunbar and the Origins of Black Naturalism,” Cameron Loftis, Johns Hopkins U, MD

103. Genealogies of Unapologetic Chicana Feminist Activism and Provocation

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Chicana and Chicano. Presiding: Sara A. Ramirez, Texas State U

Speakers: Laura Belmonte, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Norma Elia Cantú, Trinity U; Maria Cotera, U of Texas, Austin; Martha P. Cotera, Information Systems Development; Maria C. Gonzalez, U of Houston; Melina Vizcaíno-Alemán, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

The 1970s and ’80s saw the rise of Chicana feminist literary and cultural activism through various avenues. Chicana feminist activists from that era join researchers on this specific literary activism for an intergenerational discussion that centers Chicana feminist literature and cultural productions as unapologetic and provocative activism.

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/chicana-and-chicano/forum/ after 5 Jan.

104. Disability Bioethics Now

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum TC Disability Studies. Presiding: Rachel Mazique, Rochester Inst. of Tech.

1. “Crip Queer Community and Politics of Radical Care in Andrew Joseph White’s Hell Followed with Us,” Devon Harvey, Queen’s U

2. “Clay’s Ark: A Crip Community in Crisis,” Grace Murry, Cornell U

3. “A Dazzling Race of Fire: Dystopian Survival, Mutual Aid, and Care at the Craig Colony for Epileptics,” Kathryn Waring, McMaster U

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/.

105. Can Afrofuturism Mend the World? The Power of Black Speculation Now

5:15–6:30 p.m., 709, MTCC

A special session

1. “‘Marvels of Inventiveness’: The Power of Black Feminist Speculative Technologies,” Daylanne K. English, Macalester C

2. “Until History Stops Repeating Itself: New Directions in Black Speculation after Civil Rights,” Jermaine Singleton, Hamline U

3. “Prophet of the Possible: Octavia Butler’s Legacy,” Susana Morris, Georgia Inst. of Tech.

106. Branding and Materiality in Early Modern China and Beyond

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206E, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Ming and Qing Chinese. Presiding: Ariel Fox, U of Chicago

1. “The Influencer’s Toilet and Cakes: Chen Jiru as a Brand during the Ming-Qing Era,” Wandi Wang, Lehigh U

2. “Fashioning Place: Textile Branding and Regional Craftsmanship in Ming China,” Xiaolin Duan, North Carolina State U

3. “Paper Reading: A Critical Inquiry of East-West Cultural Exchanges in the Global Early Modern Era,” Xiaojie Xu, Tōyō Bunko

4. “Branding a Late Qing Magazine: Regional Identity and the Transnational Consumption of Yunnan Journal,” Jie Guo, U of South Carolina, Columbia

Respondent: Ariel Fox

107. East Asian Social Media as Cultural Form

5:15–6:30 p.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC East Asian. Presiding: Carlos Rojas, Duke U

1. “Eat and Protest! Impeachment Apps, Platform Activisms, and Crisis Communication in South Korea,” SaeHim Park, Chinese U of Hong Kong

2. “The Social-Sharing Media of Japan,” Amanda Kennell, U of Notre Dame

3. “Platforming Techno-Orientalism,” Leland Tabares, Colorado C

4. “‘If I Die, Turn All My Tweets into a Book’: Social Media as Literary Form,” Eileen Chengyin Chow, Duke U

108. Littoral Romanticisms

5:15–6:30 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC English Romantic. Presiding: Michele Speitz, Furman U

1. “Coastal Infrastructures in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic,” Jeremy Chow, Bucknell U

2. “Seam and Separation: The Many-Mouthed Ganges and Romantic Hydrology,” Padma Rangarajan, U of California, Riverside

3. “Lady Caroline Lamb, Lima, and the Coastal Disaster of Ada Reis,” Lindsey Eckert, Florida State U

4. “Island Lords: Walter Scott, Coastal Poetics, and the Politics of Infrastructure,” Alexander Dick, U of British Columbia

109. Virginia Woolf and the Theatricality of Fiction

5:15–6:30 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the International Virginia Woolf Society. Presiding: Ben Leubner, Montana State U, Bozeman

1. “Scenography and the Performance of Being in Clarice Lispector and Virginia Woolf,” Mark Deggan, Simon Fraser U

2. “Dramatic Pacing and Unceremonious Death in Woolf’s Early Fiction,” Carrie Kancilia, U of Southern Maine

3. “‘For Nothing Was Simply One Thing’: The Rhetorical Staging of To the Lighthouse,” Michael Stansell, U of South Carolina, Columbia

4. “Between Things, beyond Things: Rhythm, Theatricality, and Love in To the Lighthouse,” Alexia Hannis, U of Toronto

110. CLCS Global South General Business Meeting

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Global South. Presiding: Nienke Boer, U of Sydney

111. Early Modern Ecotrauma

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206D, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Renaissance and Early Modern. Presiding: Kyle Pivetti, Norwich U

1. “Weeping Trees’ Tales: Narratives of Hevea Brasiliensis, the Rubber Boom, and the Ecology of Empire,” Olimpia Rosenthal, Indiana U, Bloomington

2. “Ecotraumatic Memory in Montaigne: On Falling, ‘Our Mountains,’ and Reframing the Rocky Collapse,” Alani Hicks-Bartlett, Brown U

3. “Erasures and Exposures: Narrative Afterlives of Sir Francis Drake on the Pacific Coast,” Kirsten Schuhmacher, U of California, Davis

For related material, write to kpivetti@norwich.edu.

112. Genealogies and Futurities of AI in Speculative Fiction

5:15–6:30 p.m., 205D, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Speculative Fiction. Presiding: Rachel Haywood, Iowa State U

1. “Reverse Colonization by Algorithm: Artificial Intelligence and Speculative Victimhood,” David M. Higgins, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U

2. “Future Imperfect: AI, Oppression, and the Power of the Glitch in Afro-Latin American Literature,” Karen de Melo, U of Richmond

3. “Piglia’s Errant Machine: AI, Language, and the Political,” Lu Han, Cornell U

4. “The Singularity and the Sun’s Nourishment: ‘Religious’ AIs in Contemporary Science Fiction,” Julia DaSilva, U of British Columbia

113. Animals in Medieval Literature

5:15–6:30 p.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Medieval French. Presiding: Karen Sullivan, Bard C

1. “The She-Wolf Bites: Clawing Masculine Rule in Marie de France’s ‘Bisclavret,’” Dakshayani Shankar, Emory U

2. “Animal Rhetoric in Richard de Fournival’s Bestiaire d’amour and the Response,” Dorothea Heitsch, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

3. “A Dog in God’s Garden: (Dis)Placing Human Identity in Robert le Diable,” Hunter Phillips, Cornell U

114. Race and Pornographic Genres

5:15–6:30 p.m., 602A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Manuel Acevedo-Reyes, U of Virginia

1. “Macho Behavior: Latino Fan Club and the Emergence of Thug Pornography,” Manuel Acevedo-Reyes

2. “The Porn King of New York: Valorizing Masculinity in LaMancha Productions,” Mark Lockwood, Northwestern U

3. “Centerfold and Periphery: Racializing the ‘Russian Woman’ in Cold War–Era Print Pornography,” Fiona Bell, Yale U

115. Getting Started with Scholarly Editing

5:15–6:30 p.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM Bibliography and Scholarly Editing. Presiding: Jaime Goodrich, Wayne State U

1. “Marching Orders from a General Editor; or, The Care and Feeding of Editorial Guidelines,” Sarah Neville, Ohio State U, Columbus

2. “Editing Middle English Texts,” Christopher Cannon, Johns Hopkins U, MD

3. “The End of the Beginning: Imagining the Finish of an Edition from the Start,” Kenneth M. Price, U of Nebraska, Lincoln

116. Rhythm: Embodiment and Enculturation

5:15–6:30 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM Language Theory. Presiding: C. P. Haun Saussy, U of Chicago

1. “The Architectural Rhythm of Prose: Claude McKay’s Banjo and the Rhythm Analysis of Marseilles,” Jason Folk, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

2. “Rhythmic Perturbations: Translated Songs and the Modernization of Chinese Prosody,” Xi Zhao, U of California, Berkeley

3. “Who Is Singing of ‘Sehnsucht’?,” Ulrike Baur, U of Oregon

117. Body Horror

5:15–6:30 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Medical Humanities and Health Studies. Presiding: Travis Alexander, Old Dominion U

1. “Addiction, Abjection, and Body Horror in the Age of the Opioid Crisis,” Maria Cichosz, U of Toronto

2. “Gratuitousness and Gratitude: Adina Talve-Goodman’s Your Hearts, Your Scars,” Douglas G. Dowland, Ohio Northern U

3. “The Sound of the Female Body: Nightbitch,” Selma Purac, Western U

4. “Body Horror in the French Context: Tracing a Genealogy and a Future,” Iliana Cuellar, U of California, Riverside

118. Family Resemblances: Literary Maximalism and Encyclopedism

5:15–6:30 p.m., 205A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Benjamin Bergholtz, Louisiana Tech U

1. “Encyclopedic and Maximalist Fiction: Context, Distinctions, Contemporary Import,” Benjamin Bergholtz

2. “‘A Family Chronicle’: Renegotiating Literary Maximalism and Encyclopedism,” Ali Dehdarirad, U degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza

3. “Slop Era: Encyclopedic Discourse, Maximalist Aesthetics, and LLMs,” Kiron Ward, U of St Andrews

4. “Redefining Encyclopedism: The Multiplot Structure of the ‘Encyclopedic Novel’ Genre,” Yonina Hoffman, US Merchant Marine Acad.

For related material, write to bberg@latech.edu after 7 Jan.

119. Intersections: Literature and Neuroscience

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206F, MTCC

A special session

Speakers: Katherine Elkins, Kenyon C; Angus Fletcher, Ohio State U, Columbus; Sowon S. Park, U of California, Santa Barbara

Respondent: Radhika Koul, Claremont McKenna C

Panelists explore new possibilities for research and collaboration at the intersection of literary studies and neuroscience. How should emerging research in neuroscience inform our understanding of the nature and function of literary texts? And how does literature illuminate the functioning of the human mind?

120. Kinship in the Cut: Feminist Narratives of Hysterectomy, Trauma, and Transformation

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206E, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Maria Rovito, Albany C of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

1. “Rogue Tissue, Rogue Self: A Monstrous-Feminine Manifesto from the Land of Blood and Steel,” Maria Rovito

2. “‘Fumerism’ for Survival: Harnessing the Revolutionary Power of Feminist Humor as Subversive Narrative,” Maria Ortiz, Harold Washington C, IL

3. “Memory Holds: Fluctuating Spaces of (Re)Membering with Love,” Camille Houle-Eichel, U de Montréal

For related material, write to maria.rovito@acphs.edu after 1 Dec.

121. Illusion and Creation: Goethe and the Staging of Translation

5:15–6:30 p.m., 602B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Angela C. D. Borchert, Western U

1. “‘Halb verschleierte Schöne’: Untranslatability and Pseudotranslation in Goethe,” Tomás Espino Barrera, U du Luxembourg

2. “In the Beginning was the Act (of Translation): Reading Faust I against 330 Translators’ Prefaces,” David Kretz, U of Chicago

3. “Translating Goethe for the Stage,” Leah Ewing, Wabash C

For related material, write to sheilaspector@verizon.net.

123. Negotiating Family Ties to Jewish Spain in Modern Literature

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Sephardic. Presiding: Adam Cohn, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

1. “Conversion and Spanish Jewish History in the Work of Rafael Cansinos Asséns,” Daniela Flesler, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

2. “Mallorcan Sephardic Roots That Persist: Crypto-Jewish Family and Identity in the Writings of Miquel Segura,” Stacy Beckwith, Carleton C

3. “Your Map Is Imprinted upon My Insides: Spain in Mois Benarroch’s Oeuvre,” Reut Ben Yaakov, Duke U

124. Colonial Traces, Decolonial Futures: Cultural Production in the Caribbean

5:15–6:30 p.m., 803A, MTCC

A special session

1. “Tropical Tourism Onscreen: An International Exhibit of Caribbean Blackness,” Cary Peñate, Syracuse U

2. “Counterculture and Decoloniality in 1960s Cuba: A Failed Dialogue,” Damian Deamici, Rochester Inst. of Tech.

3. “Coloniality of Love and Haitian Tourism in a Transatlantic Film,” Justo Planas, Le Moyne C

4. “Cantiga Ediciones and the Decolonial Turn: Reimagining Race, Gender, and Sexuality,” Vialcary Crisóstomo Tejada, Rochester U

Respondent: Roseli Rojo, State U of New York, Oswego

125. Galdós’s Families

5:15–6:30 p.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the International Association of Galdós Scholars. Presiding: Sara Munoz-Muriana, Dartmouth C

1. “Dinero, poder y enfermedad: La familia Bringas en el laberinto burgués,” Rafael Nunez Rodriguez, McGill U

2. “The Ansúrez Family in the Fourth Series of Galdós’s Episodios nacionales,” Ana Mateos, LMU Munich

3. “Spectral Sacraments and Disoriented Families in La desheredada,” Denise DuPont, Southern Methodist U

126. Reimagining Methodologies in Afro-Hispanic and African Spanish Literary Studies

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Alain Lawo Sukam, Texas A&M U, College Station

1. “Decolonial Approach: Afrocentricity and African Spanish Literature,” Alain Lawo Sukam

2. “(Re)Reading Afro-Hispanic Thoughts and Literary History,” Olga Lucia Martan, El C de México

3. “Afro-Urbanite Narratives: A New Approach to Afro-Descendant Existence in Urban Contexts in Colombia,” Yair Cuenu, Texas A&M U, College Station

For related material, write to lawosukam@tamu.edu.

127. MLA Institutes on Reading and Writing Pedagogy: Sustainable Programs for the Future of the Humanities

5:15–6:30 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Academic Program Services. Presiding: Christie Toth, U of Utah

1. “Fostering Student and Faculty Agency through Creative Reading and Writing Pedagogies,” Nicole B. Wallack, Columbia U

2. “Strategies for Sustaining Campus Initiatives through Local Funding,” Jessica Edwards, U of Delaware, Newark

3. “From Summer Institute to Degree Programs: Redesigning Graduate Education for Access-Oriented Teachers,” Christie Toth

128. Precarity and Protest: What Can I Actually Do?

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum HEP Part-Time and Contingent Faculty Issues. Presiding: Nicole Hagstrom Schmidt, Texas A&M U, College Station

1. “Mothering in Academic and Activist Spaces,” Bianca Negrete Coba, U of California, San Diego

2. “Academic Administering: Visibility and Awareness among Graduate Students with Disabilities,” Evelyn Vasquez, U of California, San Diego

3. “Offensive Rhetorics: Using That Humanities PhD to Fight Fascism,” Nicole Hagstrom Schmidt

4. “Am I Free to Go? Leveraging the Managerial Role through Guerrilla Activism on the Tenure Track,” Veronica Popp, U of Saint Francis

129. Academic Surveillance

5:15–6:30 p.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Profession. Presiding: Victoria Muñoz, Adelphi U

Speakers: Andrea Adolph, Penn State U, New Kensington; Nicole Morse, U of Maryland, Baltimore County; Tram Nguyen, Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community C, City U of New York

Featuring contributions that analyze acts and systems of academic surveillance and their uneven, gendered effects, participants discuss strategies for collaborative resistance.

130. The State of Humanities Grantmaking

5:15–6:30 p.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Academic Program Services. Presiding: Jason Rhody, MLA

Speakers: Elizabeth Berkowitz, American Trust for the British Library; Ashley Buchanan, Folger Inst.; John Paul Christy, Princeton U; Constantia Constantinou, The Whiting Foundation; Martha Kelly, National Humanities Center; Shannon McHugh, Huntington Library; Michael Smith, The Fine Foundation

Representatives from humanities funders discuss the trends, opportunities, and challenges for funding and grantmaking across the disciplines.

131. Teaching and Research with the MLA International Bibliography

5:15–6:30 p.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA International Bibliography. Presiding: Gregory Grazevich, MLA International Bibliography

Experts from the staff of the MLA’s Bibliographic Information Services lead a hands-on workshop designed to help instructors bring the bibliography into their classrooms and jump-start their research. Learn to use our online course and tutorial videos in your courses, build assignments using the bibliography, use advanced search techniques on EBSCOhost, use the MLA Directory of Periodicals, and advocate for your library’s subscription to the bibliography.

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/1lqyZlcvY2TApPJtNCCKFbvKVvNSOf6A2OVmi-I1Vz-o/edit?usp=sharing.

132. Haunted Bodies, Uncanny Medicine: The Medical Gothic across Media and Genres

7:00–8:15 p.m., 602A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Davina Hoell, U of Tübingen

1. “‘The Objective of the Scalpel Is to Soothe’: Medical Gothic in Video Games,” Amina Antonia Touzos, Johannes Gutenberg U Mainz

2. “The Evolution of Dark Medicine as Horror Performance Act in David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future,” Patricia Gwozdz, Potsdam U

3. “Gothic Reproduction in Poor Things (1992 and 2023),” Davina Hoell

133. Academic Novels at the End of the University

7:00–8:15 p.m., 601B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Samuel Cohen, U of Missouri, Columbia

Speakers: Joseph Darda, Michigan State U; Laura Evers, Washington U in St. Louis; Aaron Obedkoff, Emory U; Aidan Watson-Morris, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Panelists discuss academic and campus novels in the light of the precarious present and tenuous future of the American university, from canonical novels like Stoner and Pnin to contemporary works like Christine Smallwood’s The Life of the Mind and Brandon Taylor’s Real Life. Topics include genre evolution and crossing, identity and higher education, literature and ethics, ideologies of professionalism, and labor conditions.

For related material, visit academicnovels.mla.hcommons.org/ after 1 Jan.

134. Black Poetry and Poetics

7:00–8:15 p.m., 716B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: McKinley Melton, College Language Assn.

1. “James A. Emanuel: A Poet in Exile,” Tyechia Thompson, Virginia Tech

2. “The Last Days of LeRoi Jones: ‘Sabotage,’” Aldon Lynn Nielsen, Penn State U, University Park

3. “Morant Bay Shadows,” Kierra Duncan, Princeton U

4. “Toward a Poetics of Mobility: Space and Place in Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s Poetry,” Matthew Johnson, Washington U in St. Louis

135. Teaching Transnational East Asia in Comparative Contexts

7:00–8:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Japanese to 1900 and the forum LLC East Asian. Presiding: William Hedberg, Arizona State U

Speakers: Katarzyna Bartoszynska, Ithaca C; Charo B. D’Etcheverry, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Jeffrey Niedermaier, Brown U; Si Nae Park, Harvard U; Christine Welch, independent scholar

Speakers consider comparative and translingual approaches to teaching East Asian literatures of the premodern era, exploring ways of providing undergraduate and graduate students with tools for conceptualizing intra-Asian linkages and for interrogating global representations of (Asian) literature.

136. Transnational Encounters: Diaspora, Labor, and Belonging in Contemporary Global Literature

7:00–8:15 p.m., 802A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Pushpa Acharya, Kwantlen Polytechnic U

1. “Reimagining Nation and Belonging in Nepali Diasporic Poetry,” Saraswoti Lamichhane, independent scholar

2. “Topographies of Suspicion: Race, Capital, and Belonging in The Reluctant Fundamentalist,” Pushpa Acharya

3. “Ghosts of the Gulf from Limbs to Cogs: Transient Lives and Permanent Structures,” Megharaj Adhikari, Florida State U

137. Global Abolitionist Literature and the Ottoman Empire

7:00–8:15 p.m., 712, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Arif Camoglu, New York U, Shanghai

1. “Equiano, the Ottoman Empire, and Global Abolitionism,” Arif Camoglu

2. “Ira Aldridge’s Revenge: Ottoman Slavery, Abolition, and the Revolt of Surinam,” Angelina Del Balzo, Utah Valley U

3. “Abolitionist Imagination and the Ottoman Harem in The Sultan; or, A Peep into the Seraglio,” Ayse Circir, Erzurum Technical U

138. Whose Victorian Literature?

7:00–8:15 p.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Victorian and Early-20th-Century English. Presiding: Tricia A. Lootens, U of Georgia

1. “Dear Charles Dickens, Love, South LA: From Reading Novels to Authoring Cities,” Jacqueline Barrios, U of Arizona, Tucson

2. “Reading the Canon from Afar,” Olivia Lingyi Xu, Northwestern U

3. “Afterlives, Continuities, and Echoes in the General Education Classroom,” Joti Bilkhu, York U

4. “Unsettling Education,” Cherrie Kwok, U of Virginia

For related material, write to dennis-denisoff@utulsa.edu.

139. New Approaches to Byron: Looking Back at the Bicentennial

7:00–8:15 p.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session

1. “Byron, Cursing, and Being Cursed,” Tom Mole, Durham U

2. “Byron’s Recension: Redaction, Textology, History,” Michael Macovski, Georgetown U

3. “Factual, Fictional, and Poetic Characters in Galt’s Life of Lord Byron,” Angela Esterhammer, U of Toronto

4. “Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: Literary Landscapes and the Fields of Conflict in Napoleonic Europe,” Susan Oliver, U of Essex

For related material, write to Michael.Macovski@georgetown.edu after 20 Dec.

140. Up Close and Literary

7:00–8:15 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Restoration and Early-18th-Century English. Presiding: Danielle R. Bobker, Concordia U; Sarah Ellenzweig, Rice U

Speakers: Nicholas Allred, Fairfield U; Stephanie Hershinow, Baruch C, City U of New York; Miranda Hoegberg, U of California, Los Angeles; Shruti Jain, Binghamton U, State U of New York; Ruth Mack, U at Buffalo, State U of New York; Dustin Stewart, Columbia U

What is the future of close reading? What role does the Restoration and early eighteenth century play in it? Inspired by ongoing methodological debates, participants share inventive, microfocused close readings and welcome discussion with and feedback from members of the audience.

141. Celts and Empire

7:00–8:15 p.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Celtic

1. “‘Amidst the Rubbish of Fable’: John O’Donovan’s Work on the Ordnance Survey,” Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Harvard U

2. “Translating an Empire of Blood: Alexander the Great from Orosius to Scéla Alaxandair,” Cameron Wachowich, U of Toronto

3. “The King with a Thousand Faces: Arthurian Romance and the English Empire,” Christian Treadwell, U of Cambridge

142. Innovative and High-Impact Initiatives in Comparative Literature and Interdisciplinary Programs

7:00–8:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the Association of Departments and Programs of Comparative Literature. Presiding: Ralph Bauer, U of Maryland, College Park; Luis Fernando Restrepo, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville

1. “A Cantilever across the Cultures: Sciences-Humanities Collaboratives for University and Community,” John Doucet, Nicholls State U

2. “Critical Global Studies Graduate Program: Sogang University,” Jeesoon Hong, Sogang U

3. “High-Impact Collaboration between Universities and Libraries,” Daniela D’Eugenio, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville

143. The Borderlands of Labor in the Americas

7:00–8:15 p.m., 803B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jason Ahlenius, Vanderbilt U

1. “Chicanx Literature at the Borderlands of Labor,” R. Andrés Guzmán, Indiana U, Bloomington

2. “Rereading the 1937 Massacre: Labor, Law, and Carcerality in Caribbean Narratives,” Gabriela Lomba Guzman, U of Chicago

3. “Unruly Seeds: Multispecies Lines of Flight in the Caribbean Diaspora,” Kuhelika Ghosh, U of Wisconsin, Madison

4. “The Senses of Freedom: Fragments of a Labor Utopia on Mexico’s Northern Frontier, 1820–35,” Jason Ahlenius

For related material, visit borderlandslabor.mla.hcommons.org/.

145. Negotiating Gender, Virtue, and Domesticity in Medieval Italian and Ming Chinese Novellas

7:00–8:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Ming and Qing Chinese and the forum LLC Medieval and Renaissance Italian

1. “Economy of Slavery and Literary Influences in Decameron V.7,” Beatrice Arduini, U of Washington, Seattle

2. “‘Thou Shalt Not’: Adultery and Confession in Decameron VII.5,” Angela Porcarelli, Emory U

3. “Tormented Wives and Family Reunions: Griselda and Her Chinese Sisters,” Maria Franca Sibau, Emory U

4. “Sixteenth-Century Chinese Erotic Novellas: Medium Literacy and the Forming of Families,” Xiaoqiao Ling, Arizona State U

Respondent: Jelena Todorovic, U of Wisconsin, Madison

146. Adapting Race

7:00–8:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum TC Adaptation Studies. Presiding: Arianna James, U of Pennsylvania

1. “Adapting Romance: Racial Transformation in Shonda Rhimes’s Bridgerton Universe,” Chamara Moore, Queens C, City U of New York

2. “Cordero’s Filmic Margins: Adapting Race in Ratas, ratones, ratero,” Molly Young, U of Pennsylvania

3. “The Biopolitics of Race in The Nickel Boys: Adaptation, Social Control, and Aesthetic Contexts,” Michael Cotto, Fairleigh Dickinson U, Teaneck

4. “Cultural Coding: Adaptation, Cultural Identity, and the Aesthetics of Asian American Film,” So Yeon Kim, U of Hawai‘i, Mānoa

147. Environmental Humanities in Practice

7:00–8:15 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the PMLA Editorial Board. Presiding: Christina Gerhardt, Clark U; Cajetan Iheka, Yale U

Speakers: Comfort Azubuko-Udah, U of Toronto; Allison Carruth, Princeton U; Jonathan Howard, Yale U; Victoria Saramago, U of Chicago

Participants consider the role of literary studies in the environmental humanities: What is the affordance of literature for the environmental humanities as practiced in various cultural contexts? What constellations of practices in the environmental humanities emerge from its incubation as a scholarly, theoretical, and critical paradigm? What literary modes, including experimental ones, have provided key points of intervention for the practice of the environmental humanities?

148. Aesthetics of Consensus

7:00–8:15 p.m., 602B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Loren Goodman, Yonsei U, Underwood International C

1. “Schelling’s Tragic Ethics: The Aesthetics of Ecological Responsibility,” Matthew Cooper, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

2. “Aesthetic Construction and Political Order in the Work of Carl Einstein and Hans-Georg Gadamer,” David Tse-chien Pan, U of California, Irvine

3. “Aesthetic Depictions of Deviance in Wolfgang Koeppen’s Tauben im Gras,” Jonas Weaver, U of California, Irvine

4. “Anthem as Test: Aesthetic Consensus and Comedic Effect in Performances of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’” Loren Goodman

For related material, write to dtpan@uci.edu.

149. Corporate Fictions: Literary and Economic Forms in Contemporary Anglophone Cultures

7:00–8:15 p.m., 206E, MTCC

A special session

1. “The Conglomerate Form,” Zachary Tavlin, School of the Art Inst. of Chicago

2. “Desperation Aesthetics: The Contemporary Copywriter Novel,” Blake Beaver, Georgia Inst. of Tech.

3. “With Gods on Our Side: Hindu Corporate Writing,” Hans-Georg Erney, Georgia Southern U

For related material, visit corporatefictions.mla.hcommons.org/ after 1 Jan.

150. Antagonistic Cooperation: Jazz, Collage, and the Shaping of Interdisciplinary Practice

7:00–8:15 p.m., 713B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Aidan S. Levy, U of Saint Joseph

1. “Visual Rhythms: Musical Ekphrasis, Antagonistic Cooperation, and Robert O’Meally’s Art Collection,” Courtney Bryan, Tulane U

2. “The Piano Lesson: August Wilson’s ‘Four B’s,’ Romare Bearden, and Antagonistic Cooperation,” Dwight Andrews, Emory U

3. “Whitney Houston and the Art of Revision,” Emily Lordi, Vanderbilt U

Respondent: Robert O’Meally, Columbia U

151. Fluid Media, 1750–1850: Surface, Matter, and Form(lessness)

7:00–8:15 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the G. E. Lessing Society. Presiding: Austen Hinkley, Yale U

1. “‘Eine Welle, versteinert im Augenblicke’: Goethe’s Fluid Media,” Tove Holmes, McGill U

2. “Goethe’s and Schelling’s Project of Morphology as Philosophical Fluid Dynamics,” Matteo Zupancic, U degli Studi di Pisa

3. “Eloquent Surfaces: Mediality and Liquidity in Goethe, Hegel, and Stifter,” Alexander Sorenson, Binghamton U, State U of New York

4. “Wellenschreiber: Media Histories of the Early Modern Seascape,” Sandro Paul Heidelbach, Yale U

Respondent: Ella Wilhelm, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

152. Contemporary Cultures of (Anti-)Fascism in Italy

7:00–8:15 p.m., 205A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century Italian. Presiding: Saskia Ziolkowski, Duke U

1. “Unbecoming Fascists: Autobiography and Nation Building,” Graziella Parati, Dartmouth C

2. “Roots, Land, and Hyperreality in the Age of Destination Italy,” Federica Di Blasio, ICI Berlin

3. “Roman Peripheries Resist: Grassroot Movements against Old and New Fascisms,” Marta Cerreti, Johns Hopkins U, MD

154. Unwriting the Mother: Literary and Theoretical Disruptions in Latin America

7:00–8:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Inger Flem Soto, U of Southern California

1. “Mexican Antirepublican Motherhood in Brenda Navarro’s Casas vacías and Guadalupe Nettel’s La hija única,” Rodrigo Figueroa Obregon, New Mexico State U, Las Cruces

2. “Hasta la madre: Maternal Failure on the Urban Margins in Luis Buñuel’s Los olvidados,” Mónica García Blizzard, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

3. “Motherhood by Proxy: Surrogate Caregiving and Displacement in Guadalupe Nettel and Pilar Quintana,” Ayten Tartici, Columbia U

Respondent: Inger Flem Soto

155. Futures of Resilience: Contemporary Afro-Latin American Literature

7:00–8:15 p.m., 803A, MTCC

A special session

1. “Black Girlhood and Enslaved Children in Um defeito de cor,” Letícia Barbosa, U of Wisconsin, Madison

2. “De Puerto Rico a Nueva York: Neohistoricismo y autoficción en La otra Julia, de Mayra Santos Febres,” Michele C. Dávila-Goncalves, Salem State U

3. “Apocalypse and Black Utopia: Yoruba Culture in Ale Santos’s O último ancestral (The Last Ancestor),” Emanuelle K. F. Oliveira-Monte, Vanderbilt U

4. “Archiving Futures: Digital Recovery of Afro-Latin American Intellectual Lineages,” Eduardo Febres Munoz, U of Notre Dame

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org.

156. Rereading Guimarães Rosa in the Twenty-First Century

7:00–8:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the American Portuguese Studies Association. Presiding: Luiz Fernando Valente, Brown U

1. “Reading Guimarães Rosa on Twenty-First-Century Time,” David Mittelman, US Air Force Acad.

2. “Miscegenation and Political Formation in Grande sertão: Veredas and Populações meridionais do Brasil,” Luis Fernando Moreira da Costa, Brown U

3. “The Rules of the Game: A Discussion of Strategies in the Retranslation of Grande sertão: Veredas,” Alison Entrekin, translator

Respondent: Luiz Fernando Valente

157. Republican Radical “Poethics” in Exile

7:00–8:15 p.m., 706, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Francisco Cantero Soriano, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

1. “Beauty and the Void in Juan Ramón Jiménez’s Dios deseado y deseante,” Robert Myak, U of Kentucky

2. “The Transnational Republican Pueblo: The Anti-Imperialist Cultural Warfare of the Spanish Civil War and the Internationalist Solidarities between Cuba and Spain during the 1960s,” Claudia Grego March, U of California, Santa Barbara

3. “‘Poethics’ of Excess in Agustín Gómez Arcos: Dislocations of the Inner Exile,” Francisco Cantero Soriano

For related material, visit republicanradicalpoethicsinexile.hcommons.org.

158. Rethinking the Humanities: Engaging the Past, Confronting the Present

7:00–8:15 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 17th-Century English. Presiding: Kirsten Mendoza, U of Dayton

Speakers: Sherif Abdelkarim, C of the Holy Cross; Heng Du, Wellesley C; Corey McEleney, Fordham U, Bronx; Elizabeth Sauer, Brock U

Scholars of the early modern and premodern past share how their archives, ways of knowing, methods, and questions shape the work they do in the classroom in response to the pressing issues of our time. Speakers reflect on their teaching of anglophone texts, Arabic literature and culture, and China’s Classical Confucianism.

For related material, write to kmendoza1@udayton.edu after 8 Jan.

159. Family Ties: Navigating Dynamics across English, Composition, and Access-Oriented Institutions

7:00–8:15 p.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the Conference on College Composition and Communication

1. “Full(er) House: Sustaining Relationships with Chosen Family in Higher Education,” Charissa Che, John Jay C of Criminal Justice, City U of New York

2. “The Odd Couple? Two-Year College Literacy Studies and the MLA,” Darin Jensen, Salt Lake Community C, UT

3. “The Flintstones Meet the Jetsons: The Unlikely AI Taskforce That Worked, Sorta,” Sarah Z. Johnson, Madison Area Technical C, WI

4. “Succession: Navigating Generational Trauma in Academic Spaces,” Cheri Lemieux Spiegel, Northern Virginia Community C

For related material, visit cccc.ncte.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2026CCCCMLASession.pdf.

160. Beyond the Professoriat: Strategies for Job Seekers

7:00–8:15 p.m., 206D, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Julia Lieber, MLA

Speakers: Monica F. Jacobe, U of Pennsylvania; Wujun Ke, National Humanities Center; Peter Krause, Princeton U

Representatives from across the humanities ecosystem share concrete strategies for today’s complex job search beyond the professoriat. Speakers discuss translating skills and abilities for different roles, how hiring managers consider materials, and the value of flexibility in the job search process.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1A4ObnSrhi-y2Neo9OeFMuR65BnsHSlqc?usp=drive_link after 7 Jan.

161. Strategies of Resistance and Protest

7:00–8:15 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Rights and Responsibilities. Presiding: Pedro García-Caro, U of Oregon; Nicole B. Wallack, Columbia U

1. “Protecting Academic Freedom at the University of Oregon: A Case Study, Tool Kit, and Guide,” Pedro García-Caro

2. “The Power of Peaceful Protests: Case Study,” Slavica Grujicic, U of Toronto

3. “Nothing Doing: Daoist Wu-wei and Effective Strategies for Campus Protest,” Daniel Fried, U of Alberta

162. Rhetoric after October 7th

7:00–8:15 p.m., 606, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Michael F. Bernard-Donals, U of Wisconsin, Madison

1. “Confronting the Unimaginable: The Rhetorical Life of Atrocity,” Matthew Abraham, U of Arizona, Tucson

2. “‘Neither Settler nor Native’: Ayman Odeh’s Rhetorical Map of Compromise and Reconciliation,” David Frank, U of Oregon

3. “Jew Hatred across the Political Spectrum,” Mara Lee Grayson, California State U, Dominguez Hills

4. “Institutional Neutrality as Rhetorical Violence after October 7th,” Michael F. Bernard-Donals

163. World Languages and Generative AI: Perspectives from the MLA Task Force

7:00–8:15 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Task Force on World Languages and Generative AI. Presiding: Jennifer M. William, Purdue U, West Lafayette

Speakers: John Baskerville, Jr., US Military Acad.; Kevin Michael Gaugler, Marist U; Christopher Kaiser, Columbia U; Meghan E. McInnis-Domínguez, U of Delaware, Newark; Erika Stevens, Walters State Community C, TN

This new task force takes as a starting premise that AI can be incorporated into world language curricula in ways that appeal to students and foster the critical AI literacy they will need in their future careers. Attendees can engage members of the task force in discussion about creating resources for universities and instructors to aid with curricular innovations and guidance regarding ethics, technological skills, and advocacy for world language programs in the age of AI.

164. Reimagining Passing: The Aesthetic and Cultural Politics of Racial Transformation

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Cole Lowman, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

1. “Passing without Passing: The Legacy of Minstrel Stereotypes and Racial Identity in Adjustment Day,” Cole Lowman

2. “Aesthetic Implications: Passing and Beauty Standards in The Vanishing Half and The Bluest Eye,” Martina Lombardo, Sapienza U di Roma

3. “Racial Transformation: Interrogating Whiteness in American Born Chinese and Ms. Marvel,” Akash Belsare, U of Illinois, Springfield

4. “The Racialized Voice in Absurdist Film; or, A Labor Theory of Passing,” Paola Del Toro, Princeton U

165. Repackaging Orientalism: Premodern Japan in Contemporary Global Media

8:30–9:45 a.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Japanese to 1900. Presiding: Michael McCarty, Salisbury U

Speakers: Eric Jose Esteban, Yale U; Sachi Schmidt-Hori, Dartmouth C; Robert Tuck, Arizona State U, Tempe

Respondent: Michael McCarty

Scholars of Japanese literature discuss how the history and culture of premodern Japan has been depicted in recent western and global media, investigating how various Orientalist tropes continue to be featured and repackaged for modern consumption through popular films, television, music, and video games.

166. Trauma and Resistance: Reinterpreting Socialist Legacies in Postsocialist Chinese Literature and Culture

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Siyue Liu, U of Wollongong

1. “Tibet as Method: Reimagining Marginalized Narratives and Religious Representations in Ma Yuan’s Fiction,” Yi He, U of New South Wales

2. “Violence as Form: The Language Problem and Postmodern Experience in Yu Hua’s Experimental Fiction,” Ren Jiyuan, U of South Carolina, Columbia

3. “‘When Will You Return?’: Teresa Teng, Yellow Music, and People’s Everyday Resistance in Communist China,” Siyue Liu

4. “  Transmedia Palimpsesting: Alternative Narratives of Revolution in Adapting Drawing Sword,” Zhuojun Huang, City U of Hong Kong

167. Migration in British Romanticism

8:30–9:45 a.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the Wordsworth-Coleridge Association. Presiding: Jonathan Sachs, Concordia U

1. “Highlanders, Migration, and the Law: Walter Scott’s Guy Mannering,” Alexander Dick, U of British Columbia, Vancouver

2. “Lady Caroline Lamb’s Graham Hamilton and the Migratory Possibilities of South America,” Lindsey Eckert, Florida State U

3. “Moving Plants: Scenographic Representations of Exotic Flora and Botanical Imperialism on the Romantic Stage,” Yasser Shams Khan, Qatar U

4. “Arctic Migrations: Indigenous Encounters and Cultural Displacement in British Romantic Exploration Narratives,” Hayley Bowen, Temple U, Philadelphia

168. Oscar Wilde, French by Sympathy?

8:30–9:45 a.m., 716B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Aaron Eames, independent scholar

1. “The Importance of Being Sebastian: The Picture of Dorian Gray as a French Decadent Text,” Rebekah Lawler, Lipscomb U

2. “Echoes of Aestheticism: The Influence of Oscar Wilde’s Poetry on French Music,” Samantha Reavis, U of California, Los Angeles

3. “Wilde and Rachilde: Sympathetic Appreciations,” Sandra Leonard, Kutztown U

Respondent: Margaret Stetz, U of Delaware, Newark

For related material, visit oscarwildefrenchbysympathy.mla.hcommons.org/.

169. The Premodern Anthropocene

8:30–9:45 a.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Middle English. Presiding: Tekla Bude, Oregon State U

1. “Sundry Sorrows in Cities: Environmental Injustice in Piers Plowman,” Robert W. Epstein, Fairfield U

2. “Seeing the Trees: Minor Crisis in the Medieval Forest,” Aylin Malcolm, U of Guelph

3. “Marvelous Cosmology in the Anthropocene,” Nathan Phelps, U of Notre Dame

4. “Atmospheric Effects,” Kellie Robertson, U of Maryland, College Park

170. Unsettling Colonialism: Pasts and Futures of Settler Colonialism

8:30–9:45 a.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 16th-Century English. Presiding: Susanne Lindgren Wofford, New York U

1. “Metonymic Possession: Mineral Extraction and Arctic Conquest,” Caro Pirri, U of Pittsburgh

2. “On the Absence of Loving Relationality in Shakespeare’s Representations of Premodern Indigenous Peoples,” Jamie Paris, U of Manitoba

3. “Cultivation and the Borders of Savagery in Spenser’s The Faerie Queene,” Ashley Sarpong, California State U, Stanislaus

For related material, write to susanne.wofford@nyu.edu after 1 Dec.

172. Figures in Central and East European Comparatism: Identities across Borders

8:30–9:45 a.m., 710, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Romanian. Presiding: Christian Moraru, U of North Carolina, Greensboro

Speakers: Manuela Boatcă, U of Freiburg; Nikolay Karkov, State U of New York at Cortland; Rareș Moldovan, U Babeș-Bolyai; Anca E. Parvulescu, Washington U in St. Louis; Katja Perat, U of Alaska, Anchorage

East Central Europe is one of the birthplaces of literary comparatism. Speakers discuss multilingual literature, the challenges of creolization, the contributions of Romani culture, regional Islamic cultures, immigrant writers, the sociolinguistic landscape, identity and media, evolving narratives of identity, and the opposing forces of globalization and deglobalization.

173. Sex in the Renaissance

8:30–9:45 a.m., 206F, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender. Presiding: Shannon Kelley, Fairfield U

Speakers: Claudia Antonini, Wake Forest U; Sophia Buehrer, New York U; Albrecht Classen, U of Arizona, Tucson; Darren Kusar, U of Chicago; Mark J. Mascia, Sacred Heart U

Participants discuss sexual desire and early modern women and gender, drawing on approaches and examples from early modern French, Italian, Spanish, German, and English traditions to address a range of topics: nonprocreative sex, interracial sex, pleasure, eros, queering sex, lesbianism, policing sex, celibacy, and prostitution, among others.

174. Lineation, Global Modernism, and Comparative Poetics

8:30–9:45 a.m., 802A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Scott Mehl, Colgate U

1. “Another Last Romantic, Another First Modernist,” Kedar Kulkarni, FLAME U

2. “Poetics of the Line: Lineation as an Expressive Device in Chinese New Poetry,” Xiaoyu Xia, Princeton U

3. “E. E. Cummings’s ‘Poempictures,’ Experimental Lineation, and Modernist Transmediality,” Bowen Wang, Shanghai Jiao Tong U

4. “The Limits of Free Verse: Rereading Dhondrup Gyel’s ‘Waterfall of Youth,’” Nathaniel Gallant, Princeton U

Respondent: Liesl Yamaguchi, U of California, Berkeley

For related material, write to ng5390@princeton.edu after 15 Dec.

175. Recentering Diaspora in the Twenty-First Century

8:30–9:45 a.m., 606, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Kuhelika Ghosh, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Nabiha Mansoor, U of Wisconsin, Madison

Speakers: Tina Borah, U of Georgia; Chris Cañete Rodriguez Kelly, Columbia U; Zhong Cheng, Anhui U of Science and Tech.; Ashley Dun, Brown U; Mahan Ellison, Furman U; Stef Torralba, Grinnell C

The concept of diaspora has appeared to fall out of favor in literary scholarship because of its inability to grasp the complex pluralities of race, class, gender, and other intersectional differences across diasporic groups in the twenty-first century. Early and mid-career scholars working on varied diasporic contexts in the United States and globally reflect on the intellectual lineages and possibilities of recentering diaspora today.

For related material, write to kghosh4@wisc.edu.

176. Ecologies of Experimentation: Avant-Gardes and Environmental Thought

8:30–9:45 a.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Sarah María Medina Pérez, Washington U in St. Louis

1. “Ecopoetics and Avant-Gardes: Modernist Experimentation and Ecological Imaginaries in Mexico City,” Sarah María Medina Pérez

2. “Anthropophagocene: Energy and the Anthropocenic Imagination of Brazil’s Cannibalist Avant-Gardes,” Victoria Saramago, U of Chicago

3. “From Earth to Memory: The Ecopoetic Aesthetics of Mohammed Khaïr-Eddine,” Sara Ansaloni, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

4. “The Whole Valley Is Witness: Environmental Advocacy in Muriel Rukeyser’s The Book of the Dead,” Kayla Lutes, U of Memphis

For related material, visit hcommons.org/groups/ecologies-of-experimentation-environmental-thought-and-planetary-avant-gardes/ after 29 Dec.

177. What Happens Next? Rebuilding after Destruction in Contemporary French and Francophone Fiction

8:30–9:45 a.m., 602B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Elisabeth Buzay, Trinity C, CT

1. “Diplomacy and Peacebuilding: An Analysis of Elisa Beiram’s Le premier jour de la paix,” Emmanuel Buzay, Expertise France / Ambassade de France

2. “‘Un moment de pur bonheur musical’: Rebuilding Community in Antoine Volodine’s Terminus Radieux,” Carlo Caccia, U degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale; Stefania Irene Sini, U degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale

3. “Remaking Meaning: Political and Literary Subversions in Laure Gauthier’s Mélusine Reloaded,” Elisabeth Buzay

178. Weaponized Genre: Tactical Uses of Convention in Narratives of Violence and Memory

8:30–9:45 a.m., 206E, MTCC

A special session

1. “The Rough Hero and Moral Drift: Affective Engagement across The Day of the Jackal,” Heidi Ka-Sin Lee, Sophia U, Tokyo

2. “Elephants Can Remember: Mystery, Memory, and the Scripted Performance of Knowing in Agatha Christie,” Melissa Rocha, U of California, Merced

3. “Zones of Ambivalence: Small Feelings and Disidentification in The Association of Small Bombs,” Azharuddin Azharuddin, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

179. When Do We Need to Know What Is AI and What Is Student Writing? How Can We Know?

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the MLA Task Force on Generative AI Initiatives. Presiding: Anna Mills, City C of San Francisco, CA

Speakers: Holly Hassel, Michigan Technological U; Sarah Z. Johnson, Madison Area Technical C, WI; Elizabeth Mathews Losh, William and Mary

During this workshop, attendees learn about approaches to distinguishing student writing from AI and discouraging AI use that interferes with learning. Speakers address fairness and bias, instructor labor, student privacy, and teacher-student relationships and then conduct activities that explore designing for intrinsic motivation, multimodal assignments, ungrading, proctored writing, process tracking, and AI detection.

180. Adaptation and Opposition through Comics

8:30–9:45 a.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Comics and Graphic Narratives and the forum TC Adaptation Studies. Presiding: Chase Gregory, Bucknell U; Robert Nguyen, Lycoming C

1. “‘I Must Have Your Land’: Indigenous Dispossession in Manga Shakespeare’s King Lear,” Jarrod DePrado, U of Connecticut, Storrs

2. “John Jennings, Archival Speculation, and the Graphic Afterlives of Race,” Kiana Murphy, Brown U

3. “Monstrous Legacies: Comics Adaptations as Resistance, Reinvention, and Reclamation,” Nicholas Dertinger, Northern Illinois U

4. “Gendered Narratives and Cultural Inheritance: Race and Gender Bending in Comic Book Adaptation Casting,” Harry Foster, Michigan State U

For related material, visit hcommons.org/groups/adaptation-and-opposition-through-comics/.

181. New Views of Beachy Head

8:30–9:45 a.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC English Romantic. Presiding: Kevis Goodman, U of California, Berkeley

1. “Up, Down, Sideways: Charlotte Smith’s Positions,” Daniel O’Quinn, U of Guelph

2. “‘Of Vast Concussion’: Geological Time and More-Than-Human Conjecture in Beachy Head,” Jennifer Scappettone, U of Chicago

Respondent: Mary Favret, Johns Hopkins U, MD

182. Making Space for Generative AI Refusal

8:30–9:45 a.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum RCWS History and Theory of Composition. Presiding: Cara Messina, Marist U; Jennifer Sano Franchini, West Virginia U, Morgantown

Speakers: Jonathan Alexander, U of California, Irvine; Michael L. Black, U of Massachusetts, Lowell; Dustin Edwards, San Diego State U; Margaret Fernandes, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Carmen Kynard, Texas Christian U; Amy Lynch-Biniek, Kutztown U; Megan McIntyre, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Elizabeth Palumbo, Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Stacy Wittstock, Marist U

Participants address generative AI refusal, engaging writing studies commitments such as linguistic justice, Students’ Right to Their Own Language, critical digital rhetoric, literacy access, labor, and placed-based rhetoric and environmental justice.

183. The Holocaust in a Global Context through Intermedial, Temporal, and Decolonial Lenses

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century German. Presiding: Helen Finch, U of Leeds

1. “Photography and Intermediality in Literary Narratives of Black Experience under Nazism,” Sarah P. Casteel, Carleton U

2. “Afro-German Literature’s Temporal Globalization of Holocaust Memory,” Maria Mayr, Memorial U of Newfoundland

3. “Haunted by Communal Memory: Examining the Legacy of the Bosnian Civil War in Markovic’s Minihorror,” Aaron Carpenter, Allegheny C

4. “Crossroads of Memory,” Sahib Kapoor, Jawaharlal Nehru U

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/20th-and-21st-century-german/docs/ after 1 Jan.

184. Contemporary Impacts of Settler Traumas upon Indigenous Peoples of North America

8:30–9:45 a.m., 605, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Danielle Mercier, Santa Fe C

1. “Our Stories Are Written on the Skin: Reading Cybersex, Self-Harm, and Survival in Johnny Appleseed,” Morgan Hunter, U of South Florida

2. “On Antane Kapesh and Canadian White Settler Colonialism,” Corrie Scott, U of Ottawa

3. “Fictionalizing Reality: Monsters and Horror in Rhymes for Young Ghouls,” Allison Duque, U of South Florida

4. “Neocolonial Masculinities in Linda Hogan’s People of the Whale,” Ally Barber, Southern Methodist U

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/contemporary-impacts-of-settler-traumas-upon-indigenous-peoples-of-north-america/.

185. Who Do We Resemble? Selfhood, Perception, and Modernist Multiplicity

8:30–9:45 a.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Pirandello Society of America. Presiding: Michael Subialka, U of California, Davis

1. “Time as Being in Pirandello’s Short Stories,” Enrico Vettore, California State U, Long Beach

2. “‘Mi piacerebbe telefonare a Pirandello’: Tabucchi in the Footsteps of Pirandello and Pessoa,” Francesca Magario, Duke U

3. “Resemblance Is a Project, Not a Given: De Roberto, Mann, Pirandello,” Andrea Sartori, Nankai U

187. Queer Relations in Contemporary Latin(x) American Literature and Culture: Sound and Gender Studies as Kin

8:30–9:45 a.m., 712, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Isabella Vergara, Princeton U

1. “Dragged Attachments: Sonic Circuits/Cuir Sets and Citations in Xandra Ibarra’s F*ck My Life,” Christina Baker, Temple U

2. “Synesthetic Listening and Queer ‘Response-ability’ as Aural Care in Contemporary Mexican Narrative,” Tamara Mitchell, U of British Columbia

3. “En el límite de lo sonoro: Lobo de Bibiana Camacho y La noche de fuego, de Tatiana Huezo,” Kristina Stajic, U of Toronto

4. “Sonic Activism and Queer Material Poetics,” Isabella Vergara

188. The Cultural Life of Colonial Commodities

8:30–9:45 a.m., 714B, MTCC

A special session

1. “Manioc in Many Worlds: Colonial Inhabitation and the Roots of Its Undoing,” Isabel Bradley, New York U

2. “Making Chocolate, Making Race,” Daniela Gutierrez-Flores, U of California, Davis

3. “The Neoliberal Aesthetics of Heirloom Maize,” Ignacio Sánchez Prado, Washington U in St. Louis

For related material, write to isanchez@wustl.edu after 1 Jan.

189. Dutch Studies Transnationalism in Progress: Policy, Education, and Research

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Dutch. Presiding: Tycho Maas, Utrecht U

1. “Linguistic Belonging: Afrikaans, Heritage, and Transnational Cultural Identity,” Margriet van der Waal, U of Groningen

2. “Lost in Translation: Papiamento and the Politics of Language in the Dutch Caribbean,” Tiarra Simon, Amsterdam City Archives

3. “Suriname, Bonaire, and Language Use,” Sita M. Patadien, independent scholar

4. “Literary History and the Transnational,” Geert Buelens, Utrecht U

190. Toronto the Good? Representations of Toronto in Canadian Literature

8:30–9:45 a.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Canadian. Presiding: Eleanor R. Ty, Wilfrid Laurier U

1. “Defying Apocalypse in Toronto’s St. James Town in Logan Verhoeven’s Towerkind,” Lorraine York, McMaster U

2. “How Can a Person Be Glamorous in Toronto the Good?,” Kathryn Franklin, U of Toronto

3. “Dionne Brand’s Toronto as an Antihistoriographic Project of Mad Identity Writing in Canada,” Marisa Bordonaro, Western U

4. “Literary Representations of the Christie Pits ‘Riot’ in Toronto Fictions,” Stephen J. Cain, York U

191. Deep Time in Irish Literature and Art

8:30–9:45 a.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Conference for Irish Studies. Presiding: Abby S. Bender, Sacred Heart U

1. “Irish Literature and the Aesthetic Category of the Adequate,” Annabel Barry, U of California, Berkeley

2. “Lineage, Inheritance, and Swerve: The Contemporary Irish Novel,” Jill C. Darley-Vanis, Clark C

3. “Look to the West, Look at Us: The Aesthetics of Extinction in Julian Friers’s Irish Paleoart,” Molly Joyce, Valencia C

4. “Deep Time and Irish Ecopoetics,” Eoin Flannery, Mary Immaculate C, U of Limerick

192. Afro-Brazil as Method and Theory

8:30–9:45 a.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Luso-Brazilian. Presiding: Felipe Fanuel Xavier Rodrigues, U do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

1. “Lélia Gonzalez: The Essay as Method, Theory, and Translation,” Felipe Fanuel Xavier Rodrigues

2. “Epistemological Reclamation: Afro-Brazilian Identity in Carneiro and Evaristo,” Thayza Matos, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

3. “Amefricanidade against Latinx,” Thomas Conners, Allegheny C

4. “Black Brazilian Female Literary Writers: Black Theorists with Powerful Epistemological Contributions,” Maria A Salgueiro, U do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

193. “On the Mend!”: Healing in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Iberian Literature and Art

8:30–9:45 a.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 18th- and 19th-Century Spanish and Iberian. Presiding: Sara Munoz-Muriana, Dartmouth C

1. “Street Prostitution and Women’s Health in Late-Eighteenth-Century Madrid,” José M. Rodríguez García, Duke U

2. “From Asturias to Paris and Philadelphia: Transnational Transformations of Dr. Casal’s Cases and Cures,” Ruth Hill, Vanderbilt U

3. “Healing and Hexes: Pharmacopoeia and Magical Praxis in Jovellanos,” Rhi Johnson, Indiana U, Bloomington

4. “Healing and Healers in Nineteenth-Century Spanish Costumbrismo: Médicos, Barberos, Boticarios, and Santeros,” Oscar Ruiz Hernandez, U of Massachusetts, Lowell

194. Innovation Room

8:30–11:30 a.m., 718A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association of Language Departments and the Association of Departments of English. Presiding: Ayanni Cooper, MLA; Lydia Tang, MLA

1. “Centering the Humanities through Michigan State University’s Arts and Humanities Health and Well-Being Major,” Sonja Rae Fritzsche, Michigan State U

2. “Freedom in Print: Books and Antislavery History at the Chatham-Kent Black Historical Society and Black Mecca Museum,” Nina Reid-Maroney, Huron University C; Scott Schofield, Huron University C

3. “Students of Literature as Social Agents: Learning beyond the Classroom (LBC) with Choix Goncourt Canada,” Elzbieta Grodek, McMaster U

4. “Poetry and Cryptography: Bridging the Disciplines in an Integrated Liberal Arts Curriculum,” Corinne Bayerl, U of Oregon

5. “Journey to Taiwan: Cultivating Global Citizenship through Language, Culture, and Community,” Nian Liu, U of Oklahoma; Yanrong Qi, U of Oklahoma

6. “Innovations in Language Learning with Extended Reality (XR): 3-D World Environments and AI-Chatbot Nonplayer Characters,” Kevin Richards, Ohio State U, Columbus

7. “SPARK for German: Building Networks with the Goethe-Institut,” Berit Bein, Goethe-Institut, Toronto; Pascale LaFountain, Montclair State U; Susanne Rinner, Goethe-Institut, Washington; Susanne M. Wagner, U of Saint Thomas, MN

8. “Empowering Engagement: Showcasing Student Projects in Middle East and Islamic Studies,” Courtney Graves, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Micah Hughes, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

9. “Enhancing Online Arabic Instruction through AI Integration: Innovation, Personalization, and Practice,” Nevine Abraham, Carnegie Mellon U

10. “A Digital Magazine Project in a Capstone Course,” Maria Lujan Figueredo, York U

11. “Overseas Students and the Asian-Pacific World,” Guojun Wang, McGill U

12. “Beyond the Algorithm: Cograding Strategies to Keep Humanity in Writing Evaluation,” Fahimul Habib, U of Louisiana, Lafayette; S M Saifullah, U of Louisiana, Lafayette

13. “Taking Classroom Spanish outside the Classroom,” Elena Davidiak, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

14. “What Is Community? A Spanish Experiential Learning Project,” Erin Redmond, Brock U

15. “Reenvisioning the Major: Marketing for a New Generation and a Global Workforce,” Charlotte Teague, Alabama A&M U

16. “Cultivating Career Pathways through Language, Mentorship, and Community Engagement,” Angela Lee-Smith, Yale U

17. “Pathways: Job Hunting from Appalachia: A New Academic Success Course and Speaker Series on Career Paths in the Humanities,” Darci Gardner, Appalachian State U

18. “Pathways: Promoting Career Readiness across the English Department,” Sophia Bamert, Brooklyn C, City U of New York; Martha Nadell, Brooklyn C, City U of New York

19. “Pathways: English Major Internships for Recruitment and Retention,” Shannon Finck, Georgia State U; LeeAnne Marie Richardson, Georgia State U

20. “Pathways: Building Career-Informed Learning Opportunities for LaGuardia’s Health Humanities Students,” Christine Marks, LaGuardia Community C, City U of New York

21. “Pathways: Be a Creative Writing Student for a Day,” Jennifer Anderson, Lewis-Clark State C

22. “Pathways: English Career Ramapo Alumni Mentoring Program,” Indya Jackson, Ramapo C of New Jersey

23. “Pathways: Enhancing Career Readiness in World Languages at Southern Connecticut State University,” Craig Hlavac, Southern Connecticut State U; Miaowei Weng, Southern Connecticut State U

24. “Pathways: Creating a Career Readiness Program for English Majors and Minors at Southern University and A&M College,” Mary Clinkenbeard, Southern U, Baton Rouge

25. “Pathways: Pathways to Writing,” Anne Wheeler, Springfield C

26. “Pathways: Developing Learning Communities with the Fisher Urban Scholars,” Jonathan Shelley, Saint John Fisher U

27. “Pathways: The Interdisciplinary Humanities and Preprofessional Studies,” Rachel Hollander, Saint John’s U, NY; Brian Lockey, Saint John’s U, NY

28. “Pathways: Middle East and Islamic Studies Career Pathways Initiative,” Claudia Yaghoobi, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

29. “Pathways: Language in the Present Tense: Modeling, Mentoring, and Mapping Language Proficiency for Career Readiness,” Michele Bell, Union C, NY

30. “Pathways: Building Global Connections: Leveraging the Language Lab for the Professions,” Jenna Reynolds, U of Alabama, Birmingham

31. “Pathways: Comics and Community: A Transfer Student Pathway,” Joanne Britland, University of Florida Board of Trustees

32. “Pathways: Inclusive Digital Humanities at an HBCU,” Cynthia Cravens, U of Maryland, Eastern Shore; Gabriela Vlahovici-Jones, U of Maryland, Eastern Shore

33. “Pathways: Empowering First-Generation Success: Bridging Language Studies with Professional Opportunities,” Johana Barrero, U of North Florida

34. “Pathways: Forging Pathways for Academic and Professional Success for International Studies and Diplomacy Students,” LeAnne Spino-Seijas, U of Rhode Island

35. “Pathways: Bridging Language Education and Career Opportunities in Utah through Multilingual Course Development,” Marcela Lemos, Utah State U; Sofía Monzón Rodríguez, Utah State U

36. “Pathways: Humanities Career Exploration Academy,” Megan Cole, Victor Valley C, CA

37. “Pathways: Serving Our Students, Serving the Region: Career Pathways and Partnerships for English Majors,” Amy Patrick-Mossman, Western Illinois U

38. “Pathways: Transfer Pathways for Equitable Access to Global Learning,” Vanessa DeGifis, Wayne State U

39. “Get Real: Practicing the Humanities,” Evelyn Preuss, U of Oklahoma

40. “Rhetorics of the Rust Belt,” Katharine G. Trostel, Ursuline C; Valentino Zullo, Ursuline C

41. “Professional Pathways in World Languages and Global Humanities,” Kaitlin Thomas, Norwich U

This dynamic poster session highlights curriculum reform and student success initiatives, including 2025 MLA Pathways Step Grant projects. Presenters showcase new programs, courses, and collaborations that advance experiential learning, public humanities, and AI, as well as undergraduate recruitment, retention, and career readiness. Audience members may drop by anytime to explore the showcase at their own pace.

195. Undergraduate Research in the Humanities: A Roundtable for Faculty Members

8:30–9:45 a.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Julia Lieber, MLA

Speakers: Jaime Goodrich, Wayne State U; Elizabeth Franklin Lewis, U of Mary Washington; Ben Wiebracht, Stanford Online High School, CA; Amy Woodbury Tease, Norwich U

Participants showcase the work of leaders in undergraduate research in the humanities, sharing case studies, models, and strategies for successful programs.

197. Recommendations for Supporting Editors: Recognizing the Contributions of Scholarly Journals

8:30–9:45 a.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals. Presiding: Eugenia Zuroski, McMaster U

Speakers: Samuel Cohen, U of Missouri, Columbia; Rebecca Colesworthy, SUNY Press; Eugenia Zuroski

Participants offer a follow-up discussion to the 2025 workshop on CELJ’s statement on the contributions of scholarly journals and recommendations for how institutions can support the work of editors.

198. Presidential Plenary: What We Fight For

10:15 a.m.–12:00 noon, 701A, MTCC

Presiding: Tina Lu, Yale U

Speakers: Eileen Chengyin Chow, Duke U; Alexandra Gillespie, U of Toronto; Jonathan Holloway, Luce Foundation; Michael Roth, Wesleyan U

Many of us share a sense of profound global crisis, and yet what we name as well as experience is local. How do we define and redefine the key issues, and how do we destabilize these new normals? Higher education leaders from various countries and kinds of institutions stitch together a panoptic view of our challenges and strategies. Where do we go from here?

For linked sessions, see meetings 368 and 473.

199. Declaring Dependence

10:15–11:30 a.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Early American. Presiding: Ben Bascom, West Virginia U, Morgantown

1. “‘Crawling on My Hands and Knees’: William Grimes and Incapacitating Civic Value and Belonging,” Stephen P. Knadler, Spelman C

2. “Reading Dependence in the Prose of Slave Conspiracy,” Ajay Batra, Vanderbilt U

3. “Disability and Enslavement in the Archive of Elizabeth Jefferson and Little Sall,” Lucy Wallitsch, Emory U

4. “Macaroni Metamorphoses in the Age of Revolutions,” Don James McLaughlin, U of Tulsa

Respondent: Ben Bascom

200. Remembering the Work of Stephen J. Adams: The Poetic Designs of Modernism

10:15–11:30 a.m., 206B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Ezra Pound Society. Presiding: Demetres Tryphonopoulos, U of Alberta

1. “Anyte of Tegea, the Greek Anthology, and Modernist Patriarchal Prosodies,” Demetres Tryphonopoulos

2. “Stephen J. Adams and the Acoustic Ecology of Murray Schafer’s Pound,” Anderson Araujo, U of British Columbia, Okanagan

3. “Motz el son: Stephen Adams and the Critical Reception of Pound’s Musicology,” Mark Stephen Byron, U of Sydney

For related material, write to demetres@ualberta.ca.

201. Waking Up from the American Dream: Race, Class, and Comic Historiography in American Literature and Film

10:15–11:30 a.m., 714B, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Humor Studies Association. Presiding: Todd Nathan Thompson, Indiana U of Pennsylvania

1. “Cynical Humors: Nathanael West, Depressed American Dreams, and the Comedy of Capitalism,” Richard Aldersley, New York U

2. “A Great (American) Joke: Satirizing the Slave Narrative in Percival Everett’s James,” Esme Feurtado, Queen Mary U of London

3. “Mel Brooks: Laughing Off the Past,” Jonathan Tabutol, Indiana U of Pennsylvania

202. Contemporary Poetry of Statelessness, Refuge, Migration, and Place Making

10:15–11:30 a.m., 710, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Race and Ethnicity Studies. Presiding: Francisco Robles, U of Notre Dame

1. “Deserts, Statelessness, and Poetic Responses to Sovereignty,” Francisco Robles

2. “The Hedgehog’s Errancy: Derrida’s Ethics of Poetry and the Diasporic Unhomely,” Yang Feng, China Foreign Affairs U

3. “Transnational Feminist Solidarity and Resistance in the Poetry of Tarfia Faizullah and Fatimah Asghar,” Subrata Chandra Mozumder, U of Louisiana, Lafayette

4. “En una olla de presión: Central American Migrants, Containerization, and Poetic Extension,” Eric Vazquez, U of Iowa

203. Victorian Resemblances: Nineteenth-Century Britain in Contemporary Global Media

10:15–11:30 a.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Dickens Society. Presiding: Renee Fox, U of California, Santa Cruz

Speakers: Preeshita Biswas, Texas Christian U; Julia Chin, Yale U; Pamela K. Gilbert, Auburn U; Lauren Gillingham, U of Ottawa; Ji Eun Lee, Sungkyunkwan U

Participants explore the politics, formal experiments, inheritances, transmedial complexities, and deliberate misrecognitions of nineteenth-century anglophone culture in twentieth- and twenty-first-century literature and media, focusing on Victorian inheritances in AI, contemporary Internet novels, Korean periodicals, postwar Japanese fiction, and anime.

204. John Clare: Forms of Contemporary

10:15–11:30 a.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the John Clare Society of North America. Presiding: Erica McAlpine, U of Oxford, St Edmund Hall

1. “Contemporaries,” Vidyan Ravinthiran, Harvard U

2. “‘Homes upon the Waste’: Poetic Nesting in John Clare’s Northborough Poems and Beyond,” Laura Betz, U of Notre Dame

3. “‘This Sad Non-identity’: Apophatic Self-Disclosure in John Clare’s Poetry,” Scott Hubbard, U of South Carolina, Columbia

205. Devotional Forms in Old English Literature

10:15–11:30 a.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Old English. Presiding: Benjamin Saltzman, U of Chicago

1. “The Cross as Hostile Host: The Hostipitality of the ‘Dream of the Rood,’” Ryanne Berry, Cornell U

2. “Bodily, Affective, and Literary Forms in the ‘Dream of the Rood,’” Madeline Fox, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3. “A Dreamer’s Devotion: The True Cross as Substitute for the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Maggie Hawkins, U of Texas, Austin

4. “Bede’s Female Models for the Practice of Prayer,” Stephanie Clark, U of Oregon

206. Milton’s Afterlives

10:15–11:30 a.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Milton Society of America. Presiding: Andrea Walkden, U of Toronto

1. “Equiano, Revolution, and the Lyricizing of Paradise Lost,” Nicholas Allred, Fairfield U

2. “‘The O of Wonder’: Ronald Johnson’s Radi Os and the Queer Rewriting of Paradise Lost,” Shaun Nowicki, U of California, Santa Barbara

3. “John Akomfrah’s Postmigrant Epic,” Orlando Reade, Northeastern U London

4. “Milton’s Premodern American Afterlife,” Elizabeth Sauer, Brock U

207. Doris Lessing the Storyteller: Literature and Social Change

10:15–11:30 a.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Doris Lessing Society. Presiding: Alice Rachel Ridout, Algoma U

1. “‘Well, I Don’t Hold It against You’: Doris Lessing and Stories of the Welfare State,” Lisa Jeanne Fluet, Wentworth Inst. of Tech.

2. “‘Dubious Relation[s]’: Literature, Political Efficacy, Necessity, and Timeliness,” Alice Rachel Ridout

3. “Doris Lessing and the Question of History,” Murielle Vauthier, U Paris-Est Creteil Val de Marne

208. Onomastic Rhetoric: Acts of Naming in Real and Imagined Worlds

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the American Name Society. Presiding: Anne W. Anderson, American Name Soc.

1. “‘Names Matter’: Naming and Power in Wide Sargasso Sea and Lucy,” Lindsay Brown, Lafayette C

2. “Paradoxical Onomastic Rhetoric: Violence and Humor in Percival Everett’s The Trees,” Christine De Vinne, Ursuline C

3. “Naming Mechanical Characters in Youth Literature from the Machine Age to the Information Age,” Anne W. Anderson

209. Early Modern Women’s Violence

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Renaissance and Early Modern. Presiding: Cynthia Nazarian, Northwestern U

Speakers: Penelope Anderson, Indiana U, Bloomington; Ciara Fulton, U at Buffalo, State U of New York; Julia Lewandowska, U of Warsaw; Dakshayani Shankar, Emory U; Haihong Yang, U of Delaware, Newark

Participants explore representations of women’s violence across early modern literature and culture. How do early modern texts gender violence? How do they figure women’s force, resistance, criminality, self-harm, and vengeance? How do cultural forces shape and respond to these portrayals?

210. Rewriting the Modernist Wife: Beckett, Stein, Toklas, Dumesnil

10:15–11:30 a.m., 205D, MTCC

Program arranged by the Samuel Beckett Society. Presiding: Julie Bates, Trinity C, Dublin

1. “‘Suzanne Was Very Vocal…against Marriage’: Unhappy Fictional Marriages by Beckett and Dumesnil,” Julie Bates

2. “‘Je l’ai faite, refaite, refaite encore’: Suzanne Dumesnil, Fuguing Mistresses, and Portmanteau Wives,” Dunlaith Bird, U Sorbonne Paris Nord

3. “Alice B. Toklas and Modernist Wife Writing,” Georgina Nugent, University C Cork

For related material, write to @samuelbeckettsocietylb.

211. Espaces et temps queer

10:15–11:30 a.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the Conseil International d’Études Francophones

1. “Cohabitation queer des espaces-temps chez Huysmans et Guibert,” Benjamin Gagnon Chainey, U de Montréal

2. “Déplacement de l’espace-temps queer chez Céline Sciamma et Houda Benyamina,” Evie Munier, Middlebury C

3. “Mobilité géographique et éthique minoritaire dans La peau hors du placard, de Jean-Baptiste Phou,” Thomas Muzart, Pomona C

4. “La dysphorie hors-pysché ou sur canevas: Temporalité affective de la transition dans l’art dysphorique,” Euryale Cliche-Laroche, Concordia U

For related material, write to crrobu@davidson.edu.

212. TC Popular Culture General Business Meeting

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum TC Popular Culture. Presiding: Maria Ines Canto Carrillo, Colorado State U; Francesca Dennstedt, U of Kentucky

213. Distant Coding for the Digital Humanities

10:15–11:30 a.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Electronic Literature Organization. Presiding: Lai-Tze Fan, U of Waterloo; Anastasia Salter, U of Central Florida

Scholars explore the relationship between generative AI and the future of digital humanities programming using agent-based tools. Participants will be introduced to a beginner-friendly method commonly referred to as “vibe coding,” which emphasizes describing and solving problems through code rather than editing code directly, for tasks such as distant reading and digital humanities prototyping.

For related material, visit anastasiasalter.net/DistantCoding/.

214. Postfascist Horror Cinema

10:15–11:30 a.m., 715B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Michael Truscello, Mount Royal U

1. “Sisu and the Postfascist Nazisploitation Film,” Michael Truscello

2. “Abjection as Antifascism in I Saw the TV Glow, The Substance, and Love Lies Bleeding,” Johanna Isaacson, Modesto Junior C, CA

3. “Blackness, Brutalism, and the Terror of Living in Remi Weeks’s His House,” Patrick Walter, U of Texas, Austin

For related material, write to mtruscello@mtroyal.ca after 31 Dec.

215. Idealism and Materialism

10:15–11:30 a.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Marxist Literary Group. Presiding: Tom Laughlin, Acadia U

1. “The Labor of the Aesthetic: The Fortunes of Beauty in the Factory Age,” Tom Laughlin, Acadia U

2. “Techne-Materialism,” Zachary Tavlin, School of the Art Inst. of Chicago

3. “Merely Cultural? Recent Turns in Queer and Trans Materialism,” Connor Spencer, Columbia U

216. The Circle Game

10:15–11:30 a.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Margaret Atwood Society. Presiding: Lee Frew, York U

1. “Kinship, Intertextuality, and Feminist Resistance in Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments,” Marjan Heidari, U of Texas, Dallas

2. “Rebelling against the ‘Literary Foremother’ in Alias Grace,” Holly Nelson, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3. “Baby Nicole: Sister, Daughter, Martyr, and the Face of the Resistance in Atwood’s The Testaments,” Riley Thomas, Temple U

217. Historical Facts, Features, and Figures in Music

10:15–11:30 a.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Lyrica Society for Word-Music Relations. Presiding: Shoshana Milgram Knapp, Virginia Tech

1. “Ivan the Terrible Goes to the Opera,” Olga Haldey, U of Maryland, College Park

2. “Ishq: Love and Regionalism in Dalit-Sikh Anti-Fascism,” Pujarinee Mitra, Texas A&M U, College Station

3. “Aaron Burr as Narrative Guide in Hamilton,” Kelly I. Aliano, LaGuardia Community C, City U of New York

For related material, write to dashiell@vt.edu after 28 Dec.

218. Cognitive Care in Narrative Medicine

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Shan Ruan, Ohio State U, Columbus

1. “Embodied Caregiving and Care Receiving in Dana Walrath’s Aliceheimer’s,” Lan Dong, U of Illinois, Springfield

2. “Cognitive Care for Dementia Patients in Narrative Medicine,” Shan Ruan

Respondent: Rita Charon, Columbia U

For related material, write to coralruan@email.com.

219. The Afterlives of The Rhetoric of Fiction: Sixty-Five Years Later

10:15–11:30 a.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the International Society for the Study of Narrative. Presiding: Antonio Ferraro, U of Cincinnati

Speakers: Antonio Ferraro; Sue J. Kim, U of Massachusetts, Lowell; Daniel Newman, U of Toronto; Jessy Nyiri, U of California, Berkeley; Siddharth Srikanth, U of Nevada, Las Vegas

Respondent: James Phelan, Ohio State U, Columbus

Panelists consider the continuing relevance of Wayne C. Booth’s The Rhetoric of Fiction, sixty-five years after its publication in 1961, discussing its implications for a range of contemporary theoretical debates—including those about immediacy, narrative ethics, irony, and rhetoric and politics—and its pedagogical purposes.

220. Narratives and Storytelling in Business Communication

10:15–11:30 a.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association for Business Communication. Presiding: William Christopher Brown, Midland C

1. “New Core Course: The Power of Storytelling in Business,” Alicia Clavell McCall, U of Alabama, Birmingham

2. “The Mythological Key to Organizational Change,” James Siburt, Immaculata U

3. “Storytelling Online: An Analysis of Sustainable Wine Tourism Discourse on Chilean Winery Websites,” Judith Ainsworth, McGill U

4. “Revising Organizational and Community Stories: The USACE Mediates Conflict with a Local Community,” Kristin Pickering, Tennessee Tech U

221. Goethe and the Big Con

10:15–11:30 a.m., 703, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Eleanor E. ter Horst, U of South Alabama

1. “Goethe’s Response to Cagliostro’s Big Con,” Sheila A. Spector, Baruch C, City U of New York

2. “‘Was helfen Klagen und Worte!’: Lying and Getting Away with It in Goethe’s Reineke Fuchs,” Allan Madin, independent scholar

3. “Social Isolation, Control, Manipulation, and Individuality in Goethe’s Elective Affinities,” Anna C. Spafford, Indiana U, Bloomington

222. Kinships and Relations in Global and Nordic Indigenous-Settler Spaces

10:15–11:30 a.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Nordic. Presiding: Amanda Doxtater, U of Washington, Seattle

1. “Whose Home? Nordic-Settler Relations in Mni Sota Makoce, Then and Now,” Ursula Lindqvist, Gustavus Adolphus C

2. “Seeking Respectful, Reciprocal Relationality: Sámi Descendants on Unceded American Indigenous Land,” Amy King, U of Washington, Seattle

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/nordic/.

223. Familyhood in Italian Culture

10:15–11:30 a.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Association of Teachers of Italian. Presiding: Daniele De Feo, Princeton U

1. “Italy as a Big Dysfunctional Family: A Perspective from the South,” Cristina Carnemolla, McGill U

2. “Framing Family through Words and Images,” Gianmarco Bocchi, U of Toronto

3. “Calandrone’s Adoption Diptych: Narrative Structure in Splendi come vita and Dove non mi hai portata,” Melissa Coburn, Virginia Tech

4. “Maternal Bonds in Absence: Exploration and Transformation in Fallaci’s Letter to a Child Never Born and Ferrante’s The Lost Daughter,” Stacy Giufre, U of Massachusetts, Amherst

224. Research for the Future of Nineteenth-Century Latin American Studies

10:15–11:30 a.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 19th-Century Latin American. Presiding: Maria Alejandra Aguilar, Florida Atlantic U

Speakers: Xana Furtado, U of California, Los Angeles; Gabriel Lesser, U of California, Berkeley; Rosa Maria Mantilla Suarez, Columbia U; Maria Laura Martinelli, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Maria Fernanda Mora Triay, U of California, Los Angeles; Alexis Smith, U of Washington, Seattle

Advanced graduate students and postdoctoral scholars present their research projects on Latin American literature and culture from the nineteenth century, sharing writing samples related to their research for feedback and working with experts and peers to engage with and explore cutting-edge methodologies and develop their projects.

225. Forms and Politics of Appearance and Disappearance in Latin American Literature and Arts

10:15–11:30 a.m., 206F, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Rodrigo Lichtle Ventosa, U of Toronto

1. “Grieving Disappearance: Amaury Colmenares, Ave Barrera, and the Recetario para la memoria,” Emily Hind, U of Florida

2. “El texto como espacio de desaparición en obras de Mario Bellatin y de Verónica Gerber Bicecci,” Kristina Stajic, U of Toronto

3. “Poesía Valium: Una lectura de Sastrerías,” Rodrigo Lichtle Ventosa

4. “Unseen Clouds: Modernity and Invisibility in Marc Ferrez’s Skyscapes,” Paulo Lorca, Cornell U

For related material, visit appearanceanddisappearance.mla.hcommons.org/ after 20 Dec.

226. The Status and Future of the Language Requirement: From K–12 to Higher Education

10:15–11:30 a.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Applied Linguistics. Presiding: Gillian Lord, U of Florida

1. “Benchmarking Language Requirements and Policies across a Consortium,” Emily Heidrich Uebel, Michigan State U

2. “Toward an Ecological Approach to Understanding Postsecondary Language Requirements: A Wisconsin Case Study,” Dianna Murphy, U of Wisconsin, Madison

227. Iberian and Mediterranean Exteriorities

10:15–11:30 a.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century Spanish and Iberian and the forum CLCS Mediterranean. Presiding: Robert Patrick Newcomb, U of California, Davis; Benita Sampedro Vizcaya, Hofstra U

Speakers: Farah Ali, DePauw U; Ekua Inkoom, Washington U in St. Louis; Arnau Sala Sallent, Columbia U; Olga Sendra Ferrer, Wesleyan U; Elizabeth Warren, U of Utah

Participants engage with theoretical approaches and case studies on Mediterranean territories peripheral to the Iberian Peninsula: Ceuta, Melilla, Gibraltar, Western Sahara, the Canary Islands, localities in Northern Africa, and communities marked by their Iberian presence including Sephardic and pieds-noirs ethnocultural groups.

228. Reconsidering the Sage: Models for Resurrecting Expertise in Classroom Instruction

10:15–11:30 a.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Community College Humanities Association. Presiding: Heather Harris, Community C of Baltimore County, MD

1. “‘Just So We’re Clear, I Hate This Class’: Professor as Content Expert or Referee?,” Jessica Floyd, Community C of Baltimore County, MD

2. “Guides, Not Gods: Reclaiming Pedagogical Expertise through Community-Centered Models at Anhui Open University,” Zhong Cheng, Anhui U of Science and Tech.; Ning Zhou, Anhui U of Science and Tech.

3. “Educator as Case Manager: Understanding the New Role of Social Support in Modern Academia,” Steven Dashiell, Morgan State U

229. The Evolving Role of AI in Language and Literature Pedagogy

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum HEP Teaching as a Profession. Presiding: Svetlana Tyutina, California State U, Northridge

Speakers: LeeAnn Derdeyn, U of North Texas; Maria Dikcis, American Council of Learned Societies; Kelsey Dufresne, North Carolina State U; Anna Gudauskas, independent scholar; Satyaki Kanjilal, O. P. Jindal Global U; Punnya Rajendran, Central U of Tamil Nadu

Respondent: Melissa Favara, Clark C

Participants explore the transformative impact of AI on language and literature pedagogy, offering concrete examples or innovative methodologies for integrating AI into teaching with the aim of building a dynamic and practical tool kit for educators.

For related material, write to styutina@csun.edu after 1 Dec.

230. Crossings: Movements, Intersections, and Borders in Sephardic Histories and Identities

10:15–11:30 a.m., 206E, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Sephardic. Presiding: Carlos Yebra López, California State U, Fullerton

Speakers: Alejandro Acero Ayuda, U of Oregon; Henri-Simon Blanc-Hoang, City C of San Francisco

Sephardic identity is shaped by crossings—memory, language, spaces, genres, and diaspora—blending continuity and rupture. Ladino bridges past and present, while spaces like Balat and Salonica mark both presence and displacement. Participants explore Sephardic estrangement and assimilation in the Aguilar family, neo-Sephardic literature in Latin America, and Jodorowsky’s challenge to rigid Jewish identities.

231. Open Hearing on Resolutions

10:15–11:30 a.m., 606, MTCC

This meeting is only open to MLA members.

During the open hearing, MLA members and delegates may discuss the regular resolutions that are on the Delegate Assembly’s agenda. For information on these resolutions (i.e., those submitted by 1 Sept.), visit www.mla.org/DA-Agenda-2026 after 10 Dec.

233. Collections as AI Data?

10:15–11:30 a.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM Libraries and Research. Presiding: Amanda Licastro, Swarthmore C

Speakers: Linde Brocato, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Matthew da Mota, U of Toronto; Russell Michalak, Goldey Beacom C; Thomas Padilla, Authors Alliance

Should libraries provide collection data to generative AI companies? Should libraries restrict access to web scraping? What impact will decisions on these questions have on access, research, privacy, and information literacy?

234. West African Popular Fiction in Transition: Past, Present, and Publication

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC African to 1990. Presiding: Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, U of Ghana

1. “‘You See What AI Can Do?’: AI-Generated Media in Contemporary Ghanaian Public Culture,” Joseph Oduro-Frimpong, Ashesi U

2. “The Women Are Here: Trailblazing African Popular Fiction from the 1980s,” Theresah Ennin, U of Cape Coast

3. “Laughter/Pain: Humor and Resilience in West African Popular Culture,” Adwoa Opoku-Agyemang, Ashesi U

235. Thermal Melville

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 801A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Melville Society. Presiding: Jeffrey Insko, Oakland U

1. “‘A Dense Oppression’: The Thermo-Politics of Melville’s ‘The House-top,’” Paul B. Downes, U of Toronto

2. “What’s Moby-Dick to a Thawing Arctic?,” Grace King, Penn State U, University Park

3. “Ice and the Politics of Unaction,” Matthew Rebhorn, James Madison U

4. “Melville’s Ashes: ‘The Encantadas,’ the Cinders of Mourning, and the Politics of ‘Once Living Things,’” Gabriel Briex, U of Toronto

For related material, visit www.melvillesociety.org/.

236. James on James

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Henry James Society. Presiding: Ruth Bernard Yeazell, Yale U

1. “War, with Art, Transformed: The Influence of Wilky and Bob James’s Civil War Experience on Henry James,” Christy Wensley, U of Oxford

2. “‘[T]he Oddity of a Double Consciousness’: Henry James’s Intimate Third Person,” Rachel Haines, U of Virginia

3. “Stranger Everywhere in the World: Jamesian Self-Fashioning in The American Scene,” Luiza Larangeira da Silva Mello, Federal U of Rio de Janeiro

237. Celebrating Black Women Writers

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 714B, MTCC

Program arranged by the College Language Association. Presiding: Janaka Lewis, College Language Assn.

1. “Unveiling Mary Seacole: Beyond ‘Mother Seacole’ and the ‘Black Nightingale,’” Rudrani Sarma, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

2. “Reclaiming Eden: J. California Cooper’s Family and Black Econarratives of Cultivation,” Brandy Underwood, California State U, Northridge

3. “The Foremother of Black Hauntology: Hannah Crafts’s The Bondwoman’s Narrative and the Afro-Gothic,” Kay Barrett, Stanford U

4. “Haunting the Haitian Female Body in Roxane Gay’s ‘Sweet on the Tongue’ and ‘In a Manner of Water or Light,’” Arselyne Chery, U of Virginia

238. Intersections of Latinx and Palestinian Studies

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Latina and Latino. Presiding: Maritza Cardenas, U of Arizona, Tucson

1. “Discourses on Borders, Mobility, and Resistance: The US Media on Mexico and Palestine,” Farah Ali, DePauw U

2. “Undercover Affects: About Face Is Activating Romantasy Readers,” Marcela DiBlasi, Dartmouth C

3. “Border Poetics in Latinx and Palestinian American Literature,” Renee Hudson, Chapman U

4. “Latinx Studies’ Disciplinary Disobedience in Support of Palestine,” Michael Anthony Turcios, Northwestern U

239. The Sun Also Rises at One Hundred

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 206D, MTCC

Program arranged by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation and Society. Presiding: Michael Thurston, Smith C

1. “‘Isn’t It Pretty to Think So?’: The Sun Also Rises as World Literature,” Alex Ramirez-Amaya, Emory U

2. “Craft, Labor, and the Lost Generation,” Charles Sumner, U of Southern Mississippi

3. “The Sun Also Rises: What a Difference a New Edition Makes,” Debra Ann Moddelmog, U of Nevada, Reno

240. Bangladesh’s July (2024) Revolution

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Mohammad Akbar Hosain, Illinois State U

1. “‘Tumi ke, āmi ke, Rāzākār, Rāzākār’: The July Revolution and Its Sonic Subversions,” Sushrita Acharjee, Jadavpur U

2. “Staging Resistance: Rhetoric, Performativity, and the July Movement in Bangladesh,” Suman Dey, North Dakota State U

3. “Enemies of the State: ‘Rāzākār’ in Bangladesh versus ‘Terrorist’ in the United States,” Hossain MD Arafat, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

241. William Morris and Material Culture

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the William Morris Society. Presiding: Jude V. Nixon, Salem State U

1. “Morris Manuscripts: Images, Color, Spacing, Text,” Florence S. Boos, U of Iowa

2. “Preservation, Botanical Books, and the Kelmscott Press,” Jennifer Rabedeau, Cornell U

3. “William Morris as a Hinge Figure for Way and Williams Publishers (in 1895),” Craig Saper, U of Maryland Baltimore County

4. “Mock-Medieval Materiality: The Uncharted Influence of William Morris on Modern Fantasy,” Alexandra du Plessis, U of Cambridge

For related material, write to florence-boos@uiowa.edu.

242. Unsettling Colonialism: Secularism, Climate, Environment

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 16th-Century English. Presiding: Ashley Sarpong, California State U, Stanislaus

1. “Unsettling New Albion,” Patricia Phillippy, Coventry U

2. “England’s Early Modern Energy Crisis and the Environmental Impacts of Empire and Colonization,” Kirsten Mendoza, U of Dayton

3. “Secularization and Division of ‘Moro’ and ‘Indio’: Nationhood in the Philippines Hinterlands,” Yei Won Lim, U of Oregon

243. Extinction: Poetics, Aesthetics, Thought

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 803B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: John Paul Ricco, U of Toronto

Speakers: Vincent Bruyere, Emory U; Stefanie Heine, U of Copenhagen; Ellen Lee McCallum, Michigan State U; John Paul Ricco; Margaret Ronda, U of California, Davis

Participants explore extinction in relation to poetics, aesthetics, and thinking. How does ecological loss and disappearance manifest in art and literature, film and poetry? What does an aesthetic thinking of extinction or an aesthesis of extinction imply? How can we engage with ungraspable and unimaginable future losses by rethinking notions of decreation, unworking, formlessness, separation, departure, suspension, obliquity, or the tangential?

For related material, write to stefanie.heine@hum.ku.dk after 10 Dec.

244. Live Early Drama: Research-Based Performance, Performance-Based Research, Performance as Research

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 206E, MTCC

Program arranged by the Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society

1. “Playing with Parts: Alabama Shakespeare Project,” Angeline Morris, U of Tennessee Southern; Elizabeth Tavares, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

2. “La Calisto; or, When Language Fails,” María Sánchez-Reyes, California State U, Long Beach

3. “Strange, Lucid, and Unseen: Staging Hrotsvit of Gandersheim,” Jenna Soleo-Shanks, U of Minnesota, Duluth

245. Aerial Archives of War

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Kodai Abe, U of Tsukuba

1. “Futuristic Remains of Mother Planes: Malcolm X, Speculative Fiction, Hiroshima,” Etsuko Taketani, U of Tsukuba

2. “Formosa for Americans: Mapping Taiwan in the Age of Cold War Diplomacy,” Chang-Min Yu, National Taiwan U

3. “Waging Global War Games after 9/11,” Kodai Abe

Respondent: Anne McKnight, U of California, Riverside

For related material, visit hcommons.org/members/kodaiabe/ after 15 Dec.

246. Canadian Comics

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Comics and Graphic Narratives. Presiding: Paul Humphrey, Colgate U

1. “Land and Community in Essex Hill and Ducks,” Jocelyn Sakal Froese, Wilfrid Laurier U

2. “Canada Customs and the Censorship of Queer Comics,” Margaret Galvan, U of Florida

3. “The Resistive Power of Translanguaging: Countering Linguistic Hegemony in Indigenous Canadian Comics,” Sayanti Mondal, Ithaca C

4. “Tragically Necessary in the 1990s: An Exploration of Violence in Comely’s Captain Canuck Comics,” Jasmine Redford, U of Saskatchewan

247. Future Histories of Queer and Trans Children

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 206F, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Sexuality Studies. Presiding: Ari Friedlander, U of Mississippi, Oxford

Speakers: Abdulhamit Arvas, U of Pennsylvania; Chris A. Eng, U of Maryland, College Park; Isaac Essex, Brown U; Christine Varnado, U at Buffalo, State U of New York; Darian Wilson, U of Nebraska, Lincoln; Mary Zaborskis, Penn State U, Harrisburg

Participants discuss the meanings, vulnerabilities, and affordances of the child for queer and trans theories and histories. How does race, gender, sexuality, religion, and class converge around the body of the child? Under which conditions are children considered passive victims and under which conditions are they active subjects? How do boyhood, girlhood, and childhood function as terms for queer and trans thought?

248. Queering Sinophone Genders and Kinship

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 601A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Shana Ye, U of Toronto

1. “A Memory Crisis: Lesbianism, Trans Masculinity, and the Borders of Renyao in Late Republican China,” Howard Chiang, U of California, Santa Barbara

2. “Goofing with the AI Boyfriend: Quantum Gender, Asian Racialization, and the Queer Labor of Language,” Shana Ye

3. “Beyond the Affect of Queer Liberalism: Visualizing Aging Lesbians in Hong Kong Cinema,” Alvin K. Wong, U of Hong Kong

For related material, write to akhwong@hku.hk after 1 Dec.

249. Emergence from Emergency: Literature, Science, Action

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Science and Literature. Presiding: Jennifer Lieberman, U of North Florida

1. “Occupation as Opiate: Addiction to the Text in Mary Shelley’s The Last Man,” Katie Brandt, U of Illinois, Chicago

2. “Photography, Apocalypse, and Indigenous Survivance: Chilling with the Umarangi Generation,” Kaitlin Moore, Wake Forest U

3. “Speculative ‘Response-Ability’ and Planetary Kinship in N. K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth Trilogy,” Julia Gatermann, Technical U of Dresden

4. “Anxiety and Futurity in Marianne Moore’s Interwar Poetics,” Christian Carlson, U of Virginia

250. Unsettling the Eurocentric Foundations of Critical Theory: Its Limitations and Possibilities

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 706, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Kajal Mukhopadhyay, Duke U

1. “Critical Theory as Critical Timing: Bloch, the Noncontemporaneous, and the Anthropocene,” Joshua Dittrich, U of Toronto

2. “Disrupting Teleology: Critical Theory, Decolonial Historiography, and the Critique of Progress,” Kajal Mukhopadhyay

3. “Decolonizing Raymond Williams’s Critical Theory: The Colony, the Country, and the City,” Chienyn Chi, Bethany C

4. “Decolonizing Intervention: Beyond the Colonial Logic of Critical Theory,” Yen Jen Chen, U of Texas, Austin

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org after 1 Dec.

251. Futurity in Hebrew Culture and Criticism

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Hebrew. Presiding: Naomi Brenner, Ohio State U, Columbus

1. “Futurity in Ruins: Hope, Despair, and the Afterlives of Destruction,” Mazalit Haim, Vanderbilt U

2. “Israeli Urban Future: Cities in Twenty-First-Century Hebrew Speculative Fiction and Israeli Rap,” Vered Weiss, Michigan State U

3. “Antidystopia in Israeli Fiction,” Oded Nir, Queens C, City U of New York

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/2026-mla-convention/.

252. New Books in Indigenous Literatures and Indigenous Studies

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Indigenous Literatures of the United States and Canada. Presiding: Sarah Henzi, Simon Fraser U

Speakers: Warren Cariou, U of Manitoba; Sarah Henzi; Deanna Reder, Simon Fraser U

Panelists share their experiences writing, editing, and publishing these new books: Elements of Indigenous Style, by Greg Younging and edited by Warren Cariou, Deanna Reder, and Jordan Abel; “Québec Was Born in My Country!”: A Diary of Encounters between Indigenous and Québécois Peoples, by Emanuelle Dufour and translated by Sarah Henzi; and Urbanités autochtones en création, edited by Marie-Ève Bradette, Julie Graff, Gabrielle Marcoux, and Alexia Pinto Ferretti.

253. Intersecting Identities: Italian American, Italian Canadian, and LGBTQ+ Themes in Literature, Media, and Print Culture

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Italian American. Presiding: Alan J. Gravano, Rocky Mountain U of Health Professions

1. “Queering Italian-Canadian Heritage through Kinship,” Paolo Frascà, U of Toronto

2. “Family Resemblances: Narrating the Queer Italo-Canadian Archive,” Domenico Beneventi, U of Sherbrooke

3. “‘A Femminiello Born in America’: Goddess Cybele’s Legacy and Queer Narratives in Naples (Italy),” Silvia Nencetti, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

4. “Doing Gender through Annie Lanzillotto’s Schistsong and Hard Candy,” Ryan Calabretta-Sajder, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/italian-american/documents/.

254. “We the People” in Fairy Tales, Folklore, and Mythology

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum GS Folklore, Myth, and Fairy Tale. Presiding: Abigail Heiniger, Lincoln Memorial U

1. “Dancing on Steel Mills: Chicago as Indigenous Folktale in Susan Powers’s Roofwalker,” Amanda Hardy, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

2. “We the People Includes Treaty Citizens: Aurora Lucero White-Lea and New Mexican Folklore,” Anna Maria Nogar, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

3. “‘To Coronado’s Children, My People’: Fray Angélico Chávez’s New Mexico Triptych,” Melina Vizcaíno-Alemán, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

255. Transnationalism and Australasian Literatures

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Association of Australasian Literary Studies

1. “Transnational Indigenous Filmic Storytelling across Oceania and Global Aotearoa,” Anne Tereska Ciecko, U of Massachusetts, Amherst

2. “A Narrative Cartography of Indigenous Cosmic Time: The Image of the Ancestral Serpent in Alexis Wright,” Sayantika Mandal, U of Georgia

3. “Urban Dreamers: Transnational Urban Feminism in Contemporary Australian Fiction,” Angelica De Vido, New York Historical Soc.

4. “Trans-ing Nationalism on the Australian Stage,” Chris Hay, U of Queensland

For related material, write to weihsing@ucr.edu after 1 Dec.

256. “A Hop Out of Kin”: L. M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 715B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Heidi A. Lawrence, Brigham Young U, UT

Speakers: Rita Bode, Trent U; Melanie Fishbane, U of Western Ontario; Allison Hudson, Dublin City U; Andrea C. McKenzie, York U; Tara K. Parmiter, New York U; Laura Robinson, Acadia U

Panelists examine aspects of change and family dynamics in L. M. Montgomery’s novel The Blue Castle. Set entirely in Ontario, this novel represents a unique setting and plot dynamic in Montgomery’s already-extant family of novels.

257. Portugal for Whom? Colonial Legacies, Cultural Identities, and the Struggle for Belonging

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Luso-Brazilian and the American Portuguese Studies Association. Presiding: Pedro Craveiro, U of California, Santa Barbara

1. “Decadence and National Identity in Ruben A.’s Caranguejo,” Paulo Ferreira, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

2. “Censorship, Colonialism, and Representation: Portuguese Theater as a Space of Memory and Resistance,” Marta Ribeiro, Temple U

3. “Haunting the Bounds: Belonging in Black Lisbon,” Susana Ferreira, York U

4. “The Brazil in Portugal: Decentering the Lusophone Episteme,” Pedro Craveiro

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/luso-brazilian/forum/.

258. Subjects and Objects: Bodies and Material Culture in Cervantes’s Works

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Cervantes Society of America. Presiding: Mark J. Mascia, Cervantes Society of America

1. “The Body Keeps Score: Cervantes, Trauma, and the Talking Cure,” Stephen Hessel, Ball State U

2. “El espejo y el sujeto masculino en la obra cervantina: Entre la ejemplaridad y el error moral,” Mar Martínez-Góngora, Virginia Commonwealth U

3. “The Fragilities of a Glass-Like Condition: Treating Doubtfulness in El licenciado Vidriera,” Nicolas Vivalda, Vassar C

4. “Objects Overlooked No More: Don Quixote and the Spinning Wheel,” Magdalena A. Altamirano, San Diego State U, Imperial Valley

259. Community-Based Language Schools Today: New Challenges, New Solutions

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Renate Ludanyi, Western Connecticut State U

Speakers: Sigrid Belluz, Wingate U; Peter Schroeck, Middlesex C

Community-based language schools are vital for preserving language and culture outside the K–16 system. Panelists critically examine today’s challenges they face in the areas of funding, recruitment, curriculum, teacher training, administration, and technology integration, to yield practical takeaways for MLA members engaged in language education at any level.

260. Leading Writing Programs through Fraught Times: Analyses and Initiatives of the Council of Writing Program Administrators

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the Council of Writing Program Administrators

1. “The Wyoming Resolution at Forty,” Kelly Kinney, U of Wyoming

2. “Designing a National Workshop for New Writing Program Administrators: Context, Challenge, Response,” David Green, Jr., Howard U

3. “Round 2: Revising the WPA Outcomes Statement after a Decade of Change and a Troubled Attempt,” Michelle Bachelor Robinson, Spelman C

261. The Bright, Diverse, Inclusive, and Fearless Future of Undergraduate Humanities Enrollments and Majors

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Executive Council. Presiding: Magana Kabugi, Fisk U

Speakers: Alexandra Gonzenbach Perkins, Texas State U; Stephanie Springer, U of Arizona, Tucson; Bethany Sweeney, Des Moines Area Community C, IA; Charlotte Teague, Alabama A&M U

Participants from a range of disciplines and institutions catering to diverse populations share their successful innovative ideas and strategies for increasing enrollments and the number of majors and degrees in the humanities. Participants also discuss the challenges they have faced and the practical advice and tools they have used to attract undergraduate majors to the modern languages and humanities.

262. Contemporary American Paranoias

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 206B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Timothy Lem-Smith, Saint Michael’s C

1. “Leave Society: The Red-Pilling of Tao Lin; or, How to Change Your Mind,” Maria Cichosz, U of Toronto

2. “Paranoid Affect and Counterhistory in the Literature of the Online Right,” Alexandra Bliziotis, New York U

3. “Citizen’s Melancholic Wakefulness,” Jumi Kim, U of Texas, Austin

4. “The Paranoid Aesthetic in Contemporary American Literature,” Timothy Lem-Smith

263. Open Hearing of the MLA Delegate Assembly

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 606, MTCC

This meeting is only open to MLA members.

During the open hearing, MLA members and delegates may discuss all items on the Delegate Assembly’s agenda except resolutions. MLA members may also present new matters of concern to the assembly.

For related material, visit www.mla.org/DA-Agenda-2026 after 10 Dec.

264. Close Reading the Present Moment

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the ADE Executive Committee. Presiding: Lisa Berglund, Buffalo State U, State U of New York

Speakers: Mahnoor Ali, U of Southern California; Vaishnavi Dube, independent scholar; Dana Gavin, Dutchess Community C, NY; Andrea Kaston Tange, Macalester C

We can use tools of humanistic study to respond to the present moment, by close reading particular challenges and reflecting on close reading itself as strategy, discipline, and resource. Topics include artificial intelligence, museum studies, vaccination, and political protest.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HcxofqwkA45clZUEq9r7Wt7JQshxemF1?usp=sharing after 5 Jan.

265. Beyond Exploitation: Reimagining Departments without Adjunct Precarity

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Contingent Labor in the Profession. Presiding: Lindsay Stephens, Oglala Lakota C, SD

Speakers: Stacey Amo, U of Wisconsin, Superior; Zach Norwood, U of Pittsburgh; Lindsay Stephens

Participants examine the myriad economic and sociopolitical issues of contingent labor in the humanities and related disciplines and imagine a more equitable and less precarious future.

267. Chat with an Editor I

12:00 noon–3:00 p.m., Hall F, MTCC

This one-on-one mentoring session offers practical advice for early career scholars who are interested in publishing in scholarly journals. Members of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals serve as table moderators for authors who sign up in advance or attend on a walk-in basis. Topics of discussion include understanding author guidelines, submission processes, and queries.

268. China Then and Now: Tradition to Ideology

1:45–3:30 p.m., 701A, MTCC

A plenary. Presiding: Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Columbia U

Speakers: Emily Apter, New York U; Surya Parekh, Binghamton U, State U of New York; Hortense Jeanette Spillers, Vanderbilt U; Luis Tapia Mealla, U Mayor de San Andrés; Helen Yitah, U of Ghana; Xudong Zhang, New York U

Respondent: Tansen Sen, New York U, Shanghai

Participants consider the dialectic between the family and state in three Chinese political texts—Confucius, Mencius, and Hanfeizi—in the face of the work of the Confucius Institutes, drawing on the work of Marshall Sahlins. How do we, as non-Sinologist global scholars, come to terms with this conglomerate?

269. Resemblances: Black Literary Studies Then, Black Literary Studies Now

1:45–3:00 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC African American. Presiding: Julius Fleming, Jr., Washington U in St. Louis

Speakers: Thadious M. Davis, U of Pennsylvania; E. Patrick Johnson, Northwestern U; Mary-Helen Washington, U of Maryland, College Park; Richard Yarborough, U of California, Los Angeles

Black literary studies was born of struggle. The critical study of black literature as an institutionalized formation within the university has always faced social and political challenges, not unlike those we are confronting now. Senior scholars in the field of black literary and cultural studies reflect on their decades of experiences shaping the field and offer some strategies for the present and the future.

270. New Narratives? Representations of Adoption since 2015

1:45–3:00 p.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture. Presiding: Emily Hipchen, Brown U

1. “What Might Parents by Assisted Reproduction Learn from Adoption Memoirs?,” Marianne L. Novy, U of Pittsburgh

2. “Internet Famous: Adoptive Families and the Social Media Form,” Janice Schroeder, Carleton U

3. “The Uncanny Valley and Adoption Representation,” Michele Kriegman, independent scholar

4. “Adoption, Deportation, and Citizenship: Cultural Narratives of Belonging, Mobility, and Nation,” LiLi Johnson, Dalhousie U

271. Generous Modernisms

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Modernist Studies Association. Presiding: Kate Schnur, Queens C, City U of New York

Speakers: John Attridge, Regent C London; Tamlyn Avery, U of Adelaide; Amy E. Elkins, Macalester C; Anwita Ghosh, Fordham U; Jess Shollenberger, Bryn Mawr C

Respondent: Jessica Masters, U of Sydney

Panelists investigate the conditions, theory, and practicality of generosity and generous scholarship in the modern(ist) academy. Taking heed from historical and literary acts of modernist generosity, which range from amiable gift giving to unacknowledged and free labor, we ask why generosity seems lavish, inadequate, or necessary at this historical moment and how modernist communities can respond.

272. Teaching with Generative AI in East Asian Literature and Culture Studies

1:45–3:00 p.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC East Asian. Presiding: Jina Kim, U of Oregon

1. “Generative Poetics: AI and Japanese Literary Pedagogy,” Andrew Campana, Cornell U

2. “The Complex Implications of LLMs for Computational Digital Humanities in Chinese Studies,” Paul Vierthaler, Princeton U

3. “Expanding Horizons: Teaching Media Ethics through Generative AI in East Asian Humanities,” Haerin Shin, Korea U

273. Literature, Language, and Games in Early Modern China: Family Resemblance or Different Species?

1:45–3:00 p.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Ming and Qing Chinese

1. “When Literature and Game Merged into One: Turning Poetry into a Notational System for the Game of Go,” Jiayi Chen, Washington U in St. Louis

2. “Shuffling and Dealing Divinity and History: Investiture of the Gods as Game,” Rania Huntington, U of Wisconsin, Madison

3. “From King of Latrines to God of Gambling: Shit, Money, and the Dramedy of Masculinity,” Paola Zamperini, Northwestern U

4. “Between Fictionality and Materiality: The Life of the Playing Card across the Ming-Qing Transition,” Yifan Zhang, Columbia U

Respondent: Paize Keulemans, Princeton U

274. Mary Shelley at Last

1:45–3:00 p.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Keats-Shelley Association of America. Presiding: Omar F. Miranda, U of San Francisco

1. “The Politics of Breathing in The Last Man,” Hannah Markley, Stetson U

2. “Speaking Plague: Fatal and Infectious Language in The Last Man and the Digital Age,” Gwendolyn Moore, U of Delaware, Newark

3. “Keeping to Mary Shelley,” Yasmin Solomonescu, U of Notre Dame

4. “Sibylline Leaves and Number Theory in Mary Shelley’s The Last Man,” Sarah Weston, Washington U in St. Louis

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/1EtGpOefdUgdHyt_vUuG_osh2xE3Fcsmn.

275. The Aesthetics of Finance Capital: Victorian and Modern

1:45–3:00 p.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Victorian and Early-20th-Century English. Presiding: Matthew Potolsky, U of Utah

1. “Victorian Capitalism: The Aesthetics of Chance and Resilience,” Jo Mikula, Boston C

2. “Sebastian Melmoth and Oscar Wilde’s Queer Political Economy,” Meg Dobbins, Eastern Michigan U

3. “Finance and Literary Genre at the Turn of the Twentieth Century,” Signe Leth Gammelgaard, U of Gothenburg

4. “Finance, Affect, and Imagism,” Regina Martin, Denison U

For related material, write to m.potolsky@utah.edu after 8 Dec.

276. Early Modern Ecocriticism in an Age of Emergency

1:45–3:00 p.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 17th-Century English. Presiding: Sarah Wall-Randell, Wellesley C

Speakers: Madeline Bassnett, U of Western Ontario; Steve Mentz, Saint John’s U, NY; Chloe Preedy, U of Exeter; Vincent Steinfeld, U of British Columbia

As the climate crisis becomes more urgent, the need for us as scholars to reassess our history and culture through an ecological lens also increases. Where is seventeenth-century ecocriticism now, and where is it going? How can scholars take more public roles in climate activism? Discussants appraise the current state of early modern ecocriticism and Anthropocene studies and map out new approaches and intersections for this work.

For related material, write to swallran@wellesley.edu.

277. Food Studies Pedagogies and the Global Hispanophone

1:45–3:00 p.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Global Hispanophone. Presiding: Rebecca Ingram, Texas Tech U

Speakers: Bob Davidson, U of Toronto; Marcela Garcés, Siena U; Sara Gardner, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Yeon-Soo Kim, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; Ali Kulez, Boston C; Vanesa Miseres, U of Notre Dame; Mónica Ocasio-Vega, Trinity U

Approaches to food studies elucidate complexities of the global Hispanophone where cultural appropriation, food’s symbolic meanings, and use in nationalist and colonialist discourses persist.

278. Diasporic Translations and the Resemblances of Reproduction: Authorship, Adaptation, and Affective Labor

1:45–3:00 p.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jae Won Chung, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

1. “Idiomatic Translation and Complicity in Joseph Conrad,” Jennifer Pan, Syracuse U

2. “The Translated Memory of the Red Feminist Kim Alexandra across Cold War Borders,” We Jung Yi, Vanderbilt U

3. “Anxiety of Reproduction: Translation as Care Work in Contemporary Asian American Literary Texts,” Jae Won Chung

279. Metropolitan Relations: Diasporic and Indigenous Perspectives in Contemporary Cities

1:45–3:00 p.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century French. Presiding: Johanna Montlouis-Gabriel, Emory U

1. “Live, Digital, and Everywhere: The Mediation and Archiving of Carnival Broadcasts in the Francophone,” Joia Duskic, U of California, Los Angeles

2. “Constructing Cartographies throughout Postcolonial Paris in the Present,” Alison Rice, U of Notre Dame

3. “The Afropolis’s Sonic Youth in Mati Diop’s Dahomey,” Amber Sweat, Amherst C

4. “Tiohtià:ke, the Palimpsestic City: Memory, Space, and Identity in Michel Jean’s Novel,” Claire-Marie Brisson, Harvard U

280. Gothic Now: Podcasting and Other Public Humanities

1:45–3:00 p.m., 714A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Gothic Studies. Presiding: Joshua Tuttle, Concordia U

Speakers: John Colombo, independent scholar; Jim Dean, The Haunted Walk; Phil Ford, Indiana U, Bloomington; J. F. Martel, independent scholar

Horror and the Gothic are now mainstream subjects for academic study, but as popular subjects they have always thrived, with or without the help of the academy, and the study of horror and the Gothic depends on popular scholarship. Participants explore popular and public-facing scholarship on weird and spooky subjects by academics and practitioners working outside their day jobs, podcasters, popular history authors, and ghost tour professionals.

281. Crowd Work: Audiences in Drama and Performance

1:45–3:00 p.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Drama and Performance. Presiding: Sarah Balkin, U of Melbourne; Aparna Dharwadker, U of Wisconsin, Madison

1. “Public Scandal, Private Critique: Lorca’s Metatextual Technique,” Rhiannon Clarke, Johns Hopkins U, MD

2. “Acting the Part: Archetype as Audience Work in Immersive Performance,” Elizabeth Hunter, Washington U in St. Louis

3. “Potehi and the Audience Function: Sponsorship and Ritual,” Josh Stenberg, U of Sydney

4. “El teatro es para educar: Argentina’s Teatro del Pueblo and Russophone Drama in Translation,” Anna Vilner, U of Texas, Austin

282. Disability, Belonging, and Family

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Disability Issues in the Profession. Presiding: Lauren Rocha, Merrimack C

1. “Redefining Care: Disability and the Family Narrative in Marathon and Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” Nayoung Bishoff, George Washington U

2. “Beyond Productivity: Lateral Solidarity, Disability, and Alternative Belonging in ‘Holiday,’” Kyeongmin Hwang, U of Texas, Dallas

3. “An Impossible Child: Questioning the Limits of Medical Knowledge in Still Born, by Guadalupe Nettel,” Antonia Alvarado-Puchulu, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

4. “Becoming or Not Becoming Mothers: Traumatic Disability of Two South Asian Women Scholars,” Nabila Huq, Queen’s U; Sonia Sharmin, Augusta U

For related material, write to lrwriter89@gmail.com after 2 Jan.

283. Queer Reading, Queer Receptions

1:45–3:00 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Reception Study Society. Presiding: Jaime Harker, U of Mississippi

1. “Uncomfortably Young, Quietly Racist: Sexualization of Queer Latinos in Fan Fiction,” Ricardo Quintana-Vallejo, Rhode Island C

2. “Repurposing Historical Language for Reparative Queer Temporality in Jos Charles’s Feeld,” Anne Duncan, U of Washington, Seattle

3. “Reading in Time, Reading Together: Serialized Stories and Queer Desires across the Centuries,” Emily Coccia, Carleton C

285. Lyric Time and Timeliness

1:45–3:00 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Poetry and Poetics. Presiding: Kamran Javadizadeh, Villanova U

1. “Lyric Records: Wordsworth’s Extempore Imaginary,” Claire Grandy, Baruch C, City U of New York

2. “The Postlinear Lyric,” Kimberly Quiogue Andrews, U of Ottawa

3. “Timeliness and Duration in Contemporary Poetry,” Luke Jarzyna, U of Rochester

4. “Hauntings of Past and Future: Time Breaks in Esther Kinsky’s Schiefern,” Stefanie Heine, U of Copenhagen

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EMzRMaS8qSTKyBbcmOCBQn-2Rw21tvEm?usp=sharing after 8 Jan.

286. Remediating German Orientalism

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC 19th- and Early-20th-Century German

1. “Orientalism Sells: Weimar Indulgences in Julius Pinschewer’s Advertising Films,” Berna Gueneli, U of Georgia

2. “Talking Turks and Talahons: Toward a Theory of German Techno-Orientalism,” Kayla van Kooten, U of California, Berkeley

3. “Dejavu: Suat Derviş and Menekşe Toprak,” Kristin Dickinson, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

287. BIPOC Relationships across Territorial Boundaries

1:45–3:00 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on the Literatures of People of Color in the United States and Canada. Presiding: Joanie Crandall, U of Northern British Columbia

1. “Healing the Border (Wound): Graphic Novels in the Multi-border-verse,” Jesus Montaño, Baylor U

2. “Navigating BIPOC Ancestry and Settler Understandings through Poetic Forms,” Yolanda Palmer-Clarke, U of Saskatchewan

3. “Building a Bridge to Nowhere? An Examination of the Effort to Unify the African Diaspora,” Paul Easterling, Osiri U

288. Dante and Modern Texts

1:45–3:00 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century Italian and the Dante Society of America. Presiding: Max Matukhin, U degli Studi di Bergamo

Speakers: Elizabeth Coggeshall, Florida State U; Laura DiNardo, Columbia U; Mollie Eisner, Princeton U; Viviana Macaluso, Freie U Berlin; Giancarlo Tursi, U of California, Santa Barbara

Participants explore crisscrossing and overlapping interpretations of Dante through close attention to twentieth- and twenty-first-century texts, showing how Dante relates to modern theories. With family resemblances as a framework for transhistorical comparison, the participants highlight Dante’s relevance to theories of speech acts, translation (travestimenti), labor, esotericism, and transmedia.

289. All in the Family: Yiddish Literature and Its Relatives

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206E, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Yiddish. Presiding: Miriam Borden, U of Toronto

1. “Tsvishn tropn: Moyshe Broderzon and the Yiddish Tanka,” Ezra Lebovitz, U of Pennsylvania

2. “Between Fields: The Double-Periphery in Rivke Rus’s Yiddish Writing,” Miriam Schwartz, U of Toronto

3. “On the Afterlives of Kafka’s Speech on Jargon,” Matthew Johnson, Lund U

4. “Hasidic Yiddish Print Media in the Twenty-First Century,” Chaya Nove, Brown U

Respondent: Naomi Sheindel Seidman, U of Toronto

290. Imperialist and Anti-Imperialist Textualities of Central America

1:45–3:00 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for Textual Scholarship. Presiding: Andrew Reynolds, Texas Tech U

1. “Román Mayorga Rivas’s Transnational Centroamericanismo in La revista ilustrada de Nueva York,” Gabriela Valenzuela, U of Southern California

2. “Leyendas de Guatemala: Reinforcing National Culture in a European Context,” Stephen Henighan, U of Guelph

3. “A New Modernista Nation? Literary Nationalism as Anti-Imperialism in Panama’s El heraldo del istmo,” Andrew Reynolds

4. “Anti-Imperialist Writings and Women’s Rights in the Work of Prudencia Ayala and Carmen Lyra,” Patricia Arroyo Calderon, U of California, Los Angeles

291. The World of Leonard Cohen

1:45–3:00 p.m., 715B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Ian Rae, Western U

1. “Cohen’s Cinematic Appeal,” Jim Shedden, Art Gallery of Ontario

2. “Neurotic Affiliations: Montreal, Leonard Cohen, and Belonging,” Erin MacLeod, Vanier C

3. “Leonard Cohen, Confessionalism, and the Singer-Songwriters,” David Shumway, Carnegie Mellon U

4. “Leonard Cohen and Canadian Literature,” Ian Rae

292. Queering South Asian Literature

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC South Asian and South Asian Diasporic and the South Asian Literary Association. Presiding: Nalini Iyer, Seattle U

1. “Perceiving Quiet Queerness,” Aakanksha Singh, York U

2. “Transnational Intimacies of Queer(ed) Confession in Summer in Veins,” Vasantha Sambamurti, Tufts U

3. “Decolonizing Divinity: Dalit Queer Futurism in Osheen Siva’s Space Heads,” Urnisa Karmakar, Texas A&M U

4. “What Happens When Women Love Women,” Swati Baruah, Georgia State U

For related material, write to niyer@seattleu.edu.

293. Unsettling Scottish Literature: Settler-Colonialism and Interpretation from Scotland to Canada and Beyond

1:45–3:00 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Scottish. Presiding: Samuel Baker, U of Texas, Austin

1. “Echoes and Employments of the Highland Clearances in Twentieth-Century Gaelic Magazines,” Petra Johana Poncarova, Charles U

2. “Wacousta’s Scottish Sojourns: Unsettled Settler Hierarchies on Empire’s Periphery,” Adam Kozaczka, Texas A&M International U

3. “Unsettled Inheritance: Scottish Identity and Canadian Literature since 1960,” Irina Nakonechna, U of Stirling

4. “Inhabited by Savage Nations: Racial Neoliberalism and the Colonial Legacy of Adam Smith,” Joe Jackson, U of Nottingham

Respondent: Padma Rangarajan, U of California, Riverside

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/scottish/forum/.

294. Teresian Family Resemblances: On the Legacy of Saint Teresa of Avila

1:45–3:00 p.m., 802B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Olimpia Rosenthal, Indiana U, Bloomington

1. “Divine Kinship: The Legacy of Saint Teresa in the Poetry of Carolina Coronado,” Giada Mirelli, Indiana U, Bloomington

2. “An ‘Apologie’ for Spanish Intoxication: Spiritual Kinship between Richard Crashaw and Teresa of Ávila,” Susan Matassa, U of Dallas

3. “Fuente de agua viva: Metaphor, Truth, Ineffability, and Teresian Legacy in Emilia Pardo Bazán,” Carmen Pereira-Muro, Texas Tech U

Respondent: Denise DuPont, Southern Methodist U

296. Undergraduate Research in the Humanities: A Poster Session for Students

1:45–3:00 p.m., 718A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development

Speakers: Jaime Goodrich, Wayne State U; Amy Woodbury Tease, Norwich U

This interactive poster session showcases the work of undergraduate researchers in the humanities.

For related material, write to jutell@mla.org.

297. Pedagogical Approaches to Life Design in the Spanish and Portuguese Classroom

1:45–3:00 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese

1. “From Literature to Language for Specific Purposes: Medicina y literatura,” John T. Maddox IV, U of Alabama, Birmingham

2. “Portuguese for Specific Purposes: Integrating Diplomacy into Language Education,” Eugenia Fernandes, Florida International U

3. “Beyond English as a Lingua Franca: Language Education for a Globalized Professional Workforce,” Luana Lamberti, Iowa State U

298. Who Are We? Findings and Analysis from Research on the State of the Academic Workforce

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206F, MTCC

Program arranged by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Academic Workforce in Languages and Literatures. Presiding: Katherine Weiss, California State U, Los Angeles

Speakers: Darin Jensen, Salt Lake Community C, UT; Margie Nelson Rodriguez, El Paso Community C, TX; Leah Reade Rosenberg, U of Florida

Members of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Academic Workforce in Languages and Literatures review existing research essential to their work, findings from focus groups and the MLA census of departments, and a preview of the committee’s forthcoming report.

299. PMLA: Getting Published as Graduate Students and Early Career Scholars

1:45–3:00 p.m., Hall E, MTCC

Program arranged by the PMLA Editorial Board. Presiding: Brent Hayes Edwards, Columbia U

Speakers: Chris Cañete Rodriguez Kelly, Columbia U; Raye Hendrix, U of Tennessee, Knoxville; Adam Mahler, Harvard U; Carla Neuss, Baylor U

Graduate students and early career scholars who have recently had their work published in PMLA discuss their experience with the journal, addressing, among other topics, how they responded effectively to peer review and worked with the editorial board to further refine their submissions, all with an eye toward having their specialized work speak to the broad MLA membership.

300. Sustainable Humanities: Toward Equitable Knowledge-Making Practices

1:45–3:00 p.m., 601B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Elliot Evans, U of Birmingham; Emanuelle Santos, U of Birmingham

Speakers: Elena Basile, York U; Elliot Evans; Menuka Gurung, U of Texas, El Paso; Gita Hashemi, independent artist; Margaret Noodin, U of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Emanuelle Santos, U of Birmingham

Panelists focus on nonextractivist modes of knowledge making in culture, languages, and societies. Contributions include insights from transmedia and translingual projects bringing together Indigenous and European languages across poetry and visual art, reflections on participatory research methods and decolonial praxis in modern languages, and nonextractivist lessons from community-based epistemologies.

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/sustainable-humanities-towards-equitable-knowledge-making-practices/ after 1 Dec.

302. Discussion Group on Meeting Enrollment Challenges in World Languages and Literatures

1:45–3:00 p.m., Hall F, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Muriel Cormican, Texas Christian U; Danielle Pyun, Ohio State U, Columbus

World language programs in the United States and Canada face a range of challenges, including STEM-focused campus cultures, the erosion of general education requirements, concerns about career outcomes in the humanities, and questions about the value of language study in the age of AI. Participants reflect on how these and other issues have affected enrollments on their campuses, with a focus on sharing successful initiatives and effective advocacy strategies.

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/14GWL_qu-lFUEWAqORmJ4NSE6SMTMxWdLLbTxHAWN9G0/edit?tab=t.0.

303. Beyond Realism in African Literature

1:45–3:00 p.m., 705, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Sylvanna Baugh, U of Toronto

1. “Otherworldly Encounters in Cheikh Hamidou Kane’s Ambiguous Adventure,” Ifrah Javaid, Brown U

2. “Balogun Ojetade’s Moses: How Afrofuturism Puts Neo-Victorianism in ‘Proper’ Historical Context,” Oluwafunmilayo Akinpelu, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

3. “Spirits, Markets, and the Strategic Diasporic Author: The Utility of the Obanje in Freshwater,” Chichi Ayalogu, Carleton U

Respondent: Thuyen Truong, U of Toronto

304. Technology and Late-Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century American Literature

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Late-19th- and Early-20th-Century American. Presiding: Heather E. Ostman, Westchester Community C, State U of New York

1. “Film Technology and the Lynching Narrative in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Cheat,” Maria Seger, U of Louisiana, Lafayette

2. “Simon Pokagen’s Technocritique,” Lloyd Sy, Yale U

3. “Affirming Life (and Limb) in an Unlikely Place: Poe’s Disturbing Medical Satire,” Mable Buchanan Palmer, Cornerstone U

4. “Visualizing Poverty: The Effect of Photography on Depression-Era Novel Description,” Lydia Burleson, Stanford U

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/19th-century-american/.

305. William Carlos Williams and Failure

3:30–4:45 p.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the William Carlos Williams Society. Presiding: Mark C. Long, Keene State C

1. “‘Traffic between the Poles’: Williams, Burke, and Failed Connections,” Michael Jaeggle, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

2. “Failed Conquistadors in In the American Grain,” Kristian Ayala, Stanford U

3. “Williams’s Last Poems, Aphasia, and Failures of Speech,” Jeffrey Careyva, Harvard U

306. Black Power, Black Literature: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Nikki Giovanni

3:30–4:45 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC African American. Presiding: Julius Fleming, Jr., Washington U in St. Louis

1. “A Daughter ‘Ever on the Altar’: Nikki Giovanni and Black Consciousness at Fisk University,” Magana Kabugi, Fisk U

2. “‘Through an Unknown to an Unknown’: Black Women Space Traveling and Alma Thomas’s Mosaic Space,” Dominique Joe, Cornell U

3. “Noteworthy: The Life, Legacy, and Personal Notes of the Poet Nikki Giovanni,” Neal A. Lester, Arizona State U

307. American Narratives of Death, Grief, and Health

3:30–4:45 p.m., 711, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Robin Brooks, U of Pittsburgh

1. “The Ruse of Repair: Cancer and Its Aftermath in Anne Boyer’s The Undying,” Douglas G. Dowland, Ohio Northern U

2. “‘Death as We Know It’: Politicized Death and Articulated Knowledge in Don DeLillo’s White Noise,” Seth McKelvey, Clemson U

3. “‘Wait a Minute!’: Revising Prognosis Time in Lucia Berlin’s A Manual for Cleaning Women,” Elaine Cannell, Saint Mary’s C, IN

4. “Death Up Close: Hospital Scenes and Funeral Sites,” Robin Brooks

308. Arab American Family Dynamics

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Doaa Omran, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

1. “Family Dynamics and Displacement in Edward Said’s Out of Place,” Touria Khannous, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

2. “The Emotional Labor of Hyphenated Identity in Lena Mahmoud’s Amreekiya,” Farah Siddiqui, U of Texas, Dallas

3. “Transgressing Colonial Power through Undocumented Family Unification during the Muslim Ban,” Ibtisam M. Abujad, Marquette U

4. “Family Dynamics in Mohja Kahf’s Diaporic Arab American Family,” Feroza Jussawalla, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/1kr9zN5XDIPSh-q5WiFAmsIhdqar0ovUTa33QjohJXWM/edit?tab=t.0.

309. Roles of Women Writers in Shaping the Canon of Modern Japanese Literature

3:30–4:45 p.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Japanese since 1900

1. “Pedagogical Approaches to Teaching Yoshimoto’s Kitchen and Murata’s Convenience Store Woman,” Marian Wolbers, Albright C

2. “Matsuda Aoko and Takahashi Takako: Reimagining Folklore in Modern Women’s Literature,” Amanda Seaman, U of Massachusetts, Amherst

3. “Yoshiya Nobuko and Literary Networks,” Sarah Frederick, Boston U

4. “Okamoto Kanoko and the Modern Canon: The Uncanny, Fantasy, and France,” Pedro Bassoe, Purdue U, West Lafayette

Respondent: Pedro Bassoe, Purdue U, West Lafayette

310. Sinophone Science Fiction

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206E, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Modern and Contemporary Chinese and the forum GS Speculative Fiction. Presiding: Nicolai Volland, Penn State U, University Park

1. “Toward Speculative Aesthetics: Island Narratives in Taiwanese Science Fiction and Visual Art,” Hsin-Hui Lin, National Chengchi U

2. “Chinese Prometheus: The Theme of Artificial Life in Sinophone Science Fiction,” Michael O’Krent, Harvard U

3. “Neglected Structures in Singapore’s Circle Line,” Adam Knee, Lasalle C of the Arts

Respondent: Nathaniel Isaacson, North Carolina State U

311. The Supplement of Romanticism: In Honor of Tilottama Rajan’s Contribution to Romanticism Studies

3:30–4:45 p.m., 714B, MTCC

Program arranged by the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism and the forum LLC English Romantic

Speakers: Chris Bundock, U of Essex; Julie A. Carlson, U of California, Santa Barbara; Joel Robert Faflak, Western U; Elizabeth Fay, U of Massachusetts, Boston; Theresa Michele Kelley, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Andrew Sargent, Huron University C

This session brings together an international range of scholars in English literature, comparative literature, and theory to examine Tilottama Rajan’s groundbreaking scholarship in Romanticism studies since the 1980s. Panelists mark and build on the global and interdisciplinary scope of Rajan’s influence in shaping the field at the intersection of contemporary theory and Romantic-era literature, philosophy, and science.

312. The Didactic Mr. Graves

3:30–4:45 p.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Robert Graves Society. Presiding: Michael Joseph, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

1. “Robert Graves at Highwood Hall Academy,” Joseph Thomas, San Diego State U

2. “The Penny Fiddle and the Turn to Modern British Children’s Literature,” Lissa Paul, Brock U

3. “The Claudius Duology as a Pleasurable History Lesson,” Beatriz Seelaender, U de São Paulo

4. “Robert Graves and the Lessons of Poetic Thought,” Paul Robichaud, Albertus Magnus C

For related material, visit robertgravesreview.org/essay.php?essay=6&tab=8.

313. Theaters of the Mind

3:30–4:45 p.m., 803B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Beth Blum, Harvard U

1. “The Novel as Mental Melodrama,” Audrey Jaffe, U of Toronto

2. “Self-Talk in Modernist Fiction,” Beth Blum

3. “Stage Directing the Apartment Complex,” Zoë Henry, Columbia U

4. “Choreographing Empathy: Dance and Interiority in Ellison, Beckett, Joyce, and Larsen,” Elinor Hitt, Harvard U

314. Reimagining Learning and Teaching with Student Voices and Partnerships in Language Education

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206D, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Second-Language Teaching and Learning. Presiding: Lee B. Abraham, Columbia U

1. “Fostering Communities of Practice through Student-Faculty Collaboration and Community Engagement,” Jihye Moon, George Mason U; Ellen Serafini, George Mason U

2. “Undergraduate Voices and Partnerships: Building Inclusive Communities of Practice in Language Studies,” Ho Jung Choi, U of British Columbia; Mijeong Mimi Kim, Washington U in St. Louis

3. “Rewriting the Script: Technology, Student Voices, and the Changing Role of the Teacher,” Joe Cunningham, Georgetown U; Marianna Ryshina-Pankova, Georgetown U

315. Writing the Psychopolitical: On Frantz Fanon

3:30–4:45 p.m., 205D, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Psychology, Psychoanalysis, and Literature

1. “Fanon and the Question of the Sexual,” David Marriott, Emory U

2. “The Vertiginous Clinic,” Daniel Butler, Psychoanalytic Inst. of Northern California

3. “A World in Distortion: Black Men, Madness, and the Work of Death,” Jaleel Plummer, U of California, Berkeley

Respondent: Linette Park, Emory U

316. George Sand’s Families

3:30–4:45 p.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the George Sand Association. Presiding: Francoise Ghillebaert, U de Puerto Rico Recinto de Rio Piedras

1. “Beyond Monetary Wealth: Alternative Economies and Knowledge Transmission,” Philippe Chavasse, Rochester Inst. of Tech.

2. “‘Mon enfant, ma fille choisie’: George Sand ou la fabrique du lien familial,” Véronique Bui, U du Havre

3. “L’évolution du foyer dans trois adaptations en bande dessinée de Histoire de ma vie,” Henri-Simon Blanc-Hoang, City C of San Francisco

4. “Le récit familial de Mont Revêche,” Amy Parker, independent researcher

317. New Work in Sixteenth-Century French Studies

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206F, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 16th-Century French. Presiding: Bruce Hayes, U of Kansas; Charles-Louis Morand-Métivier, U of Vermont

1. “Brought to Light: Le massacre fait à Nismes, Confrontation, and Memory,” Sophia Buehrer, New York U

2. “What Is Early Modern Feminist Historiography? The Case of the Heptaméron,” Caroline Godard, U of California, Berkeley

3. “Le Canada de Marguerite de Navarre,” Dorine Rouiller, U de Neuchâtel

4. “From in Medias Res and Ordo Artificialis to Suspense,” Xuefei Li, New York U

318. Asia-Pacific Ocean and the Blue Humanities: Interspecies Communication, Temporalities, and Media

3:30–4:45 p.m., 602A, MTCC

A special session

1. “The Cetacean Media of Inscription: Interspecies Communication in Oceanic Taiwan,” Tim Shao-Hung Teng, Chinese U of Hong Kong

2. “Ocean Salvage as Transpacific Method,” Christine Xiong, Stanford U

3. “Flows, In and Out: Water as Ecomedia at the Aquarium,” Christina Shiea, U of Washington, Seattle

4. “Vortices: How to See the Ocean’s Horizon on the Ship,” Hyeongjin Oh, independent scholar

Respondent: SaeHim Park, Chinese U of Hong Kong

For related material, write to saehimpark27@gmail.com after 1 Dec.

319. Gender Undone: Film, Identity, and Embodied Transgression in Transitional East Asia

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Ruoyi Bian, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

1. “Inked Skin, Intimate Bodies: Transgressive Sexuality and Tattooed Memories in Irezumi,” Preeshita Biswas, Texas Christian U

2. “Gender Performativity and Postcolonial Critique: Reimagining Dongfang Bubai in Hong Kong Cinema,” Ruoyi Bian

3. “The Diasporic Queer Body in Hebei Taipei,” Tze-Lan Sang, Michigan State U

Respondent: Chuanhui Meng, Brown U

For related material, visit genderundone.mla.hcommons.org.

320. Disability and Rhetorics of Dystopia

3:30–4:45 p.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Disability Studies. Presiding: Anna Hinton, U of North Texas

1. “Iterative Intimacy, Cross-Universe Care, and Queer Crip Love in Crisis,” Weston Richey, U of Texas, Austin

2. “Biopolitics and Queer Crip Embodiment in Mac Crane’s I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself,” Sam Weiss, U of Illinois, Chicago

3. “Technology, Transhumanism, and Disability in Los cuerpos del verano, by Martín Felipe Castagnet,” Diana Torres, Purdue U, West Lafayette

321. Anthropology and Theory: Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Marilyn Strathern, and Literary Studies

3:30–4:45 p.m., 205A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Anthropology and Literature. Presiding: Mimi Winick, Virginia Commonwealth U

Speakers: Eric Aronoff, Michigan State U; Nancy Bentley, U of Pennsylvania; Christian Carlson, U of Virginia; Brad Evans, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; Elthea Presh, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

How has the confluence between literary and anthropological theory, once clearly felt, changed since James Clifford and George Marcus’s “poetics and politics of ethnography”? Does the ontological turn in anthropological theory have a purchase at the MLA? How does it compare to other ontologies? Speakers offer reports from the field focusing on the anthropological theorists Eduardo Viveiros de Castro and Marilyn Strathern.

For related material, visit rutgers.box.com/v/MLA2025AnthropologyandTheory.

322. Global Kinship: Opening Boundaries of Thinking in the Climate Humanities

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the MLA Convention and Events. Presiding: Margaret M. Koehler, Otterbein U; Molly Volanth Hall, Rhode Island School of Design

Speakers: Kristin J. Jacobson, Stockton U; Rajender Kaur, William Paterson U; John Linstrom, Centenary C of Louisiana; Katrina Newsom, Tennessee State U; Christel Woods, Washington State U, Pullman; Paola Yuli, Howard U

Speakers discuss the global relatedness, interconnectivity, and patterns of social relations arising from our shared living in the complex challenges and opportunities of the present, exploring kinship and climate humanities through the frameworks of region, tidalectics, land as kin, and work, among others.

323. Fluid Media, 1750–1850: Affect, Embodiment, Unbounding

3:30–4:45 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the Goethe Society of North America and the G. E. Lessing Society. Presiding: Ella Wilhelm, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

1. “Fluid Edges: The Blot Poetry of Justinus Kerner,” Catriona MacLeod, U of Chicago

2. “Da, wo die arme Rede versiegt: Medial and Musical ‘Fluidity’ in E. T. A. Hoffmann,” Benjamin Schluter, New York U

3. “Reflection and the ‘Ozean der Empfindung’ in Herder and Metastasio,” Glen Gray, Johns Hopkins U, MD

4. “Materializing and Sensing Magnetism’s Ethereal Fluidum in the Late Eighteenth Century,” Julia Ostwald, U of Arts Linz

Respondent: Austen Hinkley, Yale U

324. Unlikely Relatives in Mediterranean Cultures

3:30–4:45 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Medieval and Renaissance Italian. Presiding: Elsa Filosa, Vanderbilt U

1. “Boccaccio’s Mediterranean Adventures: Seafaring in the Decameron,” Francesco Ciabattoni, Georgetown U

2. “Bloodlines and Textual Lineages: The Politics of Family Resemblance in Boccaccio’s Decameron,” Ning Zhou, Anhui U of Science and Tech.

3. “Three South Asian Analogues of La novella del Grasso legnaiuolo,” Alexander Brock, Appalachian State U

325. Perspectives in the Midst of Global Challenges: Literary Production and Diasporic Engagement

3:30–4:45 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the College Language Association. Presiding: Cecily Bernard, U of Tennessee, Knoxville

1. “The Latin American and Caribbean World,” Cecily Bernard

2. “Language in Crisis at Our HBCUs: How the Humanities Can Save Us,” Rhonda Collier, Tuskegee U

3. “From Brazil to the World with Love: Conceição Evaristo’s Escrevivência Transforms and Enriches Life,” Dawn Duke, U of Tennessee, Knoxville

4. “Decentering Narratives of Resistance: Contemporary Afrodiasporic Women’s Uprisings in the Americas,” Lesley Feracho, U of Georgia

Respondent: Jianfeng He, U of Washington, Seattle

326. Female Identities beyond Stigmas: Girls and Women in Latin American Culture

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Genesis Portillo, Hope C

1. “The Apprentice Girl in Peru at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century,” Jannet Torres Espinoza, U of California, Davis

2. “A Uruguayan Melodrama in Three Parts: Beatriz Flores Silva’s Cinema,” Genesis Portillo

3. “Women at War: The Peruvian Internal Armed Conflict in Film,” Maria Claudia Huerta Vera, Idaho State U

4. “Self-Discovery, Sexuality, and Music: The Representation of Caribbean Girlhood in Papi and Fiebre de Carnaval,” Mirella Reichenbach Livoti, U of British Columbia

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/1QvbSd_Hak7L641scQu3QMNFnLh939zJ1FjvnuJxRKPA/edit?usp=sharing.

327. Misinformation, Disinformation, Malinformation

3:30–4:45 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Linguistics and Literature. Presiding: M’Balia Thomas, U of Arizona, Tucson

1. “The Photo-Quote: On Truth and Identity in a Major Genre of Virality,” Tess McNulty, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

2. “Multimodal Rhetoric of Election-Related Disinformation Campaigns on TikTok,” John Paul Dela Rosa, Northern Illinois U

3. “Deepfake Disinformation and Gendered Political Harassment of Pakistani Female Politicians,” Fatma Sidra, U of Gujrat

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/linguistics-and-literature/docs/ after 1 Dec.

328. Now More Relevant Than Ever: Sharing Approaches to Teaching the Works of Margaret Atwood

3:30–4:45 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Publications Committee. Presiding: Lauren Rule Maxwell, The Citadel

Speakers: Rebecca Dixon, Tennessee State U; Patrick Henry, U of North Dakota; Justin Johnston, Stony Brook U, State U of New York; Amanda Licastro, Swarthmore C; Debrah K. Raschke, Southeast Missouri State U; Theodore F. Sheckels, Randolph-Macon C; Karma Waltonen, U of California, Davis

Participants discuss how Approaches to Teaching the Works of Margaret Atwood came together as well as the teaching practices shared in the volume, describing how they engage with Atwood’s works in their classrooms and why these works are more timely than ever.

For related material, visit approachestoteachingatwood.mla.hcommons.org/.

329. Spanish Ecomedia in Forty Images

3:30–4:45 p.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the ALCESXXI: Asociación Internacional de Literatura y Cine Españoles Siglo XXI. Presiding: Jesse Barker, U of Aberdeen

Speakers: Eugenia Afinoguenova, Marquette U; Kata Beilin, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Ofelia Ferrán, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Christine Martinez, Bates C; Jorge Marí, North Carolina State U; Carlos Tabernero, U Autònoma de Barcelona; John Trevathan, U of Missouri, Saint Louis

Exploring the intersections of visual media, ecology, and sociopolitical critique in the Iberian context and spanning a range of artistic and cinematic practices—from photography, exhibition curation and graphic novels to documentary, feature films and contemporary social media—panelists give PechaKucha-style presentations that engage with the visual cultures of environmental crisis, extractivism, and postcapitalist imaginaries.

330. The Nonmajor

3:30–4:45 p.m., 606, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: William Germano, Cooper Union

Speakers: Tamara Mitchell, U of British Columbia; Kit Nicholls, Cooper Union; Andrew C. Parker, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; Stefanie E. Sobelle, Gettysburg C

With the increasing emphasis at the college level on STEM and professional educational tracks, the humanities are frequently described as under fire or otherwise at risk. Panelists take a hard look at the role of literary study as a nondominant component of a college education. What does the category nonmajor mean today for scholar-teachers in the humanities? How can we teach so that we make the best of the new realities of enrollment and academic focus?

331. Kinship, Care, and Writing Instruction

3:30–4:45 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum RCWS Writing Pedagogies. Presiding: Tara Coleman, LaGuardia Community C, City U of New York

1. “Kinship in the Comments: Connecting First-Year Students and Majors on a Commuter Campus,” Sophia Bamert, Brooklyn C, City U of New York; Heidi Diehl, Brooklyn C, City U of New York

2. “Presence First: Cultivating Kinship and Care in First-Year Writing,” Jennie Snow, Montclair State U

3. “Writing for Ethnocultural and Clinical Empathy in a Prenursing Non-Western Humanities Course,” Steven Lownes, U of South Carolina, Union

4. “Cerberus Unleashed: How Kinship and Care Saved English and Writing Studies,” Rebecca Davis, Salem C; Katie Manthey, Salem C; Edyta Katarzyna Oczkowicz, Salem C

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/writing-pedagogies/ after 1 Jan.

332. Humorous Criticism

3:30–4:45 p.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM Literary Criticism. Presiding: Nan Da, Johns Hopkins U, MD

Speakers: Brittney Edmonds, U of Wisconsin, Madison; David Hollingshead, MacEwan U; Katie Kadue, Binghamton U, State U of New York; Ned Schantz, McGill U

Literary criticism inside and outside the academy is rarely humorous, despite the rise of humor’s cultural capital in integrated media platforms and many efforts to theorize the “bit” or the “shit post.” Panelists attempt to revive the genre, exercising jester’s privilege through readings of literary texts delivered in funny ways.

333. Making Humanities Advocacy Visible

3:30–4:45 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association of Departments of English. Presiding: Stephanie Andre, Central Oregon Community C

Speakers: Genelle Gertz, Washington and Lee U; Rozina Johnson, Miles C; Gema Ortega, Dominican U; Amy Woodbury Tease, Norwich U

Working from the syllabus, department, community, or administration, panelists share strategies for making the humanities and their structures visible to students, other departments or campus centers, community partners, and government leaders. From making the case for funding to members of Congress to showcasing for students how the skills of the humanities support democracy or lead to meaningful work, panelists emphasize places in which to champion the humanities.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HcxofqwkA45clZUEq9r7Wt7JQshxemF1?usp=drive_link after 5 Jan.

334. Sandbox on Shifting Trajectory at Mid-Career

3:30–4:45 p.m., Hall F, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Miriam Wallace, U of Illinois, Springfield

Sandboxes are hands-on miniworkshops that take place in the Professional Development Hub. A career shift can bring its share of uncertainty, especially when transitioning from a profession with seemingly defined pathways. Find strategies and support in this sandbox. We’ll review sample job advertisements, consider hidden elements of your CV, and practice connecting your experiences to the skills sought by other professions and roles. (Bring a copy of your CV.)

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YiCl5hwzmZaKNg0BYvjYTEWlQrlxE7BL?usp=drive_link after 7 Jan.

335. How to Publish Your Book with a University Press

3:30–4:45 p.m., Hall E, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association of University Presses. Presiding: Anne Savarese, Princeton University Press

Speakers: Hannah Doyle, Oxford University Press; Mark Thompson, University of Toronto Press

University press editors discuss the book publishing process from proposal to publication, offering constructive advice on how to select the right press, when to contact an editor, how to write an effective proposal, peer review and revisions, copyediting and production, audience, and promotion. Participants share insider tips and answer questions to help demystify the life cycle of a university press book.

336. Designing Your Future: A Primer for Graduate Students

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Kate Thorpe, GradTLC: Graduate Thriving and Learning Connection

Speaker: Laura Murray, GradTLC: Graduate Thriving and Learning Connection

This workshop adapts strategies from Bill Burnett and Dave Evans’s Designing Your Life to attendees’ experience as graduate students, whatever their stage or field, to help them begin the process of designing a satisfying, integrated, coherent life both during and after graduate school. Attendees are invited to reflect on their academic, personal, and professional experiences as well as their goals and values to begin paving a path to a joyful, well-designed future.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fCoxbdXcCDRed2WPynOVU7RXCF2siy-J?usp=drive_link after 31 Dec.

336A. We Are All Refugees: Theories of Welcome and Exclusion

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Jewish American

1. “Writing the Refugee: Negotiating Literary Arrivals beyond the Book Review,” Megan Butler, U of Washington, Seattle

2. “Understanding Refugeehood and Violence in The Boat People and Escape from Manus Prison,” Soumi Ganguly, George Washington U

3. “Empathizing across the Victim-Perpetrator Gap in Anna Seghers’s ‘Ausflug der Toten Maedchen,’” Courtney Hodrick, Stanford U

Respondent: Benjamin Schreier, Penn State U, University Park

337. Censorship in African Literary Cultures

5:15–6:30 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC African since 1990. Presiding: Matthew Omelsky, U of Rochester

1. “Born of the Sun, Colonial Censorship, and an Emerging Namibian Literary Tradition,” Martha Ndakalako, Gustavus Adolphus C

2. “Yambo Ouologuem: Violence, Obfuscation, and the Suppression of African Vision,” Emily McGiffin, U of Warwick

3. “The Platform as Censor: Understanding Freedom and Censorship in the Digital Age,” Susanna Sacks, Howard U

338. Thoreau’s Revolutions

5:15–6:30 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the Thoreau Society. Presiding: Kathleen Coyne Kelly, Northeastern U

1. “Waterways and Revolutionary Thought in Walden,” Jack Love, Texas A&M U, College Station

2. “Thoreau and April 19, 1775,” Kathleen Coyne Kelly

3. “Slavery’s Affective Economies: Counterrevolution and Emotion in Thoreau’s Antislavery Essays,” Alex Moskowitz, Mount Holyoke C

For related material, write to k.kelly@northeastern.edu.

339. Christianity, Literature, Politics

5:15–6:30 p.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Conference on Christianity and Literature. Presiding: Peter Powers, Messiah U

1. “Coleridge and the Angel of Liberty,” Alexander Lynch, U of Cambridge

2. “Indian Rebellion of 1857, Pro-Christianity, and Abolitionism of Black Newspapers,” Rowshan Chowdhury, U of Massachusetts, Amherst

3. “The Nevertheless of Things: Muriel Spark and the Transcendence of Political Fictions,” David Fine, U of Dayton

4. “Reimagining Apocalypse as Renewal in Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler,” Lauren Sim, U of Saint Thomas, MN

For related material, visit christianityliteraturepolitics.mla.hcommons.org after 1 Jan.

340. Nabokov and the Social

5:15–6:30 p.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the International Vladimir Nabokov Society. Presiding: Dana Dragunoiu, Carleton U

1. “Vladimir Nabokov and the Politics of Benefaction,” Anoushka Alexander-Rose, U of Heidelberg

2. “The Boarding House in Nabokov’s Early Fiction,” Andre Furlani, Concordia U

3. “Forms of Kinship and Community in the Work of Vladimir Nabokov,” Alex Strzelecki, Yale U

4. “From Individualism to Solidarity in Nabokov’s Late Fiction,” Dana Dragunoiu

For related material, visit theNabokovian.org after 1 Dec.

341. Migration Mythologies

5:15–6:30 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the MELUS: The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. Presiding: Sherry Johnson, Grand Valley State U

1. “‘Long Long Time Ago Birds Didn’t Migrate’: Leanne Simpson’s Nishnaabeg Migration Narratives,” L. Camille van der Marel, MacEwan U

2. “Marketing Multiculturalism: The Indian American Woman as Product in Indian Matchmaking,” Anwesha Kundu, Centre C

3. “New Mythologies of US Women in Italy,” Debra Bernardi, Carroll C

342. Chicanx Literary Legalities

5:15–6:30 p.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Chicana and Chicano. Presiding: José de la Garza Valenzuela, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

1. “The Many Lives of David, the Dead Wetback: Social Death and Chicanx Literary Reanimation,” Jesse Alemán, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

2. “When Race Becomes Ink: Reframing the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 through Chicano Aesthetics,” Thomas Conners, Allegheny C

3. “The Undocumented Life as a Family Narrative: Marcelo Hernández Castillo’s Children of the Land,” Christina L. Sisk, U of Houston

343. South Asian Futurisms

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC South Asian and South Asian Diasporic

1. “Fairytales at the Limits: Futurity and Postcolonial Autocriticism in Mahasweta Devi’s Short Stories,” Sragdharamalini Das, U of Wisconsin, Madison

2. “Imagining South Asian Diasporic Futures in Vauhini Vara’s The Immortal King Rao,” Nalini Iyer, Seattle U

3. “Cast(e) Away: The Ecology of (In)Visibility and the Deferred Haptics of Caste in Speculative Fiction,” Aindrila Choudhury, U of Virginia

Respondent: Umme Al-wazedi, Augustana C

344. Materials and Methods in Periodical Studies

5:15–6:30 p.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals (RSVP). Presiding: Tina Young Choi, York U

1. “Extraction and Mimicry: The Scrapbook and the Miscellaneous Periodical at Midcentury,” Alexis Easley, U of Saint Thomas

2. “Periodicals in the City: The Anglophone (Foot)Print in Latin America,” Jessie Reeder, Binghamton U, State U of New York

3. “Gutter Talk,” Carolyn Jane Betensky, U of Rhode Island

4. “George Moore’s A Drama in Muslin and Narrative Politics on the Periodical Page,” Matthew Poland, U of Washington, Seattle

345. Chaucer and Lydgate Now

5:15–6:30 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Chaucer. Presiding: Megan Cook, Colby C

Speakers: Kathleen Burt, Middle Georgia State U; Taylor Cowdery, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Clint Morrison, U of Texas, Austin; R. D. Perry, U of Tennessee, Knoxville; Christopher Queen, Southeastern Louisiana U

Respondent: Robert J. Meyer-Lee, Agnes Scott C

Speakers reassess the relationship between the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer and John Lydgate, perhaps the two most prolific poets in Middle English. What can we learn by applying new theoretical and methodological paradigms to their works? What insights are gained from a comparative approach that are not offered by a study of these authors individually? What assumptions that have guided past work on these authors should be revisited?

346. Lost Girls and New Women: Woolf, Conrad, and the Regendering of Empire

5:15–6:30 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Joseph Conrad Society of America and the International Virginia Woolf Society. Presiding: Jana Maria Giles, U of Louisiana, Monroe

1. “Conrad, Woolf, Morrison, and the Figure of the African Woman,” Ryan Tracy, Knox C

2. “Nina Almayer: Woolf, Femininity, and Conrad’s ‘Half-Caste Girl in the House,’” Pouneh Saeedi, U of Toronto

3. “New Wave Women: Gender and Vagueness in Conrad and Woolf,” Jennifer Cranfill, U of Texas, Dallas

4. “Joseph Conrad, Virginia Woolf, and the Refashioning of the Edwardian Heroine as Emergent New Woman,” Richard Allen Kaye, Hunter C, City U of New York

347. Environmentalism and Climate Narratives across Disciplines

5:15–6:30 p.m., 803B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Keaton Nara, Georgetown U

1. “The Horrors of Green Utopias,” Jason Haslam, Dalhousie U

2. “Ecogothic Zombies: Humans as Part of the Environment,” Keaton Nara

3. “Unproductive Wastelands: Extractivism, Dispossession, and Indigenous Environmentalism in Northeast Indian Borderlands,” Priyanka Sharma, George Washington U

For related material, visit climatenarratives.mla.hcommons.org after 30 Nov.

348. Solidarity Networks: Mapping Second and Third World Interactions in the Cultural Cold War

5:15–6:30 p.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Moinak Banerjee, McGill U

1. “On Ranajit Guha and Mao Zedong; or, Travels in the Communist Translation Zone,” Sandeep Banerjee, McGill U

2. “Letters from Soviet Russia,” Vikrant Dadawala, York U

3. “Magazine Manifestos: The Formation of Third World Literary Aesthetics through the Magazine Format,” Srimati Ghosal, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

349. LLC Francophone General Business Meeting

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Francophone. Presiding: Maya Angela Smith, U of Washington, Seattle

For related material, write to dc653@cam.ac.uk.

350. The Visible Combustion: Mapping “The End of Everything” in Galician and Iberian Culture(s)

5:15–6:30 p.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Galician. Presiding: Diego Espiña Barros, Saint Xavier U

Speakers: Aitor Arruza Zuazo, U of Warsaw; Maria Boguszewicz, U of Warsaw; Ryan Goodman, Wake Forest U; Laura Lesta Garcia, Middlebury C; Marcos Rohena-Madrazo, Middlebury C

Participants explore the idea of “the end of everything” in various contexts, times, and disciplinary perspectives in Galician and Iberian cultures, considering representations beyond dystopian narratives of the permanent crises (political, economic, ethno-identity, and climate) in our societies.

351. Hiding behind Trees: Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature and Culture

5:15–6:30 p.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the Children’s Literature Association. Presiding: Lisa Fraustino, Hollins U

1. “Animals as Narrators of Their Own Suffering in Nineteenth-Century Children’s Literature,” Rina Teske, U of Edinburgh

2. “Tensions and Contradictions of Anthropomorphism in the Green World: An Analysis of Charlotte’s Web,” Abbie Ventura, U of Tennessee, Chattanooga

3. “Anthropomorphic Animal Tales and the One-Child Policy in Chinese Children’s Literature,” Runyan Bai, U of St Andrews

352. Agnotology (or the Cultural Production of Ignorance) in Media and Culture

5:15–6:30 p.m., 714A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Amit Ray, Rochester Inst. of Tech.

1. “Artificial Ignorance: Agnotology and Generative AI,” Amit Ray

2. “Becoming a Crocodile: Brazilian Antivaccine and Provaccine Memes during COVID-19,” Emanuelle K. F. Oliveira-Monte, Vanderbilt U

3. “The Will-Not-to-Know: Prison Sexology and the Archive of Homosexuality in Colonial India,” Rovel Sequeira, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

For related material, visit amitray.net/.

353. Family Resemblances: Tracing Lineages, Kinships, and Inherited Practices in Performance

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the American Theatre and Drama Society. Presiding: Vicki Hoskins, San Francisco State U

1. “Eugene O’Neill and the Lineage of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama,” Dan Venning, Union C

2. “Generations, Generations, Generations: Multiplicity across Generational Traumas,” Nicole Rizzo, Indiana U, Bloomington

3. “Lost and Found Families in Funnyhouse and Wedding Band,” Meenakshi Ponnuswami, Bucknell U

4. “The Asylum and Its Afterlives: Performance and Psychiatric Survivorship,” Alexis Riley, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

354. Aging into Memory Loss, Aging with Memory Loss

5:15–6:30 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Age Studies. Presiding: Sharon Tran, U of Maryland Baltimore County

1. “The Persisting Self in a Fragmenting Brain: Restoring Agency and Selfhood through Alzheimer’s Disease Neuronarratives,” Bonnie Cross, Valencia C

2. “Uncanny Minds: Dementia and Community in Gothic Narratives,” Laura Kremmel, Niagara U

3. “Talking Dementia: Podcasting about Dementia in Contemporary Chinese Cinema,” Roya Liu, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

4. “Embodied Sensibility of Aging Women with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Discussion of the Novel Still Alice,” Yaqian Xu, U of Warwick

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/age-studies/ after 7 Jan.

355. Impairment Theory: Disability, Phenomenology, and Knowledge Production

5:15–6:30 p.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Disability Issues in the Profession. Presiding: Junting Huang, Binghamton U, State U of New York

Speakers: Cassandra Falke, Arctic U of Norway; Gabriel Proulx, Athabasca U; John Shepherd, U of Toronto; Leanne Toshiko Simpson, U of Toronto; Kai Qing Tan, RWTH Aachen U

Panelists explore personal and phenomenological accounts of impairment—not merely as a physical condition of illness or disability but as an embodied experience that generates cultural, social, and political insights. While disability studies have long critiqued the social structures that create disabling environments, disabled scholars also seek to foreground impairment as a site of knowledge production.

356. The Autotheory of bell hooks

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum GS Life Writing. Presiding: Anthony S. Foy, Swarthmore C

Speakers: Vilashini Cooppan, U of California, Santa Cruz; Anthony S. Foy; Erica Richardson, Baruch C, City U of New York

During a career that spanned more than four decades, the Black feminist writer bell hooks made theory personal. Participants consider how theory and autobiography interact in her work, how her autobiographies allow us to theorize the self, and how some of her autobiographical themes—girlhood, gender, sexuality, love, and madness—evince the liberatory praxis of autotheory.

357. Brecht and Hope: Biowriting

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206B, MTCC

Program arranged by the International Brecht Society. Presiding: Joerg Esleben, U of Ottawa

1. “The Ecological Foundation of Hope in Brecht’s Writings,” Elena Pnevmonidou, U of Victoria

2. “Biofiction as Intellectual Activism: Brecht’s Aesthetic of Political Hope,” Michael Lackey, U of Minnesota, Morris

3. “Staring Down the Nadir of History: Brecht, Benjamin, and Hope against Hope,” Paul Peters, McGill U

For related material, write to Joerg.Esleben@uottawa.ca.

358. Plural Cosmologies: Resistance and Worldmaking within and across Knowledge Frameworks

5:15–6:30 p.m., 605, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Kaitlin Moore, Wake Forest U

1. “Pirate Epistles: Flow Field Cosmologies in Keri Hulme’s Stonefish,” Tyler Sirovy, U of California, Los Angeles

2. “Deep Mexico Rebooted: Fernando Palma Rodríguez’s Nahua-tronics,” Sheila Scoville, Florida State U

3. “Haitian Vodou’s Decolonial Poetics of Endarkenment,” Isabelle Ensass, Emory U

4. “‘The Future Is Female and Indigenous’: Pluriverse Tools toward Ending Indofeminicide,” Stephanie Fetta, U of Massachusetts, Amherst

359. Amazonian Aesthetics: Colonization, Extractivism, and the Rainforest

5:15–6:30 p.m., 714B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Daniel Carrillo Jara, U of North Texas

1. “The Ant-ocene: Apocalyptic Ants in Amazonian Narratives,” Juan Pablo Cardenas, Massachusetts C of Art and Design

2. “Green Narratives: Decolonizing Peruvian Amazonian Literature,” Miluska Guzman-Ruiz, Purdue U, West Lafayette

3. “Extractivism and Cultural Negotiations in El abrazo de la serpiente,” Jack Martinez Arias, Hamilton C

4. “Learning through the Eyes and Ears of More-Than-Human Beings in Andean and Amazonian Texts,” Anamaria Leon Barrios, Syracuse U

Respondent: Juan Pablo Cardenas, Massachusetts C of Art and Design

360. Sounds, Structures, Meanings, Use: Current Linguistic Analyses from the Romance Family

5:15–6:30 p.m., 205A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Romance Linguistics. Presiding: Luana Lamberti, Iowa State U

1. “The Curious Case of Interconsonantal S in Old French,” Francisco Antonio Montaño, Lehman C, City U of New York

2. “A Cognitive-Linguistics Model to Describe Spanish QUE-Complementation: Mood, Valence, Semantic Types,” Eddy H. Gaytan, Chicago State U

3. “The Noun Ome (Man) and Multistage Grammaticalization in Abruzzese,” Raymond LaVerghetta, Howard Community C, MD

361. Doubling Down on DEI: Reimagining Peer Review

5:15–6:30 p.m., 715, MTCC

Program arranged by MLA Periodicals. Presiding: Cheryl E. Ball, Council of Editors of Learned Journals

Speakers: Cheryl E. Ball; Christina Cedillo, U of Houston, Clear Lake; Elizabeth McLain, Virginia Tech; Eugenia Zuroski, McMaster U

The CELJ project Re-Imagining Peer Review, funded by the Mellon Foundation, aims to advance equitable and inclusive practices in peer review and scholarly journal publishing in the humanities. Members of the project team and advisory board report on the findings from a large-scale survey of scholarly humanities journal stakeholders (authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers) and then invite attendees to develop workshop ideas for the next phase of the project.

362. Pleasure and Its Representations in Galdós’s Era

5:15–6:30 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the International Association of Galdós Scholars. Presiding: Joyce Tolliver, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

1. “Caritas: El placer de dar(se) en las novelas de Galdós,” Carmen Pereira-Muro, Texas Tech U

2. “The Pleasure of Idleness: Doing Nothing with Galdós,” Sarah Sierra, Virginia Tech

3. “When Caresses Leave Marks: The Aesthetics of Intimate Violence,” Erika Maurine Sutherland, Muhlenberg C

363. Navigating the AI Frontier: Pedagogical Innovations and Implications in Language and Literature Education

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

A special session

1. “Perceived and Measurable Effects of the Use of Prompt Engineering in Language Classrooms,” Alexander E. Pichugin, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

2. “Writing in the ‘Third Space’: Multilingual Authorship in the Age of Generative AI,” Abdullah Al Musayeb, U of Memphis

For related material, write to pichugin@rutgers.edu.

364. Digital Humanities, AI, and Teaching the Comedia

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC 16th- and 17th-Century Spanish and Iberian Drama. Presiding: Carmela V. Mattza, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

1. “Reconstructing Captivity: El trato de Argel through AI and Virtual Reality,” Julia Domínguez, U of Delaware, Newark

2. “Pedagogical RenAIssance: Generative AI and Machine Learning Tools to Preserve, Research, and Teach,” Xabier Granja, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

365. Academic Freedom in Extremis

5:15–6:30 p.m., 801A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM Literary and Cultural Theory. Presiding: Surya Parekh, Binghamton U, State U of New York

1. “Academic Freedom and the Challenge of Comparison,” Waïl S. Hassan, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

2. “The Task Ahead,” Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Columbia U

366. Discussion Group on Doing the Good Work in Uncertain Times

5:15–6:30 p.m., Hall F, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Martha Daas, Old Dominion U; Alison Langdon, Western Kentucky U

This discussion group provides a space to explore changing structures in humanities teaching, consider how we might adapt to radical shifts in humanities infrastructure, and discuss how to continue meaningful work in tumultuous times.

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/14GWL_qu-lFUEWAqORmJ4NSE6SMTMxWdLLbTxHAWN9G0/edit?tab=t.0.

367. Advocating for the Humanities from Campus to Capitol Hill

5:15–6:30 p.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Office of the Executive Director. Presiding: Paula M. Krebs, MLA

Speakers: Cecily Hill, National Humanities Alliance; Hollis Robbins, U of Utah

This session will help you learn how to work both on campus and off, with government relations officers and community groups, to make clear the value of supporting the humanities.

368. Translation Now

5:15–6:30 p.m., 701A, MTCC

A linked session arranged in conjunction with the Presidential Plenary: What We Fight For (198). Presiding: Tina Lu, Yale U

Speakers: Michael Cooperson, U of California, Los Angeles; Lara Norgaard, Harvard U; Carlos Rojas, Duke U; C. P. Haun Saussy, U of Chicago

Translation—across languages and across genre and media—has always been central to our fields. But what it is and how it is construed are both in a state of flux. Translators from a range of traditions consider the rival claims of creativity and fidelity and the threat or promise of generative AI.

369. Notes and Notebooks in Book History

5:15–6:30 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM Book History, Print Cultures, Lexicography

1. “Computing with Cards: Notational Media in Early Literary Data Processing,” Yohei Igarashi, U of Connecticut, Storrs

2. “Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Archive,” Kayla Penteliuk, McGill U

3. “Borges’s Notebooks,” Emron Esplin, Brigham Young U, UT

Respondent: Ruth Abbott, U of Cambridge

372. Cash Bar Arranged by the Forum LLC Irish, Glucksman Ireland House NYU, and the American Conference for Irish Studies

7:15–8:30 p.m., Algonquin, Fairmont Royal York

373. Cash Bar Arranged by the Department of English at Rutgers University, New Brunswick

7:15–8:30 p.m., Manitoba, Fairmont Royal York

374. “The Palestinian Hamlet”: Transnational Islamic Writings in Contemporary Postcolonial Muslimah Literature

8:30–10:15 a.m., Virtual

A plenary. Presiding: Hasnul Djohar, U Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

1. “Islamic Perspectives of Jihad and Jihadi Brides in Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire,” Hasnul Djohar

2. “The Palestinian Hamlet: Navigating the Palestinian Question in Hammad’s Enter Ghost,” Sennur Bakirtas, Ataturk U

3. “Fragmentation, Dispossession, and Resistance in Palestinian American Literature,” Sirene Harb, American U of Beirut

4. “The Arab Apocalypse: The Poetics of Home Outsiders,” Nada Tayem, Indiana U of Pennsylvania

Participants explore how postcolonial Muslimah writers thematize the ideas of transnational Islamic writing by reimagining Western literature to question white domination in world literature and culture. In doing so, the writers allude to and reconstruct Western literature, such as Shakespeare’s and Sophocles’s, to undermine Eurocentrism and Orientalism in their English literary texts.

For related material, write to hdjohar@uinjkt.ac.id.

375. Constructing Queer African Selves

8:30–9:45 a.m., 803A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Michelle Wright, Emory U

Speakers: Ayo Coly, Dartmouth C; Nathalie Etoke, Graduate Center, City U of New York; Sybille Ngo Nyeck, U of Colorado, Boulder; Kwame Otu, Georgetown U

Panelists discuss the misconceptions and complex realities that attend the contemporary construction of queer African selves, giving attendees an opportunity to hear major scholars in conversation with one another on the politics, culture, and theorizing of gender and sexuality within and without the African context.

376. Writing Poe Biography

8:30–9:45 a.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the Poe Studies Association. Presiding: Emron Esplin, Brigham Young U, UT

1. “Writing A Life,” Richard Kopley, Penn State U, DuBois

2. “Poe and the Autotheoretical Impulse,” Emily Ogden, U of Virginia

3. “Contexts and Controversies That Shaped Poe’s Career,” J. Gerald Kennedy, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

377. Solidarity and Institutional (In)Action

8:30–9:45 a.m., 714A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Victorian and Early-20th-Century English. Presiding: Michael Tondre, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

1. “Transatlantic Solidarities: Oil!, Energy, and the Aesthetics of Work,” Michael Tondre

2. “On Strike with John Barton,” Ruth McAdams, Skidmore C

3. “An Ingenious Joke: Whimsical Resistance in Kipling’s Monkeys,” Alexandra Rego, Graduate Center, City U of New York

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/victorian-and-early-20thcentury-english/forum/ after 1 Dec.

379. Becoming and Performing the Literatus in Medieval China

8:30–9:45 a.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Pre-14th-Century Chinese. Presiding: Leihua Weng, Kalamazoo C

1. “Scholars as the Alien Kind: Knowledge and Power in Sou Shenji (In Search of the Supernatural),” Leihua Weng

2. “Xin Qiji’s Lyrics Done in Jest,” Chengjuan Sun, Kenyon C

3. “Gardens, Textuality, and the City: Identity Building in Middle-Period China,” Wanhan Xing, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

4. “‘Man Honors the Mountain’: Yang Weizhen (1296–1370) and the Aesthetic Turn in Literati Self-Fashion,” Zhenxing Zhao, Singapore U of Tech. and Design

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bwzqUxoYWoATPtJVRMz387pBtam-i9Am?usp=drive_link.

380. Family Resemblances between World Languages and Nationalisms

8:30–9:45 a.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Language and Society. Presiding: Shakil Rabbi, Virginia Tech

1. “Translingual Rhetorics and the Language Movement in Bangladesh, Then East Pakistan (1946–56),” Shakil Rabbi, Virginia Tech

2. “Translingual Nationalism in the Asian Diaspora: The Case of Younghill Kang (1898–1972),” Guojun Wang, McGill U

3. “Language Politics and Identity in Ancient China and Its Neighbors,” Daniel Fried, U of Alberta

4. “Silenced Voices, Fractured Tongues: Gendered Trauma and the Linguistic Afterlives of the 1947 Partition,” Vaishnavi Dube, U of Edinburgh

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/language-and-society/ after 1 Jan.

381. Recompense in English Romanticism, Recompense and English Romanticism

8:30–9:45 a.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC English Romantic. Presiding: Yoon Sun Lee, Wellesley C

1. “The Gleaners and Keats,” Carmen Faye Mathes, McGill U

2. “Enough Kant,” David Clark, McMaster U

3. “Recompense, Abundance, Stewardship,” Samuel Baker, U of Texas, Austin

382. Uncanny Resemblances: Technologies of (Re)Production in Gothic Fiction

8:30–9:45 a.m., 716A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Amory Zhao, U of Cambridge, Trinity C

1. “Technovampirism and the Cinematic Monster,” Amory Zhao

2. “Gothic Doubling in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Severance,” Henna Messina, Eastern New Mexico U

3. “Mitochondrial Eves and Male Superfluity in Gothic Fiction,” Amanda Paxton, Trent U

383. D. H. Lawrence and Animals

8:30–9:45 a.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the D. H. Lawrence Society of North America. Presiding: Ronald Granofsky, McMaster U

1. “‘I Didn’t Know His God’: D. H. Lawrence’s (Almost) Deconstruction of the Sovereign,” Ryan Tracy, Knox C

2. “Lawrence’s Coronation of His Father as King of the Underworld in ‘Snake,’” Nora Foster Stovel, U of Alberta

3. “Sanguine Poetics: Animals and the Limits of Humanity,” Rodrigo Martini, U of Georgia

384. Poetry Criticism in Practice: Rereading “The Raven”

8:30–9:45 a.m., 206D, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Romantic and 19th-Century and the forum TM Literary Criticism. Presiding: Emily Sun, Barnard C

1. “Poe and Hosokawa,” Jonathan Elmer, Indiana U, Bloomington

2. “Mallarmé Sounds Poe,” Catherine A. Witt, Reed C

3. “The Raven in the Tropics: Imperial Decadence and Pie Forzado,” Luis Othoniel Rosa, U of Nebraska, Lincoln

385. Family Resemblances in African, African American, and Caribbean Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

8:30–9:45 a.m., 710, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Caribbean and the forum LLC African to 1990

1. “Queer Kinship and Diasporic Belonging in Andrew Salkey’s Escape to an Autumn Pavement,” Anwesha Kundu, Centre C

2. “Race, Senegambian Culture, and Griot Rhetorical Strategies in the Poems and Letters of Phillis Wheatley,” Babacar M’Baye, Kent State U

3. “Black Women, Messy Kinships, and Literary-Historical Kindred in Marlon James’s The Book of Night Women,” Arselyne Chery, U of Virginia

4. “Clandestine Romantic Kinship in Pauline Hopkins’s Of One Blood and W. E. B. Du Bois’s Dark Princess,” Harry Hall, Harvard U

386. Psychophilosophies of Anarchy

8:30–9:45 a.m., 606, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Philosophy and Literature and the forum TC Psychology, Psychoanalysis, and Literature. Presiding: Kalpana Seshadri, Boston C

1. “Justice and Anarcho-Capitalism as Religion,” Klaus Mladek, Dartmouth C

2. “Indifference as Anarchic Resistance: Female Pleasure and the Unraveling of Power in Marguerite Duras,” Maïté R.N Marciano, Williams C

3. “The Nontranslational Trauma and the Anarchic Repetition,” Yoon Jeong Oh, New York U

387. The Creative Self: Living and Writing the Extreme

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum CLCS European Regions. Presiding: Lidia Radi, U of Richmond

1. “The Real and the Fictive: Boccaccio’s Compulsory ‘Orrido Cominciamento’ to the Decameron,” Anthony Russell, U of Richmond

2. “The Creative Self: Reading Adorno’s Minima Moralia,” Katie McAree, Trinity C, Dublin

3. “Autofiction of Self and Mass: Memory, Time, and Audience in The End of the Affair,” Anni Shen, Tsinghua U

Respondent: Glória Alhinho, Georgetown U

388. War and Media: Literature, Radio and Screen

8:30–9:45 a.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Anna Tropnikova, Yale U; Lydia Tuan, Yale U

1. “‘A Large Frightened Ear’: World War II Radio as Sonic Assault and Salvation,” Elizabeth Crawford, U of California, Los Angeles

2. “‘Out of the Picture’: (Dis)Appearance, Media, and the Machine Gun in Ernst Jünger’s On Pain and The Worker,” Ross Etherton, Denison U

3. “(Im)Mediate Field: Remediation of War in Visual Poetry,” Zeenat Zeenat, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

4. “(Re)Writing Media History: Mediated Wars in Skibidi Toilet,” Anna Tropnikova; Lydia Tuan

For related material, visit warmedia.hcommons.org/.

390. Migration and Forms of Kinship in Francophone Cultural Production

8:30–9:45 a.m., 602A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jocelyn Frelier, Brown U

1. “Displacement, Motherly Love, and Kinship in Chantal Akerman’s News from Home,” Cecile Ruel, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

2. “Migratory Movements and New Kinships Seen through Colonial-Colored Headdresses,” Irina Randriamiadana, North Carolina State U

3. “Kinship and Migration in Ari’irau’s Je reviendrai à Tahiti,” Julia Frengs, U of Nebraska, Lincoln

4. “Father(Land) and (Af)Filiation in Ying Chen’s Le mangeur,” Yan Zhao, Harvard U

5. “Queer Migration and Social Networks in the Work of Nina Bouroaui,” Alexandra Goldych, U of San Diego

Participants explore questions of kinship in the francophone world, such as how to imagine alternative models of normative, nuclear, individuality-based models of family; how migration is changing the notion of kinship across national borders, cultures, and diasporas; and how decolonial, queer, and other approaches can contribute to alternate sets of definitions of relatedness.

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/members/beatgirl/ after 31 Dec.

391. Paris and Transcultural Exchange in the Eighteenth Century

8:30–9:45 a.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 18th-Century French. Presiding: Chloe Edmondson, Stanford U

1. “Parisian Women: ‘Étrangères à elles-mêmes,’” Cynthia Vialle-Giancotti, Stanford U

2. “The Pulse of Paris: Speed, Circulation, and Urban Motion,” Fayçal Falaky, Tulane U

3. “Between Paris and Suzhou: A Study of the Louvre’s Eighteenth-Century Tapestry Panels,” Wenjin Li, KU Leuven

4. “Jesuit Sinology in Paris,” Robert Twiss, U of Toronto

392. Discussion Group on the Future of Graduate Education

8:30–9:45 a.m., Hall F, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Jason Rhody, MLA; Janine M. Utell, MLA

This discussion group explores the future of graduate education, including advising and mentoring, retention, curricular innovation, and graduate student labor. The guiding question is, How might we reimagine humanities graduate education to support a wider range of students and outcomes, develop the flexibility to meet new needs without abandoning core strengths, and strengthen the academic humanities’ ability to contribute to society?

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/14GWL_qu-lFUEWAqORmJ4NSE6SMTMxWdLLbTxHAWN9G0/edit?usp=sharing.

393. Mediterranean Racialization

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Mediterranean. Presiding: Paul Michael Johnson, Johns Hopkins U, MD

1. “Modernity and Racialization in the Levante: The Case of Antisemitism and Antiblackness,” Aylin Bademsoy, Washington U in St. Louis

2. “Technology, Surveillance, and the Politics of African Mobility in the Mediterranean,” Miracle Mara, U of Texas, Austin

3. “Hybridity and the Racialized Legacy: Reconsidering Medieval Iberia,” Hicham Boutaleb, U of Warwick

394. The Environment in Indigenous Literatures of Abiayala

8:30–9:45 a.m., 605, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Valeria Meiller, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

1. “Memory of Living Worlds in Maya Poetry and Art,” Rita Palacios, Conestoga C

2. “Threading Revolution: Narratives of Resistance,” Sue Haglund, U of Hawai‘i, Mānoa

3. “Hijos de la tierra: Hubert Matiúwàa, Pedro Uc Be, and the Systematization of Ecological Knowledges,” Paul Worley, Appalachian State U

Respondent: John Kennedy, U of Colorado, Boulder

395. Cuba beyond the Island

8:30–9:45 a.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Cuban and Cuban Diasporic. Presiding: Katerina Gonzalez Seligmann, U of Connecticut, Storrs

1. “Novelas del agua: The Cubangoland Effect in Archipelagic Memory,” Andy Alfonso, Princeton U

2. “Between Cuba and East Germany: Monika Krause and Sex Education in Postrevolutionary Cuba,” Tulio Bucchioni, Columbia U

3. “Galician Diasporas in the Greater Caribbean: Migrant Labor in Cuba, Tampa, and Panama,” José M. Rodríguez García, Duke U

396. Gothic Transgressions and Eerie Fantasies in Contemporary Latin American Literature

8:30–9:45 a.m., 714B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Garima Panwar, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

1. “Bodily Autonomy and Maternal Horrors in Atenea Cruz’s Gothic Short Stories,” Sarah Revilla-Sanchez, U of British Columbia

2. “The Monstrous Representation of Nature in El monte de las furias, by Fernanda Trías: A Space of Violence,” Natalia Arango Hernandez, Purdue U, West Lafayette

3. “(In)traducciones: Eerie, o el imaginario anfibio de Fernanda Trías,” Joaquin Venturini Corbellini, U of Notre Dame

397. Global Englishes, Persistence, and Resistance: Languaging in Hostile Places

8:30–9:45 a.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Global English. Presiding: Rachael Shapiro, Rowan U; Zhaozhe Wang, U of Toronto

1. “The Case for Policy Work in Critical Times,” Ligia Mihut, Barry U

2. “English in Exile: Resistance and Persistence in Libya’s Linguistic Landscape,” Ghada Gherwash, Colby C

Respondent: Rachael Shapiro, Rowan U

398. Beyond Blood: Defying Family Resemblances and Rewriting Legacy

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Moumin Quazi, Tarleton State U

1. “Unmarking the Self: Rejection and Reinvention in Dalit Life Narratives,” Ruma Sinha, Rider U

2. “Fractured Resemblances: Cinematic Politics of Representations and Everyday Resistance,” Billie Thoidingjam Guarino, Saint Anselm C

3. “Challenging ‘Malestream’ Citizenship through Feminist Stand-Up Comedy,” Nisha Tiwari, Jawaharlal Nehru U

4. “‘Hindu Muslim Bhai-Bhai’: Challenges to Fraternal Claims and the Places of Worship Act in India,” Shabeeh Rahat, CEPT U

For related material, write to thoidingjam@gmail.com after 5 Jan.

399. Institutions of Irish Literature and Culture

8:30–9:45 a.m., 206C, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Irish. Presiding: Shirley Wong, US Naval Acad.

1. “Vehicles of Speech, Institutions of Talk: Broadcasting Yeats’s Reinterment,” Damien D. Keane, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

2. “The Irish Pen-to-Publication Pipeline: Art Subsidization, Institutionalized Creative Writing, and Literary Infrastructure in the Republic of Ireland,” Dilâra Yilmaz, Kiel U

3. “Intermedial Solidarities: Seamus Heaney’s Fine Press Book Collaborations,” Kaitlin Thurlow, U of Georgia

400. Found Families: Migrant and Diasporic Voices in Portuguese

8:30–9:45 a.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Portuguese Studies Association. Presiding: Krista Brune, Penn State U, University Park

1. “Japão-Liberdade: The Status of Japanese-Portuguese Bilingualism through the Linguistic Landscape,” Miguel Román, Indiana U, Bloomington

2. “On Unhomely Families and Migrant Futurities in Matias Mariani’s Cidade pássaro,” Lara Bourdin, McGill U

3. “The Filmic Families of Pedro Costa,” Krista Brune

4. “Transcultural (S)Kin: Floating Arks and Archives, (Kin)Ships Full of Voices,” Sharon Lubkemann Allen, State U of New York, Brockport

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/luso-brazilian/docs/.

401. (Be)Laboring Medieval Iberian Texts and Cultural Production

8:30–9:45 a.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Medieval Iberian. Presiding: Donald Wood, Oklahoma State U

1. “Working Stiffs: Uniting the Quick and the Dead in Gonzalo de Berceo,” Robin M. Bower, Penn State U, Beaver

2. “Labors of Redemption: The End of the World as a Family Affair in the Cantigas de Santa Maria,” Noel Blanco Mourelle, U of Chicago

3. “‘Las mugeres que…entran por los foracos e comen e chupan las criaturas’: Fearing Female Labor and Transformation in Late Medieval Castile,” Rebecca De Souza, U of Stirling

4. “Labors of Love: The Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza and the Fernán González Tradition,” Peter Mahoney, Stonehill C

402. Advocating for the Premodern in Language Departments

8:30–9:45 a.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC German to 1700. Presiding: Sara Suzanne Poor, Princeton U

1. “The Present of Things Past: Medieval Texts and Cultural Sustainability,” Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand, Appalachian State U

2. “Theatrical Performance in the Classroom,” Albrecht Classen, U of Arizona, Tucson

3. “Codex? Printing Press? CPU? On Formatting and Composing Cultural History as ‘True’ Simulations,” Will Hasty, U of Florida

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/ after 8 Jan.

403. Fußball, Fútbol, Football, or Soccer: Using Sports to Enhance the Teaching of Language and Culture

8:30–9:45 a.m., 205A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Angelika N. Kraemer, Cornell U

Speakers: Miguel Angel Cabañas, Michigan State U; Denise Callejas Mattey, Morehouse C; Rebeccah Dawson, U of Kentucky; Gerald Cory Duclos, Colgate U; Oliver Knabe, U of Dayton

Instructors of German and Spanish explore the use of sports in the classroom by briefly presenting teaching examples and open discussion. Using soccer as a case study, speakers invite instructors of any language to reflect on how they can use popular sports as an entry point into other linguistic and cultural topics.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1x2XQi_7WwmHiJQyibv7k5sTcSA6ZQb-b?usp=sharing after 3 Jan.

404. Designing Literary Education: From the Secondary Classroom to Higher Education and Beyond

8:30–9:45 a.m., 206E, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Leah Yates, U of Denver

Speakers: Rita Charon, Columbia U; Haley Crane, International Baccalaureate Organization; Eric Hayot, Penn State U, University Park; Shelby Knighten, U of Oxford, Jesus C; Scott L. Newstok, Rhodes C; Joseph North, Yale U

The International Baccalaureate (IBO), as part of the development of the new framework for its literature course, conducted a review of the present landscape of literary studies. Scholars whose work was featured in that review talk with curriculum developers from the IBO about the state of the discipline of literary studies and its relation to literature education at the secondary level.

405. Doing Digital Multimodal: Pedagogical Innovations in the Age of Gen AI

8:30–9:45 a.m., 601B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Purna Chandra Bhusal, U of Texas, El Paso

1. “Transformed Classrooms and Artificial Intelligence,” Saroj GC, U of Louisville

2. “Transforming Writing Instruction with AI as a Collaborative Partner,” Rajendra Panthee, Syracuse U

3. “How AI Is Changing the Teaching of Teaching: Evolving Practices of Teacher Preparation Programs,” Ian Carroll, U of California, Los Angeles

4. “Composing Change: Digital Multimodal Synergies for Social Justice,” Sanjeev Niraula, U of Texas, El Paso

406. Pathways to Deanship

8:30–9:45 a.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences. Presiding: Kyoko Amano, Texas A&M U, Corpus Christi

1. “Pathways to the Atypical, Fearless, Entrepreneurial, Resourceful, and Multilingual Deanship,” Alain-Philippe Durand, U of Arizona

2. “Tips for Deanship Applications,” Kyoko Amano

3. “The Inside Track: The Truth about Being Promoted from Within,” Leah Lyons, Middle Tennessee State U

407. Rhetoric and Academic Leadership, Rhetoric as Academic Leadership

8:30–9:45 a.m., 206F, MTCC

Program arranged by the ADE Executive Committee. Presiding: Kelly Ritter, Georgia Inst. of Tech.

1. “The Rhetoric of the Academic Leadership Pipeline,” Gary Totten, U of Nevada, Las Vegas

2. “(Mis)Aligning Rhetorics of Leadership at Institutions,” Courtney Wooten, George Mason U

3. “Rhetorics of Leading in Political Uncertainty: A Case Study,” Monica F. Jacobe, U of Pennsylvania

4. “Steering the Ship: When an Academic Department Goes Public Humanities,” Kelly Kinney, U of Wyoming

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HcxofqwkA45clZUEq9r7Wt7JQshxemF1?usp=drive_link after 5 Jan.

408. Moving Women’s Writing beyond Recovery to the Scholarly Edition

8:30–9:45 a.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions. Presiding: Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick, Indiana U–Purdue U, Columbus

Speakers: Maggie Dryden, Emory U; Julie Goodspeed-Chadwick; Alec Pollak, Cornell U; Juliet Shields, U of Washington, Seattle; Claudia Stokes, Trinity U

Respondent: Jessica DeSpain, Southern Illinois U, Edwardsville

When single works by women authors become emblematic of their influence, their corpora can be overlooked by scholars. What are the systemic reasons for this gap? What are the specific challenges scholarly editors face in overcoming it? Presenters discuss how the prioritization of a single work leads to misconceptions about an author’s career and the careers of her contemporaries and may even lead to overlooking an entire tradition of women writers.

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/committee-on-scholarly-editions/ after 30 Dec.

409. Reimagining the Successful World Language Major: Adapting and Planning for the Future

8:30–9:45 a.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the ALD Executive Committee. Presiding: Joëlle F. Vitiello, Macalester C

Speakers: Muriel Cormican, Texas Christian U; Lina N. Insana, U of Pittsburgh; Megan Jeanette Myers, Iowa State U; Anne Stachura, Franklin and Marshall C

Departments face a range of challenges—from renewing the curriculum to navigating enrollment pressures. What small and big steps can our collective imagination spark to support a successful language major? Can we be creative about the curriculum? count lower-level language courses? streamline degree requirements and reduce barriers? adapt to students’ professional realities? Panelists provide diverse models and discuss their implementation.

410. Frances E. W. Harper at Two Hundred

10:15–11:30 a.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Late-19th- and Early-20th-Century American. Presiding: Kristin Moriah, Queen’s U

1. “‘If They Kill Me’: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s Black Boatmen and the Legacy of Civil War Heroism,” Susannah Sharpless, Cornell U

2. “Frances E. W. Harper’s Radical Black Feminist Politics in The Underground Railroad,” Sabrina Evans, Howard U

3. “The Sad, Imploring Eye: Frances E. W. Harper’s Sensational Black Disability Poetics,” Vivian Delchamps, Dominican U of California

411. A Light on the Lesser Known: Black Writers and Their Work

10:15–11:30 a.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC African American and the College Language Association. Presiding: Carlyn Ferrari, Seattle U

1. “Forgotten (Fish) Tales: Rediscovering Nettie Jones,” Keith Mitchell, U of Massachusetts, Lowell

2. “Black, White, and Brown: Gertrude Dorsey Brown and the Dissolving Color Line,” Catherine Saunders, U of Florida

3. “The Enigma of Delores Phillips,” Delia Steverson, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

412. Forms of Uselessness in Contemporary American Fiction

10:15–11:30 a.m., 604, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Daniel Bergman, U of Toronto

1. “Uselessness and Egress in Otessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation,” Louisa Toxvaerd Munch, U of Warwick

2. “Stylistic Uselessness in the Fiction of Julie Otsuka,” Connor Bennett, U of Toronto

3. “Autoerotic Impotence: Tony Tulathimutte’s Rejection and the Political Futility of Autofiction,” Esme Feurtado, Queen Mary U of London

For related material, visit formsofuselessness.mla.hcommons.org/.

413. New Directions in Sri Lankan Literature

10:15–11:30 a.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC South Asian and South Asian Diasporic. Presiding: Maryse Jayasuriya, Saint Louis U

1. “‘Pangolins and Pogroms’: Campy Human-Animals and Queer Posthuman Quests for Justice for War Victims,” Shermal Wijewardene, U of Colombo

2. “Circles and Lines of Violence: Missing Fathers in Shobasakthi’s Ichaa,” Anushiya Ramaswamy, Southern Illinois U, Edwardsville

3. “Spectral Reckonings: Navigating Sri Lanka’s Past and Present in Shehan Karunatilaka’s Novels,” Nathan Omprasadham, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

4. “On the Line: Distance and Intimacy in S. Shakthidharan’s Counting and Cracking,” Sandamini Ranwalage, Skidmore C

414. Performing the Past: Historical Subjects on the Stage

10:15–11:30 a.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Claire Sommers, Washington U in St. Louis

1. “Setting Down Henry VI: Performative Vigilance and Shakespeare’s Fictionalization of the ‘Holy King,’” Amy Scott, Algonquin C

2. “Katherine of Valois in the Early Modern English Imaginary: A Case Study of Early Women’s History Writing,” Rachel Spencer, U of Texas, Austin

3. “Costumed Crown: Cleopatra and Elizabeth I in Renaissance English Drama,” Claire Sommers

4. “Middling Anti-hero: Jack Sheppard on Stage,” Cassidy Holahan, U of Nevada, Las Vegas

415. Genres of Free Indirect Discourse?

10:15–11:30 a.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Late-18th-Century English. Presiding: Vivasvan Soni, Northwestern U; Amit Yahav, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

1. “Free Indirect Discourse as Informal Device in Seventeenth-Century Prose Fictions,” Thomas Salem Manganaro, U of Richmond

2. “At the Limits of Free Indirect Discourse: Belinda’s Birds, Edgeworth’s Edge,” Marcie Frank, Concordia U

3. “Austen Style, Character Styles,” Mi Yu, Princeton U

4. “Mediation Style in Lockwood’s No One Is Talking about This,” Lauren Gillingham, U of Ottawa

416. Catastrophizing Spenser

10:15–11:30 a.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the International Spenser Society. Presiding: Joseph M. Ortiz, U of Texas, El Paso

1. “Small Poems of the World’s Ruins,” Margaux Delaney, Cornell U

2. “A Catastrophe of Equality in the Legend of Justice,” Vincent Mennella, Southern Methodist U

3. “Iron Dictations: Catastrophic Clear-Cutting and Rooted Resistance in the Faerie Queene,” Matthew Rooney, Western U

4. “Allegory and Genocide,” Matthew Rowlinson, Western U

417. The Poetics of Loss in Early and Medieval Literary Writing

10:15–11:30 a.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Pre-14th-Century Chinese

1. “Losing a Body but Gaining a Self: Poetics of Suicide and Mutilation in Early China,” Paula Varsano, U of California, Berkeley

2. “Catastrophic Loss: Images of the Crucifixion from the Middle Ages to Marc Chagall,” Benjamin Saltzman, U of Chicago

3. “Fragmentation and Forgetting: Two Second-Century BCE Accounts of the Loss of the Dao,” Mark Csikszentmihalyi, U of California, Berkeley

4. “Authorship as Homelessness: Classical China,” Michael Hunter, Yale U

Respondent: D. Vance Smith, Princeton U

418. Epic in Lyric and Lyric in Epic in Early Modern Global Contexts

10:15–11:30 a.m., 206F, MTCC

A special session

Speakers: Caroline Egan, Northwestern U; Radhika Koul, Claremont McKenna C; Jane Mikkelson, Yale U; Nigel S. Smith, Princeton U; Erika Valdivieso, Yale U; Leonardo Velloso-Lyons, Emory U

Respondent: Luis Rodríguez-Rincón, Haverford C

Participants explore epic and lyric theory in global early modern texts, considering the relationship between epic and lyric theory, lyric themes and meters in epic contexts (and vice versa), and how to modify and expand these concepts in various global and historical contexts.

419. AI in Global Speculative Fiction in the Twenty-First Century

10:15–11:30 a.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Speculative Fiction. Presiding: Rachel Haywood, Iowa State U

1. “Reimagining the Future: Dystopia, Utopia, and the Democratization of Knowledge in Verde, Verde,” Nickolas Barba Izurieta, U of California, Los Angeles

2. “Thinking without Consciousness: AI and the Intelligence Spectrum in Peter Watts’s Firefall Duology,” Bibin K. Antony, English and Foreign Languages U

3. “Gender, AI, and Morality: A Comparative Analysis of The Wandering Earth 2 and Exorcism,” Yimin Xu, U of New South Wales

4. “Untouchable Algorithms: The Specter of Caste in Speculative Fiction,” Aindrila Choudhury, U of Virginia

420. Hydroaesthetics, Hydroscapes, Hydrotexts: Thinking Through Water in the Global South

10:15–11:30 a.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Claire Roosien, Yale U

1. “Fluid Agency: Tales of Water in Contemporary Taiwan,” Nicolai Volland, Penn State U, University Park

2. “Unstoried Ubiquity: Structural Silences and Domestic Hydroscapes in Nigerian Literature,” Comfort Azubuko-Udah, U of Toronto

3. “The Hydroaesthetics of Socialist Realism,” Claire Roosien

Respondent: Margaret Cohen, Stanford U

421. Paul Claudel et les tourmentes de l’histoire

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the Paul Claudel Society. Presiding: Jean-François Poisson-Gueffier, U de Franche-Comte

1. “Le soulier sous l’Occupation: La ‘résistance morale de la culture française,’” Chiara Guillot, Sorbonne U

2. “La guerre comme douloureuse nécessité: Paul Claudel et la ‘Guerre de trente ans,’” Anthony Glaise, U de Tours

3. “Paul Claudel, entre diplomatie et littérature: Le tremblement de terre de septembre 1923 à Tokyo,” Samuel Vitalis, U de Haute-Alsace

4. “Paul Claudel, correspondances diplomatiques, 1927–33: Governance, Ethics, and Globalization in America,” Maryann De Julio, Kent State U

422. Mass Media, Social Media, and Literary Celebrity

10:15–11:30 a.m., 714A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Michelle Cho, U of Toronto

Speakers: Angie Chau, U of Victoria; Loren D. Glass, U of Iowa; Jeremy Lakoff, U of Tampa; Tom Mole, Durham U; Adrien Rannaud, U of Toronto; Renren Yang, U of British Columbia; Lorraine York, McMaster U

Panelists examine the intersection of mass media and social media with literary celebrity in modern times, highlighting the mediation processes in both the transformation of ordinary writers into well-known authors and the ways celebrity culture shapes literary production, circulation, and reception, as well as looking at how contemporary mediation processes draw on past celebrity apparatus.

423. Bad Adaptations

10:15–11:30 a.m., 716A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Adaptation Studies. Presiding: Leah M. Anderst, Queensborough Community C, City U of New York

Speakers: Anne M. Furlong, U of Prince Edward Island; Claudia Grigg Edo, Columbia U; Ricardo Quintana-Vallejo, Rhode Island C; Arya Sureshbabu, U of California, Berkeley; Kathryn Walton, Lakehead U; Rosetta Young, Dartmouth C

Participants explore so-called bad adaptations of literary sources from a variety of perspectives. What makes an adaptation of a text bad or good and for whom? How do we evaluate adapted works? Beyond fidelity, how do we characterize the relationship between adaption and original? How do we teach poorly adapted works?

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/adaptation-studies/forum/.

424. Black Bibliography

10:15–11:30 a.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for Textual Scholarship

Speakers: Jacqueline Goldsby, Yale U; Ayesha Hardison, Indiana U, Bloomington; Meredith L. McGill, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; John Young, Marshall U

Scholars discuss their digital humanities projects on recording African American literary history through investigation of the communities that have preserved, valued, and sustained African American literature.

425. Noticing Econarrative Forms

10:15–11:30 a.m., 206D, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment. Presiding: Everett Hamner, Western Illinois U

1. “Narrative Form as Environmental Theory: Climate Precarity in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Will Kanyusik, Loras C

2. “Strange Weather; or, The Brontës and ‘Wutherwach,’” Krista Lysack, U of Western Ontario

3. “Forensic Activism in Contemporary Environmental Literature,” Robert Metaxatos, Indiana U, Bloomington

426. Touchy Feely: Exploring Affect Evoked by Touch

10:15–11:30 a.m., 205B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Cognitive and Affect Studies. Presiding: Laura Christine Otis, Emory U

1. “Intimacy of the Text(ile): The Affective Politics of Touching Textile Poems,” Anne Duncan, U of Washington, Seattle

2. “Touching (Human) Meat: On Jolanta Brach-Czaina’s ‘The Metaphysics of Meat,’” Marta Lasota, Northwestern U

3. “Memory,” Leor Avramovich, U of California, Los Angeles

4. “Affective Tactile Sensations and Modernist Fiction’s Postcolonial Afterlife,” Donald R. Wehrs, Auburn U

427. Political Poetry Right Now

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum RCWS Creative Writing. Presiding: Prageeta Sharma, Pomona C

Speakers: Vidhu Aggarwal, Rollins C; Michael Leong, Kenyon C; Magdalena Zurawski, U of Georgia

Participants address the particular risks, stakes, and affordances of political poetry—the writing, reading, and teaching of it—in our current climate of genocide and authoritarianism.

428. Politics of Enlightenment

10:15–11:30 a.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the G. E. Lessing Society. Presiding: Willi Goetschel, U of Toronto

1. “‘Saxon Patriotism’ in Christian Felix Weiße’s Die Befreiung von Theben,” Guanqing Zhou, U Heidelberg

2. “Enlightening Hypocrisy (as Refracted through Mozart’s Magic Flute),” Ellwood H. Wiggins, Jr., U of Washington, Seattle

3. “The Limits of Tolerance: Tieck’s Reception of Nathan der Weise,” Laura Tedford, Columbia U

429. Contemporary Hungarian Women Writers and Directors

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Hungarian. Presiding: Atti Viragh, Bilkent U

Speakers: Teodora Domotor, Karoli Gaspar Reformatus Egyetem; Andrew DuBois, U of Toronto; Csaba Horváth, Karoli Gaspar Reformatus Egyetem; Shoshana Milgram Knapp, Virginia Tech; Kinga Nagy, Eotvos Lorand Tudomanyegyetem; Zsuzsanna Varga, U of Glasgow

Participants explore recent and post-1945 Hungarian female writers and directors, examining topics such as the framing of childhood experience of the Holocaust and the political upheavals of the later twentieth century, the obstacles of patriarchy and limited opportunities in male-dominated fields, and innovations in literary form and cinematic symbolism in areas such as ekphrasis, referentiality, gender representation, empathy, and attachment.

430. Translation and Cultural Change

10:15–11:30 a.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by LLC 20th- and 21st-Century Italian. Presiding: Salvatore Pappalardo, Towson U

Speakers: Silvia Guslandi, Villanova U; Patience Haggin, independent scholar; Sara Massafra, U of Massachusetts, Boston; Giovanni Miglianti, Colby C; Barbara Ofosu-Somuah, Duke U; Diana Thow, U of Iowa

Translations introduce new ideas, expand knowledge, and deepen understanding in distinct ways from technological, scientific, or political innovations. Drawing on both translation studies and Italian studies, participants explore changes literary translations have prompted in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and investigate the transformative power of translations by examining specific figures and texts.

431. Sexual Violence and Power: Sexual Assault as a Metaphor for Political Culture

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the Feministas Unidas. Presiding: Emily Hind, U of Florida

1. “Extreme Auteurism in Practice: A Kristevian Reading of Q’s Garbage,” Kuntal Bag, U of Kalyani

2. “Sexual Violence and Political Negotiation: Women’s Role in Mexican Comedia Ranchera Cinema,” Hugo Salas, U of Pennsylvania

3. “Sexual Violence as a Mise en Abyme: Exploring the Intersection of Power and Knowledge,” Laura Pavon Aramburu, U of California, San Diego

4. “Proposal to Revisit Discourses: Feminist Appropriations and Exclusions in Pola Oloixarac,” Lucía García-Santana, U of the South

Panelists explore the intersection of sexual violence, power, and political culture across various mediums, analyzing films, literature, and grassroots movements like #MeToo, focusing on gender, victimhood, and societal negotiation.

For related material, write to president.feministasund@gmail.com.

432. Approaches to Thinking Afro-Brazil

10:15–11:30 a.m., 710, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Luso-Brazilian. Presiding: Paulo Dutra, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

1. “Between Scholarly and Popular: Henrique Alves de Mesquita and the Construction of Brazilian Music,” Filipe Dias Vieira, Indiana U, Bloomington

2. “Pretuguês and Casa de alvenaria: Editing Carolina Maria de Jesus’s Diaries in the Twenty-First Century,” Marília Leite, U Federal de Santa Catarina

3. “Literature and the City: Milton Santos, Racialized Spaces, and Contemporary Brazilian Novels,” Ícaro Carvalho, U of California, Los Angeles

432A. Positive Solutions to Crumbling Academic Freedoms and Rights and Disappearing Positions

10:15–11:30 a.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Rights and Responsibilities. Presiding: E. Nicole Meyer, Augusta U

1. “Learning to Take Our Own Advice about Writing,” Ryan Skinnell, San José State U

2. “The Fragility of Free Speech: Lessons from the Legacy of Women against Pornography about Getting It,” Bilal Khan, U of Louisiana, Lafayette

3. “Pull Every Lever,” David Mazella, U of Houston

4. “Threats to Tenure and Possible Solutions at State Universities,” Julia Frengs, U of Nebraska, Lincoln

For related material, write to nimeyer@augusta.edu.

433. Family Ties and Intimacies in the Early Modern Hispanic World

10:15–11:30 a.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 16th- and 17th-Century Spanish and Iberian Poetry and Prose. Presiding: Daniela Gutierrez-Flores, U of California, Davis

1. “Exploring Familial Intimacies in the Poetry of Catalina Clara Ramírez de Guzmán,” Lizette Arellano, U of Chicago

2. “Mothers and Daughters: Saint Teresa of Ávila’s Literary-Spiritual Family,” Giada Mirelli, Indiana U, Bloomington

3. “Sor Juana’s Family (Un)Resemblances: Bonds, Echoes, and Estrangements,” Juan Manuel Ramirez Velazquez, Colgate U

434. Pedagogy and Student-Centered AI

10:15–11:30 a.m., 206E, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology. Presiding: Brandy Underwood, California State U, Northridge

1. “Noninnovative Student-Centered Teaching for Critical AI Literacy,” Amalia Herrmann, U of California, Irvine

2. “Doubling Down on the Humanities: Teaching Critical Thinking and Writing Skills in an Age of AI,” Elisa Tersigni, U of Toronto

3. “Student-Centered AI: Finding a Pragmatic Middle Ground,” Fatima Zohra, U of Waterloo

Respondent: Brandy Underwood

435. What We’ve Learned and Learned to Love about Our Work at Community Colleges: Holistic and Palpable Benefits

10:15–11:30 a.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Community Colleges. Presiding: Amee Schmidt, Marshalltown Community C, IA

Speakers: Cornelius Fortune, Bowling Green State U; Victoria Muñoz, Adelphi U; Melissa Rocha, U of California, Merced; Elizabeth J. Toohey, Queensborough Community C, City U of New York

Community colleges are vital institutions that provide students from under-resourced families and communities with direction and mentorship and develop the literacy skills of underprepared students. Faculty members from community colleges discuss their rewarding experiences, focusing on teaching, research, service, and mission.

436. Finding Your Fit: A Cover Letter Sandbox for Careers in the Humanities Ecosystem

10:15–11:30 a.m., Hall F, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Ayanni Cooper, MLA; Lauren Cox, U of Iowa

Sandboxes are hands-on miniworkshops that take place in the Professional Development Hub. Cover letters for jobs and careers within the humanities ecosystem rely on a set of genre conventions different from those found in traditional academic cover letters. This sandbox for early career scholars explores the cover letter genre using sample job advertisements, letter examples, and strategies for crafting your own documents. Bring a copy of your CV (digital versions acceptable).

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jC_WUwXKo7MV5cvNWGCsR5pAzXWCmMo_?usp=drive_link after 7 Jan.

437. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: The New and Future Labor Realities

10:15–11:30 a.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association of Departments of English. Presiding: Jason Rhody, MLA; Janine M. Utell, MLA

Speakers: Sherry Johnson, Grand Valley State U; Margie Nelson Rodriguez, El Paso Community C, TX

This interactive session provides an opportunity to review the forthcoming report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Academic Workforce in Languages and Literatures. After a snapshot of the committee’s findings, participants are invited to offer collaborative feedback on specific topics and generate recommendations.

438. The Humanities Funding Landscape

10:15–11:30 a.m., 606, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Office of the Executive Director. Presiding: Paula M. Krebs, MLA

Speakers: Carolyn Dinshaw, Mellon Foundation; Debra Humphreys, Lumina Foundation; Christopher Thornton, ACLS

Leaders from major US humanities funders discuss the role of philanthropy in supporting the humanities in higher education today and the challenges they and we are facing.

439. Drawing Place: Rust Belt Comics

10:15–11:30 a.m., 206C, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Katharine G. Trostel, Ursuline C

1. “Rust Belt as Mirror: Autobiographical Comics and the Representation of the Average,” Rafael Abrahams, Brandeis U

2. “Reclaiming the Sacrifice Zone, General Iron, and Alternative Rust Belt Futures,” Emiliano Aguilar, U of Notre Dame

3. “The Once and Future Rust Belt: Cleveland and the Archiving of Place in Paper Girls,” Valentino Zullo, Ursuline C

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/members/katietrostel/.

440. Academic Journals in an Age of Insecurity

10:15–11:30 a.m., Hall E, MTCC

Program arranged by MLA Periodicals. Presiding: Victoria Livingstone, MLN

Speakers: Maria del Carmen Caña Jiménez, Hispanófila; Victoria Livingstone; Laurence D. Roth, Modern Language Studies; Hank Scotch, Critical Inquiry

Editors of peer-reviewed journals discuss the challenges and opportunities for scholarly journals in the shifting landscape of academic publishing, focusing on editorial practices and publishing models. Attendees are invited to add their voices to an emerging understanding of the future of humanities journals and to develop resources for navigating the upended higher education ecosystem.

441. “Where Are the Experts?”: Expanding Notions of Expertise in Language Program Administration

10:15–11:30 a.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Second-Language Teaching and Learning. Presiding: Cori Crane, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

1. “Expanding Expertise through Shared Leadership and Rotating Coordination,” Angela Lee-Smith, Yale U

2. “Nothing Happens If You Don’t Let Go: Toward a Self-Determining Teaching Community,” Susanne Even, Indiana U, Bloomington; Lane Sorensen, Indiana U, Bloomington

3. “Looking Forward While Looking Backward: Language Program Administration in the Twenty-First-Century,” Hiram H. Maxim, Emory U

442. Why Continue Language Study? Incentivizing K–16 Pathways through Policy, Curriculum, and Outreach

10:15–11:30 a.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on K–16 Alliances. Presiding: Lydia Tang, MLA

Speakers: Maria Carreira, American Assn. of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese; Christopher Jacobs, U of Nebraska, Kearney; Felix Kronenberg, Michigan State U; Larry Paska, ACTFL; Christian Rubio, Bentley U

High school students in the United States are enthusiastic about language study: 158,384 students earned the Seal of Biliteracy in 2022–23, 177,819 took AP Spanish in 2024, and dual-enrollment programs are flourishing. Participants discuss effective strategies for incentivizing students to continue language study at the college level, focusing on credit policies, curricular innovation, and K–16 collaborations.

442A. Gen Z Teaching Gen Z in the John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines

10:15–11:30 a.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on the Status of Graduate Students in the Humanities. Presiding: Ryan Randle, Cornell U

Speakers: Asher Courtemanche, Cornell U; Dominique Joe, Cornell U; Lauryn Jones, Cornell U; Laila Nashid, Cornell U

What are the emerging needs of Gen Z students? How can we shift our pedagogy to meet them? Gen Z instructors at Cornell University discuss the unique advantages and disadvantages of being in the same generation as their students and provide insight on generational-specific pedagogy and classroom management tools that keep students engaged and thriving.

443. The African Literature Association (ALA) at Fifty: Memories, Reflections, and the Way Forward

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC African to 1990. Presiding: Lokangaka Losambe, U of Vermont

Speakers: Gaurav G. Desai, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Maureen Ngozi Eke, Central Michigan U; Juliana Nfah-Abbenyi, North Carolina State U; Tanure Ojaide, U of North Carolina, Charlotte

Speakers reflect on the contributions of the MLA and ALA toward the expansion of African literature and its criticism in US academia in the past fifty years. Issues include the MLA and the formation of the ALA, the ALA Women’s Caucus and the growth of women’s writings in the past fifty years, the ALA and human rights activism in Africa, PMLA, RAL, JAL, and the growth of African literary criticism; and the digitization of the ALA archives.

444. Margaret Fuller and Nineteenth-Century American Women Writers Observing Nature, Engaging Science

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the Margaret Fuller Society

1. “‘The Possibility of Mutual Flourishing’: Botany and Feminism in Transcendentalist Women’s Writing,” Alice de Galzain, Sorbonne U

2. “‘Science is very near us’: Dickinson and the Poetics of Science,” Thomas W. Howard, Bilkent U

3. “‘What Mystery Pervades a Well!’: Lynn Margulis in Conversation with Emily Dickinson,” Maxime Fecteau, U du Quebec, Montréal

Respondent: Christina Katopodis, Graduate Center, City U of New York

445. Black Literary Study, a Predicament of History

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 714B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Brittney Edmonds, U of Wisconsin, Madison

1. “C. L. R. James’s Early Interventions into the Americanist Literary Canon,” Ivy Wilson, Northwestern U

2. “Who Needs Historicism in African American Literature?,” Jesse McCarthy, Harvard U

3. “Still Human?,” Christopher Freeburg, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

4. “Black Modernism without Harlem,” Zoë Henry, Columbia U

446. Frost on Stage

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the Robert Frost Society. Presiding: Setsuko Yokoyama, Singapore U of Tech. and Design

1. “The Literary Conditions for Listening to Robert Frost in the 1940s through 1960s,” Jason Camlot, Concordia U

2. “Discovering Sondheim’s Frost: Profound Simplicity and Musical Drama,” Natalie E. Gerber, State U of New York, Fredonia

3. “Accenting Frost,” John Melillo, U of Arizona

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org after 5 Jan.

447. Public Canons

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Prose Fiction. Presiding: Autumn Womack, Princeton U

1. “The High School Canon,” Alexander Manshel, McGill U

2. “The Nonfiction Canon,” Laura McGrath, Temple U

3. “The Remix Canon,” Melanie Walsh, U of Washington, Seattle

4. “The Viral Canon,” Tess McNulty, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

448. The Futures of East Asian Comparative Literature: Obstacles and Opportunities

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 714A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC East Asian. Presiding: Satoru Hashimoto, Johns Hopkins U, MD

Speakers: Aoife Cantrill, U of Oxford; Wiebke Denecke, Massachusetts Inst. of Tech.; Nayoung Aimee Kwon, Duke U; Elvin Meng, U of Chicago; Jiwei Xiao, Fairfield U; Wayne CF Yeung, U of Denver

Area studies and comparative literary studies have changed much in the past 20 years. This session explores the futures of East Asian comparative literature. Our aim is to explore the ways in which East Asianists think transnationally and across languages to produce new scholarship from fresh perspectives. This includes textual dynamics involving East Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, as well as trans-Asian or transregional relationships.

For related material, write to lupke@ualberta.ca after 1 Dec.

449. Colonialism and Academic Imperialism: The MLA and Southeast Asia

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Southeast Asian and Southeast Asian Diasporic. Presiding: Nazry Bahrawi, U of Washington, Seattle

1. “Bandung as Method in Southeast Asia,” Nazry Bahrawi

2. “Academia, Colonialism, and the Arts in Southeast Asia: A View from Singapore,” Adam Knee, Lasalle C of the Arts

3. “Fictive Incoherence as Accountability in Cynthia Dewi Oka’s A Tinderbox in Three Acts,” Jasmine An, Fulbright U, Vietnam

4. “The Extrajudicial Game Aesthetics of Netflix Action Thrillers,” Elmo Gonzaga, Chinese U of Hong Kong

450. Doing Early Modernism with the Modernists, Doing Modernism with the Early Moderns

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the Modernist Studies Association. Presiding: Jessica Masters, U of Sydney

1. “Transhistorical Reading of the Early Modern and Modern Sonnet,” Stephanie Pietros, U of Mount Saint Vincent

2. “The Numbered Man and the Palazzo: Early Modern Visual Discourses in Barthelme,” Matthew Rooney, Western U

3. “The Girls with Burning Hinder Parts: Early Modern Bodies in Djuna Barnes’s Ladies Almanack,” Kate Schnur, Queens C, City U of New York

451. The Romantic Interleaf

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Byron Society of America. Presiding: Ruth Abbott, U of Cambridge

Speakers: Deidre Lynch, Harvard U; Michael Macovski, Georgetown U; Dahlia J. Porter, U of Glasgow; Emily Senior, U of Cambridge; Lucy Sixsmith, U of Cambridge; Andrew M. Stauffer, U of Virginia

Presenters discuss case studies and theories of Romantic practices of interleaving between 1750 and 1830, in search of family resemblances that could establish the Romantic interleaf as a new object of study.

452. Language Play in Old English Literature

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Old English. Presiding: Jennifer Lorden, William and Mary

1. “Precepts’ ‘Raw Materials’ and Early English Grammatical Play,” Shu-han Luo, U of California, Berkeley

2. “Hēafodmen: Symbolic Wordplay in Ælfric’s Passion of Saint Edmund,” David Sharp, Carleton U Library

3. “‘Sume fotum twam foldan peððað,’” Mary Blockley, U of Texas, Austin

4. “From Uprodor to Sægrund: Compound Usage as Allegorical Vehicle in the Old English Exodus,” Joshua Lee, U of California, Berkeley

453. Faces: Resemblances and Otherness in Global Literature

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum HEP Part-Time and Contingent Faculty Issues. Presiding: Pamela A. Lim-McAlister, U of California, Berkeley; Umar Shehzad, U of Edinburgh

1. “Facing Rodriguez: The Politics of Chicano Masculinity in Hunger of Memory,” Oscar Garcia, U of California, San Diego

2. “Reading and Teaching Monstrosity: Faces in Shelley’s Frankenstein and Danticat’s The Dew Breaker,” Elizabeth Weixel, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

3. “Emilia Pardo Bazán’s El encaje roto: Torn Lace, Unveiling the Face,” Pamela A. Lim-McAlister

4. “Face as a Marker of Criminality in James Joyce’s Ulysses,” Umar Shehzad

454. Defamiliarizing Normalcy: Disability Narratives on Film, Television, and Other Screens

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Disability Issues in the Profession. Presiding: Eduardo Ledesma, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

1. “Ability, Empathy, and the Alien in Under the Skin,” Colby Payne, U of British Columbia

2. “Cripping the Illness Narrative: Invisible Disability in Todd Haynes’s Safe,” Danielle Nelson, U of North Carolina School of the Arts

3. “The Disabled and Marginalized Eye: Dismantling Representations of Abnormality in El Marginal,” Caglar Erteber, Benedictine C

4. “Transactional Empowerment: Disability, Capitalism, and the Defamiliarization of Normalcy in Namib,” Dasom Han, U of Hawai‘i, Mānoa

For related material, visit disabilityonfilm.mla.hcommons.org/ after 15 Dec.

455. Transpacific Understandings of Indigenous Literature

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 710, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Yiwen Liu, U of Toronto

1. “People of Our Shore, People of Their Shore: Transpacific Indigeneity in Yuri Rytkheu’s Beringia,” Maria Whittle, U of California, Berkeley

2. “Trickster Signatures; or, Translated Rashomon Effects in Vizenor’s Hiroshima Bugi,” James Kiselik, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3. “Translating Indigenous Literatures across (Post–)Cold War Sinophone and American Contexts,” Faye Lu, U of California, Los Angeles

4. “The Ethics of Negotiating Cultural Positionalities: Han Chinese, Evenki, and Anglophone Perspectives in Chi Zijian’s The Last Quarter of the Moon,” Yiwen Liu

For related material, write to chriszj.song@utoronto.ca after 1 Jan.

456. Resistance, Resilience, and Rebellion: Emerging Women’s Voices from Conflict Zones

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Masrufa Nusrat, U of Texas, Dallas

Speakers: Sameera Abbas, U at Buffalo, State U of New York; Melissa M. Caldwell, Eastern Illinois U; Kimberly Teaman Carroll, California State U, Northridge; Arunav Das, U of South Carolina, Columbia; Kevin Gibbs, U of Texas, Austin; Colin Halloran, Old Dominion U; Nidhi Shrivastava, Sacred Heart U

Presenting women’s narratives from different global conflict zones against dominant proclaims, panelists critically analyze stories of sexually violated women from partition, birangona, rebellious indigenous women’s voices, Korean comfort women, sex slaves from Vietnam and Iraq, and Liberian women’s postcolonial oppression. The goal is to connect with the neglected voices through the healing and friendship of insightful dialogue.

For related material, write to man220000@utdallas.edu after 5 Jan.

457. Digital Methodologies in French Studies

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 18th-Century French and the forum LLC 19th-Century French. Presiding: Scott M. Sanders, Dartmouth C

1. “The Year 1805: Research and Engagement through Digital Humanities Pedagogy,” Jeffrey Leichman, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

2. “Adapting Digital Methods for Enlightenment Studies,” Chloe Edmondson, Stanford U

3. “AI-Assisted Distant Reading: Interrogating Plays through Prompt Engineering,” Scott M. Sanders

459. The Body as an Archive: Counterstories of Resistance

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 206D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Angelica Pesarini, U of Toronto

1. “We Share an Afternoon of Mourning: Grieving Empire and Embodiment in Black Aesthetics,” Matthew Molinaro, U of Toronto

2. “To Form a Pearl: On Tracing Embodied Memory through the Chinese Canadian Diaspora,” Lauren Warrington, independent scholar

3. “Reading Public Inscriptions of Love in Postcolonial India,” Ameen Ahmed, U of Toronto

For related material, write to angelica.pesarini@utoronto.ca.

460. Heine and His Contemporaries’ Bestiaries of Family Resemblances

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 606, MTCC

Program arranged by the North American Heine Society. Presiding: Jonathan S. Skolnik, U of Massachusetts, Amherst

1. “Heine and Börne: Family Resemblance as Uncanny Doubling,” Susan Bernstein, Brown U

2. “Heine’s Bestiary of Family Resemblances,” Willi Goetschel, U of Toronto

3. “Unwanted Relations: Heine’s Influence on Wagner’s Die Meistersinger,” Andrew Warren, independent scholar

461. Histories in Dante’s Commedia

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Dante Society of America. Presiding: Alejandro Cuadrado, Bowdoin C

1. “Toward a Dantean History of Science: On Astronomy and Astrology,” Louis Moffa, Columbia U

2. “Dante and Canon Law,” Grace Delmolino, U of California, Davis

3. “Dante’s Plurilingualism: In Search of a Vernacular Countercanon,” Max Matukhin, U degli Studi di Bergamo

4. “Dante’s Literary Exclusions,” Katherine Travers, U of Oxford

462. Retratos de familia: Family Portraits in the Colonial Ibero-American World

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Colonial Latin American. Presiding: Karen Stolley, Emory U

1. “Fate, Penitence, and Propitiatory Rituals: Tonalpohualli and Parenthood in Sahagún’s Book on Divination,” Giovanni Salazar Calvo, Oklahoma State U, Stillwater

2. “Fashioning Nobility: The Portraits of Indigenous Elites at Sutatausa,” Emiro Martínez-Osorio, York U

3. “Abandonment, Family, and Colonial Biographical Narratives,” José Cárdenas Bunsen, Vanderbilt U

For related material, write to kstolle@emory.edu after 15 Dec.

463. Indigenous Countermappings in Mexico

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Mexican

1. “Ambrotype Cosmovisions: Indigenous Countermappings through Photography,” Cristina E. Pardo Porto, Syracuse U

2. “An Aztec Invocation: The Afterlives of Conquest and Slavery and the Remaking of Urban Space,” Jose R. Diaz Vasquez, Stanford U

3. “Petro-Infrastructure and ‘Energopower’ in Panchito Chapopote, by Xavier Icaza,” Maria Hernández-González, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville

4. “Lived Spaces in Sixteenth-Century Indigenous Cartographies,” Amelia R. Mañas, U of Oklahoma

464. Displaced Families: Memory, Trauma, and the Limits of Kinship in Diasporic Writing

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Namrata Dey Roy, Georgia Inst. of Tech.

1. “Reproduction, Kinship, and the ‘Urban Indian’ in Tommy Orange’s Novels,” Alexandra Meany, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

2. “The Architecture of Loss in Sabba Khan’s What Is Home, Mum?,” Eleanor R. Ty, Wilfrid Laurier U

For related material, visit mlapanel.hcommons.org/2025/03/26/reproduction-kinship-and-the-urban-indian-in-tommy-oranges-novels-by-alexandra-meany/.

465. Silence, Compliance, Resistance: Politics in and out of Literary Institutions

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 205B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Russian and Eurasian. Presiding: Masha Shpolberg, Bard C

1. “Retreat or Innovation? Literary Scholars and Empirical Genres in the Post-Stalinist Period,” Lidia Tripiccione, Princeton U

2. “Dissident Knowledge: Pseudoscience in the Soviet Samizdat Journal Chasy,” Kate Tomashevskaya, U of Southern California

3. “The Czech Destiny Debate Revisited,” Daniel W. Pratt, McGill U

4. “New Languages of Resistance from the Moscow School of Modern Literature Practices,” Christy Monet, New York U

Respondent: Bradley Gorski, Georgetown U

466. Kinships and Coalitions

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on the Literatures of People of Color in the United States and Canada. Presiding: Josephine Park, U of Pennsylvania

1. “Beyond Blight: Vietnamese Refugee Solidarities after Hurricane Katrina,” Joanmarie Bañez, U of California, San Diego

2. “‘It’s a Silly Anxiety’: On Jackal, Haunting, and the Ruse(s) of Racial Progress,” Haylee Harrell, U of Houston

3. “‘Branches of the Same Tree’: Punjabi-Mexican Kinship in Passage West,” Natalia Reyes, U of Pennsylvania

4. “To Be Long: Queer Kinship in Caro De Robertis’s Cantoras,” William Orchard, Queens C, City U of New York

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/1vFHLuyMzVxVhQxIUl0FH8jKHAX1UbIBPYxR2FRlGTcI/edit?usp=sharing.

467. Tracing Kinships: Literacy Practices across Intellectual Homes

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum RCWS Literacy Studies

1. “Education as Homeplace: Literacy Practices, Generational Trauma, and Embodied Healing,” Jessica Hoff, Thorp Elementary School, WA; Aurora Matzke, California Polytechnic State U, Pomona; Christianna Nielsen, Plumas Christian School, CA

2. “Racial Literacy Practices across Transnational Asian Homes,” Nasiba Norova, U of Massachusetts, Boston

Respondent: J Wells, U of Kentucky

468. The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Advancing Humanistic and Community-Engaged Pedagogy

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the MLA Convention and Events. Presiding: Jennifer Maloy, Queensborough Community C, City U of New York

Speakers: Nicole Burgoyne, U of Chicago; Lauren Stacey Cardon, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Janae Corrado, Tarrant County College District; Jerrica Jordan, Tarrant County College District; Kelly Krumrie, U of Denver; Anna Maria Nogar, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Dali Tan, Northern Virginia Community C

Speakers discuss the scholarship of teaching and learning and demonstrate how community-engaged pedagogy builds community across and beyond colleges and academic disciplines, sharing current scholarly and pedagogical projects and exploring how they advance student learning outcomes across fields and bring more awareness of humanistic scholarship and teaching to nonacademics.

469. Pedagogical Approaches to AI in Environmental Literature and Rhetoric Courses

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session

Speakers: Brent Bellamy, Trent U; Dominic Boyer, Rice U; Megan Cole, Victor Valley C, CA; Nathaniel Otjen, Ramapo C

Ecohumanists from various institutions discuss approaches to teaching environmental literature and rhetoric while navigating the use of energy-intensive generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other large language models (LLMs) in our classrooms.

470. AI and the Typed Self

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 713B, MTCC

A special session

1. “We Want Your ‘Authentic Voice’…but Not If You ‘Sound like a Robot,’” Whitney Gegg-Harrison, U of Rochester

2. “The Essay-Writing Process and the Typed Self,” Nathan Murray, Algoma U

3. “Live the Questions: Responding to AI with the Exploratory Essay,” Matthew Parfitt, Boston U

4. “Self-Resuscitation: Rescuing Students’ Voices in a Chatbot World,” Sheila Batacharya, U of Toronto; Amanda Paxton, Trent U, Durham

473. Information as Science and as Theory

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 701A, MTCC

A linked session arranged in conjunction with the Presidential Plenary: What We Fight For (198). Presiding: Tina Lu, Yale U

Speakers: N. Katherine Hayles, Duke U; André Kessler, Cornell U

Two distinguished scholars who have thought deeply on the nature of information—a media theorist and critic and an evolutionary biologist—explore the materiality of information and the outcomes of considering information as a system rather than piecemeal. What do true conversations between disciplines imply?

474. Recovering Historical, Literary, and Cultural Texts

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Hall E, MTCC

Program arranged by the Association for Documentary Editing. Presiding: Nikolaus Wasmoen, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

1. “Encoded with Care: Balancing Copyright, Innovation, and Access for George Eliot’s Digitized Letters,” Beverley Rilett, Auburn U

2. “Minding the Gaps: Editing Jean Ingelow’s Correspondence,” Maura Carey Ives, Texas A&M U, College Station

3. “Developing an Online Learning Community for Editing and Recovery Practitioners: eLaboratories,” Katie Blizzard, U of Virginia

475. How Can We Reverse Enrollment Trends in Language Programs in the United States and Canada?

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the ALD Executive Committee. Presiding: Martha Daas, Old Dominion U

Speakers: Michael Long, Baylor U; Christian Rubio, Bentley U; LeAnne Spino-Seijas, U of Rhode Island; Scott Sterling, Indiana State U; Xinyi Tan, Coastal Carolina U

Enrollments in language programs in the United States and Canada have seen a sustained decline in recent years. Yet, despite the national downward trends, there are programs that are stable and even thriving. Panelists discuss concrete solutions, workflows, and necessary decisions that can stabilize programs and reverse trends; highlight areas of opportunity; challenge existing paradigms; and provide a forum for sharing solutions.

476. Chat with an Editor II

12:00 noon–3:00 p.m., Hall F, MTCC

This one-on-one mentoring session offers practical advice for early career scholars who are interested in publishing in scholarly journals. Members of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals serve as table moderators for authors who sign up in advance or attend on a walk-in basis. Topics of discussion include understanding author guidelines, submission processes, and queries.

476A. MLA Delegate Assembly

12:30–5:00 p.m., Hall G, MTCC 7569

Presiding: Herman Beavers, U of Pennsylvania

This meeting is only open to MLA members.

For related material, visit www.mla.org/DA-Agenda-2026 after 10 Dec.

477. Remembering Allen Ginsberg for His One Hundredth Birthday

1:45–3:30 p.m., Virtual

A plenary. Presiding: Hassan Melehy, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

1. “Allen as I Knew Him,” Gordon Ball, Washington and Lee U

2. “Allen Ginsberg as Photographer,” Ann D. Charters, U of Connecticut, Storrs

3. “Remembering Allen Ginsberg: Guilt by Association,” Regina Weinreich, School of Visual Arts

4. “Blessed Blessed Blessed in Sickness,” Stevan Weine, U of Illinois, C of Medicine, Chicago

To mark the enduring importance of Allen Ginsberg among the most acclaimed American poets and in commemoration of his one-hundredth birthday, presenters—distinguished scholars and writers who knew him as a friend and collaborator—speak of the strong influence of both his poetry and his friendship on their own work.

478. Black Women’s Literature: A Forthcoming Cambridge History

1:45–3:00 p.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Life Writing. Presiding: Joycelyn K. Moody, U of Texas, San Antonio; Nicole Morris Johnson, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

Speakers: Titilola Aiyegbusi, U of Toronto; Roselyne Gerazime, U of Illinois, Chicago; Bobbi Kindred, U of Texas, San Antonio; Cassander Smith, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

The coeditors of the forthcoming Cambridge History of Literature by Black Women in the United States describe their culturally informed process and vision for the work, and contributors discuss chapters on the following topics: colonial-era Black women’s life narratives, gender-queer sexuality, US and Caribbean Black familial relations, and pan-African women’s (auto)biography.

For related material, write to joycelyn.moody@utsa.edu after 20 Dec.

479. Faulkner’s Families, Family in Faulkner

1:45–3:00 p.m., 606, MTCC

Program arranged by the William Faulkner Society. Presiding: Frederique Spill, U of Picardie Jules Verne

1. “Candace, Caddy, Cad—Compson?,” Connor Bennett, U of Toronto

2. “How the Bundren Women Lose Themselves: The Poetics of Darkness in As I Lay Dying,” Nicholas Adler, Boston C

3. “Familial Fractures, Capitalist Time, and Unsettled Reprieve: William Faulkner’s ‘Barn Burning,’” Srimati Mukherjee, Temple U, Philadelphia

4. “The Discourse of Omission in Absalom, Absalom!,” Jennifer Cranfill, U of Texas, Dallas

480. 1776 and 2026

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206D, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Early American and the forum TC History and Literature. Presiding: Michelle Sizemore, U of Kentucky

1. “‘Our Lost Treasure’: Arendt and the Revolutionary Canon,” Timothy Sweet, West Virginia U, Morgantown

2. “Remembering Crispus Attucks in the Age of Dred Scott,” Lindsay DiCuirci, U of Maryland Baltimore County

3. “Depictions of Girlhood in 1776,” Emma K. McNamara, independent scholar

4. “The Declaration House: Then and Now,” Duncan F. Faherty, Graduate Center, City U of New York

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/early-american/.

481. Religion, Literature, and Palestinian Liberation

1:45–3:00 p.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Religion and Literature. Presiding: William Viestenz, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

1. “Susan Abulhawa’s Against the Loveless World and Ethics in a World of Strangers,” John Charles Hawley, Santa Clara U

2. “Atemporal Prison Breaks: Exiting the Simulation in Saleem Haddad’s ‘Song of the Birds,’” Le Raimondi, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

3. “Sufism, Zionism, and Palestinian Futures Past,” Brady Ryan, U of Connecticut, Storrs

482. (Im)Mobility in Korean Language, Literature, Culture, and Media

1:45–3:00 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Korean. Presiding: Ji-Eun Lee, Washington U in St. Louis

1. “Expanding the Borders of Late Colonial Korean Literary and Political Legitimacy: Writing Korea Outside Korea(n),” Jessica Morgan-Brown, U of Toronto

2. “Linguistic (Im)Mobility, Translation, and the Transformation of Korean Literary Language in the Late Colonial Period,” Mi-Ryong Shim, U of Georgia

3. “Questioning Mobility in Travel Writing: The Cold War Network and Cosmopolitanism in Postcolonial Korea,” Su Yun Kim, U of Hong Kong

483. Banned Books and Beyond: Censoring Practice in Late Imperial China

1:45–3:00 p.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Yiqun Zhou, Stanford U

1. “Navigating Translation and Censorship Rules: The Making of the Ming Veritable Records in Manchu,” Shoufu Yin, U of British Columbia

2. “Staging the Jin Ping Mei: Censoring Practice in China at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century,” Zhaokun Xin, U of Manchester

3. “Literary Censorship by Heavenly Bureaucrats: Immoral Literature in Late Qing Morality Tales,” Katherine Alexander, U of Colorado, Boulder

Respondent: Yiqun Zhou

For related material, write to zhaokun.xin@manchester.ac.uk after 15 Dec.

484. Ecocinema in the Early Twentieth Century

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Nathaniel McBride, Ohio State U, Columbus

1. “Nasty Neozoology: Bio-Affect and Jean Painlevé’s Cinematic Mutations,” Emma Ridder, U of California, Los Angeles

2. “Petromasculinity in Twentieth-Century Mexican Cinema,” Maria Hernández-González, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville

3. “Conservative Ecology in 1950s Spanish Film,” Nathaniel McBride

For related material, visit works.hcommons.org/collections/ecocinemaintheearly20thcentury/.

485. Conrad and the Global South: Networks of Relationality

1:45–3:00 p.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Joseph Conrad Society of America. Presiding: Alexia Hannis, U of Toronto, Victoria C

1. “North, South, and ‘the Terrific Enmity of Nature’ in Conrad’s ‘The Duel,’” Debra Romanick Baldwin, U of Dallas

2. “Race and Revolution in Conrad’s Nostromo,” Susan Z. Andrade, U of Pittsburgh

3. “‘Postcolonizing’ Conrad: Reading Joseph Conrad’s Singapore Writing from the Perspective of the Global South,” Pei-Wen Kao, National Ilan U

486. Digital Humanities and Contemporary Book Studies

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities and the forum TC Digital Humanities. Presiding: Brandon Walsh, U of Virginia

Speakers: Angelina Eimannsberger, U of Pennsylvania; Laura McGrath, Temple U, Philadelphia; Jacinta Saffold, Emory U; Carmen Thong, Stanford U; Melanie Walsh, U of Washington, Seattle

Speakers discuss the affordances of using digital methods to approach a range of topics related to contemporary literary production and reception globally: the role of literary publishing agents, how collective identities are formed through literary distribution, the intersections between social media and the publishing industry, and mechanisms of discovery for postcolonial literature.

487. Normal, Ideal, and Disabled Bodies in Twentieth-Century Anglophone Literature

1:45–3:00 p.m., 706, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jeremy Colangelo, Western U

1. “‘The Body Extended into Machine’: Orthopedic Disability and the ‘Mechanical Man’ in Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” Rafael Hernández, Boston U

2. “Resisting Recuperation of Black Disabled Womanhood in Toni Morrison’s Love,” Sarita Cannon, San Francisco State U

3. “Rhetorics of Selfhood: Neuroqueer Representations in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man,” Jeremy Colangelo

488. Performance and Affect in Early Modern French Theater

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206F, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: David R. Harrison, Grinnell C

1. “‘Au gué!’: Killjoy Nostalgia in Molière’s Le misanthrope,” Rupinder Kaur, Vassar C

2. “Performative Ruin(s): On Captivation and the ‘Corps Tractable’ in Jodelle’s Cléopâtre captive,” Alani Hicks-Bartlett, Brown U

3. “Turkish Habits: History, Fiction, and Authentic Representation in Jean Racine’s Bajazet,” Stacey Battis, Rhodes C

489. Comics without a Cure: Healthcare Stories in Words and Images

1:45–3:00 p.m., 712, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Davida Pines, Boston U

1. “Autographics of Grief: Approaching Assisted Dying through Sarah Leavitt’s Something, Not Nothing,” Jane Tolmie, Queen’s U

2. “Dementia and Embodied Selfhood in Comics from Singapore: Amazing Ash and Superhero Ah Ma,” Weihsin Gui, U of California, Riverside

3. “Relational Citizenship in the Comics of Long-Term Care: Dying for Attention and Little Josephine,” Davida Pines

For related material, write to dpines@bu.edu after 15 Dec.

490. Clapping Back: Responses from Sound Studies to Censorship and Silencing

1:45–3:00 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum MS Sound

1. “Mishearing the Familiar,” Alex Valin, U of Nebraska, Lincoln

2. “Silence, Exile, and Identity Formation,” Salwa Halloway, Princeton U

3. “The Dunn Meadow Listening Workshop: From Campus Protest toward Classroom Poetics,” Hoon Lee, Indiana U, Bloomington

4. “Amid the Noise: Listening to Domestic Soundscapes in and around the Encampment,” Ely Lyonblum, U of Toronto

Respondents: John Melillo, U of Arizona, Tucson; Setsuko Yokoyama, Singapore U of Tech. and Design

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org after 5 Jan.

491. Barbara Johnson’s “Apostrophe, Animation, and Abortion” at Forty

1:45–3:00 p.m., 714A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Heather Latimer, U of British Columbia, Okanagan

1. “Abortion, Personification, and the Politics of the Undecidable,” Karen Weingarten, Queens C, City U of New York

2. “Spectrality, Sympathy, Selfhood: The Poetics of Animacy in Early Modern Poetry and Pamphlet Literature,” Christine Varnado, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

3. “‘What Has She Truly Lost’: Motherhood, Metaphor, Materialization,” Abby Lacelle, U of Toronto

Respondent: Naomi E. Morgenstern, U of Toronto

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/core/.

492. The Body as a Medium: Florentina Holzinger and the Echoes of Radical Austrian Art-Literature-Theater

1:45–3:00 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Austrian Studies Association. Presiding: Teresa Kovacs, Indiana U, Bloomington; Caroline Lillian Schopp, Johns Hopkins U, MD

1. “Ungovernable Bodies: Corporeal Disciplining and the Gendered Logics of Dance in Florentina Holzinger,” Vanessa Parent, U of Montreal

2. “The Monster and the Medium: Posthumanist Embodiments in Florentina Holzinger’s Tanz,” Romney Walker Wood, Columbia U

3. “Out of the Undertow: Performing Oceanic Iconographies in Florentina Holzinger’s Ophelia’s Got Talent,” Nicole Rizzo, Indiana U, Bloomington

For related material, write to tekovacs@iu.edu2.

493. Stories of the Land and Land of the Stories: Critical Indigenous Literacies in Children’s and Young Adult Literature

1:45–3:00 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Presiding: Sayanti Mondal, Ithaca C

1. “Reclaiming the Future: Survival, Trauma, and Resilience in The Marrow Thieves and Hunting by Stars,” Doina Ciochina, U de Sherbrooke

2. “Apoqnmatultl’k Jiksktuali’lk and Wâhkôhtowin: Decolonizing Reading in Children’s and YA Literature,” Joanie Crandall, U of Northern British Columbia

3. “Indigenous Literacies and Epistemologies of the Nso’ People in Cameroon Children’s Literature,” Lendzemo Constantine Yuka, U of Benin

494. Family Resemblances in Boccaccio’s Works

1:45–3:00 p.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Boccaccio Association. Presiding: Sara Diaz, Fairfield U

1. “Rendering Hecuba: Pregnancy, Motherhood, and Canine Transformation,” Kathryn Lillian McKinley, U of Maryland Baltimore County

2. “Saladin, a Mediterranean Exemplar in Decameron 10.9,” Anna Dini, U of California, Berkeley

3. “Boccaccio’s Family Trees: On Olympia and Inheritance,” Jonathan Combs-Schilling, Ohio State U, Columbus

For related material, visit www.boccaccio-usa.org/events-conferences after 1 Dec.

495. Memories of Fire: Exploring Memory, Violence, and Narration in Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Latinx / Latin American Cultural Production

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century Latin American. Presiding: Tania Balderas, Dartmouth C

1. “Narratives of Dispossession: The Historical Novel and Memory in South America,” Lenin Lozano-Guzman, Bryn Mawr C

2. “Parsley Massacre and the Testimony of Form: Edwidge Dandicat’s ‘Nineteen Thirty-Seven’ and The Farming of Bones,” Esen Kara, Yasar U

3. “Home as a Place of Power and Family Bond: The Somoza Family House in Literature and Photography,” Carlos Villanueva Rodas, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

496. Terra Nullius for Sale: Aesthetic Responses to the Commerce of Puerto Rico

1:45–3:00 p.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Puerto Rican. Presiding: Natalie Belisle, U of Southern California; Israel Reyes, Dartmouth C

1. “Necropolitics, Necro-Ecologies, and the Female Body in Puerto Rican Visual Culture,” Desiree Diaz, Swarthmore C

2. “Archipelagic Timelessness and the Orlando Rican Experience,” Héctor Nicolás Ramos Flores, Colby C

3. “Bad Bunny’s Archival Arc: Witnessing and Documenting from ‘Estamos Bien’ to Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” Keishla Rivera-Lopez, CENTRO

Respondent: Carlos Rivera-Santana, William and Mary

497. Producing and Evaluating Style

1:45–3:00 p.m., 716A, MTCC

A special session

1. “Pragmatics and Style,” Billy Clark, Northumbria U

2. “Producing and Evaluating Adaptations,” Anne M. Furlong, U of Prince Edward Island

3. “Pragmatics and Creative Writing,” Tony Williams, Northumbria U

For related material, visit producingandevaluatingstyle.mla.hcommons.org.

498. Literary Studies in Canada: An (Un)Disciplinary Dialogue

1:45–3:00 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Canadian. Presiding: L. Camille van der Marel, MacEwan U

1. “Facing Disciplinarity: Racial Entanglement in Canadian Literary Studies,” Tavleen Purewal, U of New Brunswick

2. “Listening to Gail Scott’s Furniture Music from Academic Perspectives,” William Brubacher, McGill U

3. “Beyond the Neighbo(u)r Next Door: Canadian Literature as Literacy for Canadianness,” Claire-Marie Brisson, Harvard U

499. Intimacy and Care in Irish Art and Society

1:45–3:00 p.m., 206C, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Irish. Presiding: Ellen M. Scheible, Bridgewater State U

Speakers: Jane Elizabeth Dougherty, Southern Illinois U, Carbondale; Bridget English, U of Illinois, Chicago; Ryan Kerr, Broward C; Lucie Kotesovska, U of Victoria; Elizabeth J. Toohey, Queensborough Community C, City U of New York

Speakers explore representations of intimacy and care in Ireland, discussing interiority and self-care, the Irish family (including domestic labor), health humanities, and maternal caretaking.

500. Undergraduate Research and the Community College Mission

1:45–3:00 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Academic Program Services. Presiding: Michael Jacobs, Monroe Community C, NY; Janine M. Utell, MLA

Speakers: Thomas W. Blake, Monroe Community C, NY; Dana Gavin, Dutchess Community C, NY; Corrine Hinton, Lincoln Land Community C, IL; Jessica Lindberg, Georgia Highlands C

Participants discuss undergraduate research as integral to the community college mission, especially in expanding the boundaries of scholarship and creating new modes of knowledge discovery and production in service to community colleges and their stakeholders.

501. Family Resemblances and Intergenerational Language Change in Research and Teaching

1:45–3:00 p.m., 714B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Language Change

1. “Sociolinguistic Awareness of Translanguaging as Pedagogical Tool for Heritage Language Speakers,” Haley Patterson, Saint Mary’s C, MD

2. “Generational Shifts in Language: Exploring Language Change through Arts and AI,” Ismenia de Souza, US Air Force Acad.

3. “Language Change and Language Learning: Exploring French Negation in Corpora and Classrooms,” Bonnie Fonseca-Greber, U of Louisville

4. “The Etymological Glossing in Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh’s Legal Glossary,” Charlene M. Eska, Virginia Tech

502. Approaches to Teaching Arthurian Literature

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum CLCS Arthurian. Presiding: Dorsey Armstrong, Purdue U, West Lafayette

Speakers: Ann Howey, Brock U; Miriamne Ara Krummel, U of Dayton; Stacey Triplette, U of Pittsburgh, Greensburg; Kathryn Walton, Lakehead U; Ruth Cecile Wehlau, Queen’s U

To celebrate the forthcoming MLA volume Approaches to Teaching Arthurian Literature, participants share pedagogical approaches from a range of perspectives across languages, curricula, and course levels.

503. Navigating Comfort, Confidence, and Courage in the Classroom: A Workshop

1:45–3:00 p.m., 715A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Julie Bowman, U of Massachusetts, Dartmouth; Alexis Teagarden, U of Massachusetts, Dartmouth

Speakers: Julie Bowman; Erika Luckert, U of Southern Mississippi; Julien Strong, Central Connecticut State U; Alexis Teagarden

Blending the generic shift in classroom pedagogy with attention to affective states, learning, and social change, participants demonstrate how courage and risk-tasking (and their attendant affective states) are central for students and teachers in the humanities classroom.

For related material, write to julie.bowman@umassd.edu after 4 Jan.

504. Community College Strengths: Team Practice, Collaborations, and Public Humanities

1:45–3:00 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum HEP Community Colleges

1. “We’re in This Together: Public Humanities as a Way to Engage Students and Local Communities,” Heather Harris, Community C of Baltimore County, MD

2. “Where Is the Community College Classroom? Seeking Social Justice, Finding Social Agency,” Maureen E. Ruprecht Fadem, Kingsborough Community C, City U of New York

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/higher-education-practices-hep-board-for-the-two-year-college/.

505. The Future of Graduate Education

1:45–3:00 p.m., 710, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Academic Program Services. Presiding: Jason Rhody, MLA

Speakers: Danielle Nicole DeVoss, Michigan State U; Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Michigan State U; Lauryn Jones, Cornell U; James Van Wyck, Princeton U; Chantelle Warner, U of Arizona, Tucson

Participants consider the future of graduate education for language and literature programs within the larger context of ongoing changes to funding models and pressures faced by programs and students alike, contributing to the ongoing ACLS project The Future of Graduate Education, funded by the Mellon Foundation.

506. Threat(s) of Erasure

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Profession. Presiding: Regis Fox, Florida Atlantic U

1. “Unmaking Progress: The Systematic Erasure of Programs in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and LGBTQ Narratives at California State University,” Melissa Saywell, California State U, Los Angeles

2. “Black Studies, Gender Studies, and the Threat of Institutional Erasure,” Jaz Riley, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

507. Sandbox on Public Writing

1:45–3:00 p.m., Hall F, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Andrea Kaston Tange, Macalester C

Sandboxes are hands-on miniworkshops that take place in the Professional Development Hub. In this sandbox, participants learn how to frame research as a public topic. The session focuses on the idea of pitching: narrowing a topic, figuring out the nut graf, writing a compelling pitch, and determining the best venue.

508. Advocacy for World Languages: Sustainable Strategies That Work

1:45–3:00 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the ALD Executive Committee. Presiding: John Baskerville, Jr., US Military Acad.

Speakers: Deborah Cohn, Indiana U, Bloomington; Felix Kronenberg, Michigan State U; Deborah Streifford Reisinger, Duke U; Dali Tan, Northern Virginia Community C; Suwako Watanabe, Portland State U

In a time of budget constraints and declining enrollments, advocacy for the study of world languages should be an integral part of our profession. Presenters share a range of strategies for effective advocacy—many drawn from the MLA’s forthcoming advocacy handbook—including building partnerships with local communities, increasing the visibility of world languages on campus and beyond, and engaging students to foster their investment in language study.

509. Contemporary Queer African Literatures

3:30–4:45 p.m., 803A, MTCC

A special session

Speakers: Naminata Diabate, Cornell U; Z’étoile Imma, Tulane U; Babacar M’Baye, Kent State U

Contemporary queer African literatures are enjoying an undebatable rise in number and popularity, in spite of the host of political, economic, cultural, and other challenges authors and presses face. Participants explore the shared experiences, as well as the notably diverse range of authors and approaches, to find the source of this rising tide, as well as what its future portends.

510. Life Writing’s Uses and Abuses

3:30–4:45 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 19th-Century American. Presiding: Koritha Mitchell, Boston U

1. “‘No Schemes Too Wild’: A Quiet Reading of Black Women’s Life   Writing in the Era of Slavery,” Ariel Lawrence, Emory U

2. “Elizabeth Keckley and the Crip Reenvisioning of Reconstruction’s Citizenship Practices,” Stephen P. Knadler, Spelman C

3. “‘Who Is He That Would Become My Follower?’: Walt Whitman and F. O. Matthiessen,” Jay Grossman, Northwestern U

4. “Against the Clinical Gaze on Life Writing: Louisa May Alcott and Self-Narrated Gender,” Eagan Dean, C of Wooster

511. The Study of High School English

3:30–4:45 p.m., 601A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Scott L. Newstok, Rhodes C

1. “The Institution(s) of High School English,” Alexander Manshel, McGill U

2. “Rebellious Subjects: Teaching and Learning Romeo and Juliet,” Andrew Newman, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

3. “Morrison on Goodness,” Annie Abrams, Bronx High School of Science, NY

For related material, visit highschoolenglish.hcommons.org/.

512. Everywhere below Canada: The Black South Migrates outside the South

3:30–4:45 p.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for the Study of Southern Literature. Presiding: Allison Harris, U of North Carolina, Wilmington

1. “Placing Displacement in Morrison’s Paradise,” Cole Morgan, U of California, Irvine

2. “When That Other Sun Sets: What Happens to Black in the West?,” Wendy Thompson, San José State U

3. “Portable Souths: Automobility and White Supremacy in Great Migration Literature,” Kaitlyn Smith, Georgia Tech

4. “Sun Ra, Duke Ellington, André 3000, and the Cosmic Age: Reading the US South in Outer Space,” Joanna Davis-McElligatt, U of North Texas

513. Not with a Bang: T. S. Eliot’s Century

3:30–4:45 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the International T. S. Eliot Society. Presiding: Claire Battershill, U of Toronto

1. “Modernist Impersonality in the Age of AI,” Megan Quigley, Villanova U

2. “T. S. Eliot, Christopher Okigbo, and the Poetics of Supersession,” Erin Symons, U of Edinburgh

3. “Notes for a Gendered Reading of T. S. Eliot’s Plays,” Didac Llorens-Cubedo, U Nacional de Educación a Distancia

4. “T. S. Eliot and the World’s End,” Gabrielle McIntire, Queen’s U

514. Disability, Illness, and Climate Change

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum TC Medical Humanities and Health Studies and the forum TC Disability Studies. Presiding: Sony Coráñez Bolton, Amherst C; Sarah Orem, U of Southern California

1. “Flourishing Horror: Gender, Capitalism, and the Body in Fool Night,” Cynthia Wing Nga Lam, Western U

2. “Mad in a Mad World: Examining Madness in Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Series,” Heather O’Leary, U of Illinois, Chicago

For related material, write to sorem@usc.edu.

515. Fact, Fiction, and the In-Between: How Japanese Studies Can Foster Student Literacy in an Age of Dis- and Misinformation

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Japanese to 1900

Speakers: Erin L. Brightwell, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Malgorzata Citko-DuPlantis, U of Tennessee, Knoxville; Vee Kennedy, U of Central Florida; Jingyi Li, Occidental C; Kevin Mulholland, U of Montana

Students today face unprecedented amounts of dis- and misinformation any time they go online. Their ability to spot and distinguish between active misrepresentations or fabrications, ill-informed or incomplete misunderstandings, and reliable or responsible presentations affects what they access, where they look, and whom they trust in their research. Panelists discuss Japanese studies–based pedagogies that focus on digital literacy, AI, and propaganda.

For related material, write to elbright@umich.edu.

516. Literary Landscapes in Punjab: Textualities, Genres, and Historicalities

3:30–4:45 p.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session

1. “Punjabi Lok Rit (‘Folk Tradition’) and the Critical Interventions of Najm Hosain Syed,” Anne Murphy, U of British Columbia

2. “From Greek to Punjabi: The So-Called Benefits of World Literature,” Fatima Afzal, U of British Columbia

3. “Beyond Biography: The Suraj Prakash as Commentary on Its Times,” Jvala Singh, U of California, Berkeley

4. “Stories within Poems: Architextuality and Genre Crossing in Gurbilās Literature,” Julie Vig, York U

517. Late Romantic Survivals

3:30–4:45 p.m., 606, MTCC

Program arranged by the North American Society for the Study of Romanticism. Presiding: Tilottama Rajan, Western U

1. “‘A World Forgotten of the Sun’: Decadent Ghost-Poems as a Romantic Afterword/Afterworld,” John Rooney, Ohio State U, Columbus

2. “‘All Night in a Waste Land’: Tennyson’s Idylls of the King and the Romantic Waste of the 1830s,” Andrew Sargent, Western U

3. “The Lifted Veil and Romantic Prometheanism,” Matthew Sussman, U of Sydney

518. Encounters between Catalan Studies and the Global Hispanophone

3:30–4:45 p.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Catalan Studies and the forum CLCS Global Hispanophone. Presiding: Leslie Harkema, Baylor U

1. “Accenting Race in Josep Folch i Torres’s Massagran and Its Afterlives,” Tania Gentic, Georgetown U

2. “Parallel Marginalizations: Coloniality and Empire in Lluís Ferran de Pol’s Érem quatre,” Adam Singh, Indiana U, Bloomington

3. “Queer Margins and Colonial Legacies: Ibero-Moroccan Narratives in Contemporary Catalonia,” Cristián Horacio Ricci, U of California, Merced

4. “Colonizers Colonized? Discourses of Conquest and Tourism in Catalonia,” Anna Casas Aguilar, U of British Columbia

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/catalan-studies/.

519. Radical Lineages

3:30–4:45 p.m., 604, MTCC

Program arranged by the Radical Caucus in English and the Modern Languages. Presiding: Barbara Clare Foley, Rutgers U, Newark

Speakers: Brent Bellamy, Trent U; Martin Jensen, U of Kentucky; Jap-Nanak Makkar, U of Kentucky; Geordie Miller, Mount Allison U; Juan Rodriguez Barrera, Illinois Wesleyan U

We make our own history under the given and inherited circumstances with which we are directly confronted, to paraphrase Marx’s Eighteenth Brumaire. Speakers explore radical political lineages, tracing how class struggle connects across historical and geographic sites, to compare social movements, including those within and against the MLA, or analyze literary and cultural texts engaged in the struggle.

520. Père/Parrastre, Mère/Nourrice: Family Resemblances, Connections, and Conflicts in Medieval Romance Epics

3:30–4:45 p.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Société Rencesvals, American-Canadian Branch

1. “Family and Friends: Patterns of Kinship in Extrafamilial Relationships,” Paula E. Leverage, Purdue U, West Lafayette

For related material, write to azg0090@auburn.edu.

521. “The Texture of the Weave”: Navigating the Limits of Representation in Experimental Literature and Documentary Film

3:30–4:45 p.m., 205D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Marianna Hagler, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

1. “To Write an Intertextual Life: Orlando, My Political Biography as Documentary Adaptation,” Michaela Kotziers, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

2. “‘The Wholeness of Holes’: Reorienting Reading Modes in Documentary Poetry,” Carlina Duan, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

3. “Experimental Arabic Prison Literature: On the Urgency and Impossibility of Legibility,” Sheera Talpaz, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

For related material, write to ccduan@unc.edu.

522. Ideas of Cognition

3:30–4:45 p.m., 716B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 19th-Century French. Presiding: Darci Gardner, Appalachian State U

1. “Knowing Not Knowing: The Cognitive Reality Effect in Nineteenth-Century France,” Deborah Jenson, Duke U

2. “Imagining the Avant-Garde: The Psychology of Idealist Criticism,” Catherine Talley, Skidmore C

3. “L’illusionnisme en acte: L’art de la formule chez Villiers de l’Isle-Adam,” Patrick Theriault, U of Toronto

4. “From Saccades to Silent Film to Score: Technologies of Musical Literacy in Fin de Siècle Paris,” Jacek Blaszkiewicz, Wayne State U

524. Masters of Whose House? Haunted Spaces and Familial Migratory Narratives in Contemporary Cinema

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206F, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Aliyah Alsaber, Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic U

1. “Angst beyond Nostalgia: Extalgic Hauntings, Troubled Familial Migration, and Ghostly Spaces in His House,” Ibrahim Williams, U of Mississippi

2. “Liminal Djinn: A Hauntology of Immigrant Families’ Pasts in Kourosh Ahari’s The Night,” Aliyah Alsaber

3. “Haunted Genealogies and Academic Migration in Mariama Diallo’s Master,” Laura Evers, Washington U in St. Louis

525. Rhetoric’s Role and Responsibility in Times of Peril

3:30–4:45 p.m., 205B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum RCWS History and Theory of Rhetoric. Presiding: Shui-yin Yam, U of Kentucky

Speakers: Caddie Alford, Virginia Commonwealth U; Sarah Moon, Roger Williams U; James Chase Sanchez, Middlebury C; Karrieann Soto Vega, Penn State U, University Park; Fatima Zohra, U of Waterloo

Panelists discuss the roles and responsibilities of rhetoric at a time of political upheaval.

526. Beyond Binaries: Literary Translation as Textual Kinship

3:30–4:45 p.m., 706, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jenny Bhatt, U of Texas, Dallas

1. “Translation as Textual Kinship in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose,” Jenny Bhatt

2. “Translation as Intimacy: Experimentation and Collaboration in the Works of Araghi and Nakayasu,” Clara Burghelea, U of Texas, Dallas

3. “Finding Ortese’s Voice for Ferrante Fans: A Stylometric Study of Neapolitan Chronicles,” Patience Haggin, independent scholar

527. Movement, Exchange, and Encounters in Early Modern Germany

3:30–4:45 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for German Renaissance and Baroque Literature. Presiding: Aleksandra Prica, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

1. “Woodcut Reuse in Early Modern Epic Poetry Collections,” Florian Geddes, U of Toronto

2. “Consumption in Fortunatus,” Christopher Hutchinson, U of Mississippi, Oxford

3. “AI before AI: Premodern Combinatorics,” Erik Born, Cornell U

528. Indigenous Declarations of Sovereignty: Early Native Responses to US Nationhood

3:30–4:45 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Early American. Presiding: Drew Lopenzina, Old Dominion U

1. “Representing Indigenous Nationhood in Maungwudaus’s Account of the Chippewa Indians,” Jenna Hunnef, U of Saskatchewan

2. “Uncertain Remains in A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison,” Jeffrey Adams, Syracuse U

3. “‘Adieu for Ever’: Speaking of Sovereignty in the Wolastoqiyik Declaration of War against the English,” Rachel Bryant, U of New Brunswick

4. “Rhetorics of Indigenous Land Laws in the Era of European Travelers and United States Treaty Writing,” Allison Siehnel, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

529. Family Resemblances: Genealogies of Influence in Italian Literature and Culture

3:30–4:45 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-Century Italian. Presiding: Daniela D’Eugenio, U of Arkansas, Fayetteville

1. “Perspectives on Women’s Aging in the Italian Ottocento,” Viola Ardeni, California State U, Sacramento

2. “Genealogies of Realism: Verga, Capuana, and Pirandello’s Early Fiction,” Bradford A. Masoni, independent scholar

3. “Gabriele d’Annunzio’s Syncretism and the Legacies of Nineteenth-Century Evolutionary Anthropology,” Michael Subialka, U of California, Davis

530. Editing and Translating Colonial Latin American Texts

3:30–4:45 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Colonial Latin American. Presiding: Caroline Egan, Northwestern U

1. “Translating Miguel Cabello Valboa’s Story of Failure in the Province of Esmeraldas,” Catalina Andrango-Walker, Virginia Tech

2. “‘Curvaceous Form of Ordered Sound’: A Sourcebook for Musical Thought in Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz,” Sarah Finley, Christopher Newport U

3. “Translating Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora’s Paraíso occidental: An Intersectional Feminist Approach,” Stephanie Louise Kirk, Washington U in St. Louis

4. “Rediscovering the First Afro-Brazilian Poet: Editing Unpublished Poems by Domingos Caldas Barbosa,” Filipe Dias Vieira, Indiana U, Bloomington; Bruna Kalil Othero Fernandes, Indiana U, Bloomington

531. Tracing Multilingualism in China: Late Imperial Era to Modern Times

3:30–4:45 p.m., 206E, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Richard VanNess Simmons, U of Hong Kong

1. “Mandarin Varieties in the Late Ming and Early Qing,” Richard VanNess Simmons

2. “Incomplete Localization: Three Translations of Aesop’s Fables in the Min Dialects,” Sixing Chen, Fujian Normal U

3. “The Secret Code to Wealth: Pidgin English in Late Qing Novels,” Yuqing Liu, U of Edinburgh

4. “Languages on the Periphery: Hunan as a Site of Language Contact and Convergence,” Robert Marcelo Sevilla, U of Hong Kong

For related material, write to chensx31@fjnu.edu.cn.

532. We Can’t Ask Alice: Grappling with the Canadian Literature Canon, Childhood Abuse, and Critical Complicity

3:30–4:45 p.m., 715B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Heidi Tiedemann Darroch, Camosun C

Speakers: Sarah Caskey, U of Toronto; Nadine Fladd, U of Waterloo; Julie H. Rivkin, Connecticut C

Panelists grapple with the complex biocritical legacy of the Canadian short story writer Alice Munro. In the wake of Munro’s 2024 death, her children attested to Munro’s knowledge that her youngest daughter, Andrea Robin Skinner, was sexually abused by Munro’s longtime partner. How do we read and teach Alice Munro now, in particular the stories “The Children Stay,” “Open Secrets,” “Vandals,” and “Silence”?

533. Andalusia and Its Exteriorities

3:30–4:45 p.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century Spanish and Iberian. Presiding: Lennie Amores, Lincoln U

Speakers: Sandra Baena Velázquez, New York U; Tania Flores, Stanford U; Ana León-Távora, Salem C; Kelly Moore, U of Virginia; Alicia Piñar Díaz, Johns Hopkins U, MD

Participants take a transhistorical and transnational approach to Andalusia and its exteriorities as sites of resistance, looking at Romani culture, flamenco and other performing arts, and the feminism and antiracism contesting cultural, economic, and political periphery in Spain’s national narratives.

534. Discussion Group on AI in the World Language Classroom

3:30–4:45 p.m., Hall F, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Professional Development. Presiding: Christopher Kaiser, Columbia U

Participants explore the promises and pitfalls of generative AI in world language education—from lesson planning to assessment, student feedback, and AI literacy. How can instructors lead ethically and effectively amid known biases and evolving tools? The discussion group is open to both experienced users and those new to generative AI.

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/14GWL_qu-lFUEWAqORmJ4NSE6SMTMxWdLLbTxHAWN9G0/edit?tab=t.0.

535. Bridging Texts, Communities, and Disciplines: Innovative Approaches to Teaching Chinese Literature

3:30–4:45 p.m., 709, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Yun Zhu, Temple U, Philadelphia

Speakers: Géraldine Fiss, U of California, San Diego; Shaohua Guo, Carleton C; Dorothee Hou, Moravian U; Xin Yang, Macalester C; Zhenxing Zhao, Singapore U of Tech. and Design; Yun Zhu

Echoing the presidential theme, panelists exchange inspiring and innovative ideas about bridging texts, communities, and disciplines in teaching Chinese literature.

536. Frames of Resistance: Feminist Embodied Pedagogy in the Graphic Novel Classroom

3:30–4:45 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Jenessa Kenway, Georgia Inst. of Tech.

1. “From Panel to Pedagogy: Rhetorical Embodiment in Visual Storytelling,” Jenessa Kenway

2. “Transcending Embodied Gender Norms through the Graphic Novel,” Kelleen O’Connell-Mock, C of Southern Nevada

3. “Therapeutic Representation in Alison Bechdel’s Are You My Mother?,” Shoshana Magnet, U of Ottawa

Presentations connect feminist embodied pedagogy to graphic novels and provide classroom demonstrations of embodied comic sketching, exploring therapy through comics, and personal rhetorical situation monsters generated with AI.

For related material, visit hcommons.org/groups/frames-of-resistance-feminist-embodied-pedagogy-in-the-graphic-novel-classroom-2058713937/admin/group-settings/.

537. Pathways to the PhD: Updated Advice for Graduate Students in 2026

3:30–4:45 p.m., 714A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on the Status of Graduate Students in the Humanities

1. “Redrawing the Map: Navigating Graduate School across Disciplines and Life Stages,” Steve Tu, U of Toronto

2. “Toxic Frameworks of PhD Programs,” Celiese Lypka, U of Calgary

3. “Persistence, Resilience, or Resistance? Navigating the Crooked Pathways through the PhD,” Jesse Alemán, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

4. “What’s Next? Prepping Mid-Career PhDs for Life: From Academia to Industry,” Desmond Kemp, Kennesaw State U

538. Issues with Special Issues

3:30–4:45 p.m., Hall E, MTCC

Program arranged by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals. Presiding: Sarah Salter, Emory U

Speakers: Amy Kahrmann Huseby, Rice U; Justin A. Joyce, Washington U in St. Louis; Kelly McKisson, Rice U; Benjamin Schreier, Penn State U, University Park; Gary Totten, U of Nevada, Las Vegas

Respondent: Debra Rae Cohen, U of South Carolina, Columbia

A conversation about the special, particular, and spectacular ways that special-issue editorial work dovetails with journal mandates and processes. Panelists highlight practices and experiences editing or overseeing special issues, constituting editorial collectives for thematic issues, or working with other special-issue formats.

539. Overcoming Competing Concerns in Language Education Discourse

3:30–4:45 p.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Second-Language Teaching and Learning and the American Association of University Supervisors, Coordinators and Directors of Language Programs. Presiding: Janice McGregor, U of Arizona, Tucson

1. “Countering Discourses of Instrumentalism and Irrelevance: Benefits beyond Language Proficiency,” Carlo Cinaglia, Michigan State U; Matt Coss, Michigan State U; Anne Violin-Wigent, Michigan State U

2. “Care, Surveillance, and the Pedagogical Gaze,” Barbara Schmenk, U of Waterloo

3. “Hope and Hospitality as Alternative Frames for a New Public Discourse on Languages,” Chantelle Warner, U of Arizona, Tucson

539A. The Importance of Upper Research Leadership for Humanists

5:15–6:30 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Office of the Executive Director. Presiding: Paula M. Krebs, MLA

Speakers: Shelome Gooden, U of Pittsburgh; Kevin Hamilton, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Christine Mallinson, U of Maryland Baltimore County; Kristy Nabhan-Warren, U of Iowa; Aimee Kendall Roundtree, Texas State U; Geoffrey Thun, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Research officers from the humanities, arts, and social sciences talk about how to promote, support, and advance opportunities for humanities and humanities-adjacent research, discussing what kinds of work faculty members can do on their campuses to gain support for humanities research and how faculty members in the humanities can shift into senior research leadership positions.

540. Queer African Writers: Reading and Discussion

5:15–6:30 p.m., 803B, MTCC

Speakers: Jude Dibia, writer; Frieda Ekotto, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Uzodinma Iweala, writer; Max Lobe, writer

Participants address a significant gap in contemporary literary discussions surrounding African literature, identity, and queerness, aiming to provide a platform for queer African writers to discuss the complexities of writing within a context that is often hostile to both queer identities and literary innovation.

541. Towheads, Loaded Dogs, and Worms: Family Resemblances in the Writings of Mark Twain

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206C, MTCC

Program arranged by the Mark Twain Circle of America. Presiding: Edward A. Shannon, Ramapo C

1. “Sandbars, Shoals, and Towheads in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Jack Love, Texas A&M U, College Station

2. “Australia Barks Back: Mark Twain’s Animals, Henry Lawson, and Ecological Imperialism,” Thomas Bryant, Penn State U, University Park

3. “Nations of Worms (and Bats): Mark Twain and Dan Beard’s Collaboration on A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” Edward A. Shannon

542. New Directions for Asian American Literary Studies

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Asian American. Presiding: Chris A. Eng, U of Maryland, College Park

1. “Everything Everywhere All at Once: Multiverse as Metaphor for ADHD,” Jumi Bello, U of Nevada, Las Vegas

2. “Eulogies from Junk Food Lovers: Rethinking Sweetness in Asian American Gastropoetics,” Nayoung Yang, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

543. Animals and More-than-Human Relationality in Korean Literature and Culture

5:15–6:30 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Korean. Presiding: Ivanna Yi, Cornell U

1. “Animals and the Environment in Premodern Korea: A Cultural History,” George Kallander, Syracuse U

2. “Working Animals, Working Humans: The Contested Terrain of Animal Welfare in 1920s Korea,” Janet Y. Lee, Keimyung U

3. “Cattle and Silkworms as Members of the Farm Family,” Vanessa Baker, Indiana U, Bloomington

4. “Rooted Resistance: Vegetal Beings in Contemporary Korean Literature,” Jeeah Ham, U of Texas, Dallas

544. Spectral Kinships: The Churail and the Gothic Double in South Asian Narrative Traditions

5:15–6:30 p.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Komal Nazir, Oklahoma State U, Stillwater

1. “Remaking India through Folklore and Female Agency in Bulbbul,” Anmol Dutta, Western U

2. “Thinking about Women: Maya, a Case Study of Transgression and Retaliation,” Lisin Tharania, Indian Inst. of Tech., Madras

3. “Maintaining the Hindutva Status Quo in Pari through the Bangladeshi Muslim ‘Monstrous Other Feminine,’” Sanchari Sur, Wilfrid Laurier U

4. “Tawa’if-Mother-Churail: Matrilineal Hauntings in Bhool Bhulaiyaa and the Stree Films,” Labiba Naeem, U of Toronto

545. Victorian Leisure: Rest and Recreation in the Age of Production

5:15–6:30 p.m., 716B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Colleen McDonell, U of Toronto

1. “The Absence of Leisure in Victorian Culture,” Charlie Tyson, Harvard U

2. “Maggie Plays Études: On Musical Leisure in the Victorian Novel,” Elizabeth Weybright, Barnard C

3. “Gawker’s Paradise: Reflections at the Westminster Aquarium,” Ryan Stafford, U of Toronto, Scarborough

4. “‘Invalids and Pleasure Seekers’: Self-Help, Leisure, and the Victorian Vacation,” Nicole Dufoe, York U

For related material, visit victorianleisure.mla.hcommons.org.

546. The Poetics and Performance of Middle English Drama

5:15–6:30 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Middle English and the Medieval and Renaissance Drama Society. Presiding: Nicole R. Rice, Saint John’s U, NY

1. “‘Bore of a Barrany Body’: Prayer, Lyric, and Other Hollow Forms in the N-Town Mary Play,” Krista Telford, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

2. “Affect and Alliteration in The Castle of Perseverance,” Polina Svadkovskaia, U of Ottawa

3. “The Nightman Cometh: Metabolic Rift, Labor, Soil, and Scat in Mankind,” H. M. Cushman, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

547. Marlowe Matters? Race Making, Disability Aesthetics, and the Global in the Plays of Christopher Marlowe

5:15–6:30 p.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Marlowe Society of America. Presiding: Lucy Munro, King’s C London

1. “On the Intraracial Color Line: Marlowe, Whiteness, and Edward II,” David Sterling Brown, Trinity C, CT

2. “Marlowe and Disability,” Katherine Schaap Williams, U of Toronto

3. “Global Marlowe(s),” Sarah Dustagheer, U of Kent

Respondent: Katherine Walker, U of Nevada, Las Vegas

For related material, visit www.marlowesocietyofamerica.org after 1 Dec.

548. Political Imperatives: Answering to the Present

5:15–6:30 p.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Restoration and Early-18th-Century English. Presiding: Rebekah Mitsein, Boston C

1. “Palestine and the Legacy of Eighteenth-Century Cross-Cultural Encounters,” Angelina Del Balzo, Utah Valley U

2. “The Ingratitude of a Commonwealth: Coriolanus from the Exclusion Crisis to Today,” Michael Vaclav, Shepherd U

3. “Public Diplomacy and Political Opinion in Restoration England,” Carmen Nocentelli, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

4. “The Problem of Expertise for Humanistic Thought,” Peter DeGabriele, Mississippi State U

549. Affect, Attention, and Afterlife: Reading Ulysses with the Body

5:15–6:30 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the International James Joyce Foundation. Presiding: Thomas Gurke, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

1. “Joyce, Affect, and the Human(ist) Body,” Thomas Gurke

2. “Ulysses, the Work of Mourning, and the Attention Economy: Toward a Modernist (Non)Elegy,” Ryan Kerr, Broward C

3. “Family ReJoyce, a Short Film,” Godfrey Jordan, independent scholar

550. Figures in Central and East European Comparatism: Comparative Cultural Geographies

5:15–6:30 p.m., 606, MTCC

Program arranged by the Romanian Studies Association of America. Presiding: Anca E. Parvulescu, Washington U in St. Louis

Speakers: Stefan Baghiu, Lucian Blaga U; Marius Hentea, U de Poitiers; Natasa Kovacevic, Eastern Michigan U; Christian Moraru, U of North Carolina, Greensboro; Adriana Stan, U Babeş-Bolyai; Karlis Verdins, Latvijas U

A comparative cultural geography, East Central Europe is a birthplace of literary comparatism. Speakers address multilingual literature and the challenges of creolization, contributions of Romani culture, regional Islamic cultures, immigrant writers, the sociolinguistic landscape, media across borders, identity in diverse communities, and the opposing forces of globalization and deglobalization.

551. The Future of Languages in the City

5:15–6:30 p.m., 205, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Literatures of the United States in Languages Other Than English. Presiding: Preetha Mani, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

1. “The Challenges Facing Spanish in Toronto, the Most Multilingual City in the World,” Martha Batiz, York U

2. “South-South Conviviality: Mapping Multilingual Literatures in London Publishing,” Paulo Horta, New York U, Abu Dhabi

3. “Between Markaz and Dabistān: City Thinking in Urdu Literature and Criticism,” Zain Mian, U of Toronto

4. “Multilingualism in a City of Bridges,” Jeannine Pitas, Saint Vincent C

552. Nature and Culture in Poetry and Poetics

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206E, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Pre-14th-Century Chinese and the forum GS Poetry and Poetics. Presiding: Yunshuang Zhang, Wayne State U

Speakers: Giacomo Berchi, Stanford U; Timothy Billings, Middlebury C; Greg Ellermann, Yale U; Evan Nicoll-Johnson, U of Alberta; Benjamin Ridgway, Swarthmore C; Yunshuang Zhang, Wayne State U

Respondent: Jane Mikkelson, Yale U

Participants explore the intricate interplay between nature and culture in poetics across Chinese, Near Eastern, South Asian, and European literature, examining how poets across different historical and geographic contexts have shaped and reshaped the boundaries between the natural world and human creativity.

553. Exploring Home, Displacement, and Women’s Experiences in French and Francophone Literature and Cinema

5:15–6:30 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the Women in French. Presiding: Amina Saidou, James Madison U

1. “Displacement and Doubling: Trauma and the Quest for Identity in Breath, Eyes, Memory,” Sokhna Thiaw, U of Iowa

2. “La sixa et le harem: Deux espaces de déshumanisation de la femme africaine,” Gerard Keubeung, McDaniel C

3. “Inheriting the Impossible: Writing and Home in Léonora Miano’s Stardust,” Hugo Bujon, Emory U, Oxford C

4. “Sentiment d’appartenance dans le film Chocolat: Identité et tension entre vulnérabilité et résilience,” Amina Saidou

554. Children’s Literature as Public Humanities

5:15–6:30 p.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Presiding: Philip Nel, Kansas State U

Speakers: Supriya Baijal, independent scholar; Betsy Bird, Evanston Public Library; Sara Lindey, Saint Vincent C; Noah Mullens, U of Florida; Lissa Paul, Brock U; Anita Rescia, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

Speakers consider children’s literature as public humanities. Stories for young people already function as public humanities, inviting young people, their families, and communities to grapple with many pressing subjects: immigrants’ rights, the climate crisis, the rise of right-wing populism, silenced histories, abolition. Their success in addressing these and other issues is why conservative legislators are banning them.

555. Tongues of Belonging: Language, Race, and Education in the Italian Diaspora in North America (1910–67)

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206D, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Franco Pierno, U of Toronto

1. “Imparare la propria lingua: Italian Language Instruction in Canada (1910–40),” Mattia Ragazzoni, U of Toronto

2. “Crossing the Color Line with Dante: The Italian Language Press and Racial Mediation in the US South,” Matteo Brera, Seton Hall U

3. “Beyond Language: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Cultural Assimilation in Leonard Covello’s Vision,” Carmen Petruzzi, U of Foggia

For related material, visit www.msca-dashow.com/mla2026.

556. Film as Film History, Film and Film History

5:15–6:30 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum MS Screen Arts and Culture. Presiding: Katherine Fusco, U of Nevada, Reno

1. “No Pics, No Proof: Archival Speculation and Racialized Spectacle in Jordan Peele’s Nope,” Michael Harrington, New York U

2. “Laughing All the Time: Anita Loos’s Hollywood History,” Katherine Fusco

3. “Faire bande à part: Agnès Varda and the French New Wave,” Iliana Cuellar, U of California, Riverside

4. “Reflexive Nostalgia: Historicizing the Postmodern ’90s in Contemporary Film,” David Schwartz, U of Kentucky

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/ after 1 Dec.

557. The Trans South

5:15–6:30 p.m., 205A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Southern United States. Presiding: Jaime Harker, U of Mississippi, Oxford

Speakers: AJ Baginski, Texas A&M U, College Station; Marleigh Campbell, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Ashley Clemons, California Polytechnic State U, San Luis Obispo; Phillip Gordon, U of Mississippi, Oxford; Amanda Mixon, Texas State U

The long history of LGBTQ+ resistance and community in the US South has always been anchored by trans people and will continue to be. Building on the work of scholars such as John Howard, Jules Gill-Peterson, and C. Riley Snorton, panelists explore the Trans South, past, present, and future.

558. Rhizomatic Diasporas: Migrant Interculturalism and the Micropolitics of Identity in Diasporic Literatures

5:15–6:30 p.m., 604, MTCC

A special session

1. “Undoing the Unbelonging: Narratives of Home and Transpacific Connections,” Kyoko Sato, U of Toronto

2. “Fragmented Belonging: Reimagining Nostalgia and Identity in Northeast Indian Diasporic Literature,” Tina Borah, U of Georgia

3. “Seeking Family and Plantedness through Lebanese Elders and Literature,” Victoria M. Abboud, U of Windsor

4. “Narrativizing Interethnic Food Relationalities between African and Indian Descendent Women after 1838,” Saide Singh, U of California, Santa Barbara

559. How Can Black Poetry and Asian American Poetry Work Together? Asian Perspectives on Institutional Violence

5:15–6:30 p.m., 602A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jang Wook Huh, Seoul National U

1. “Curating Sonic Multiculturalism: Amiri Baraka and Lawson Fusao Inada at the Basement Workshop (1978),” Eunice Lee, Harvard U

2. “Listening against School: Ross Gay and Patrick Rosal’s Classroom Poetics,” Hoon Lee, Indiana U, Bloomington

3. “Stand Up: Nathaniel Mackey and the Improvisation of Agency in Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings,” Jang Wook Huh

560. Translating Rhythm in World Poetry

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Gabriella Bedetti, Eastern Kentucky U

Speakers: Jody Ballah, U of Cincinnati, Blue Ash C; Don Boes, Bluegrass Community and Technical C, KY; Subrata Chandra Mozumder, U of Louisiana, Lafayette; Eric Prieto, U of California, Santa Barbara; Douglas Robinson, Chinese U of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; Jean-Jacques Thomas, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

Translators, poets, and scholars discuss how rhythm controls poetry and translation. How do poets establish voice and orality, resist stasis, and bring about self-interruption? How do poems create disruption, dislocation, resistance, and agency? How do translators embody rhythm for and through the voice? Participants and attendees engage with selected poems and translations to see how movement and interruption transform language and meaning.

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XFIHNrS1p3lLMqHDHr9TSkAD7S_LOHRC?usp=sharing.

561. Open Session in Premodern German Literature and Culture

5:15–6:30 p.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC German to 1700. Presiding: Christopher Hutchinson, U of Mississippi, Oxford

1. “When Books Speak: Reassessing the Text and Image Relationship in Medieval German Manuscripts,” Landon Reitz, U of Toronto

2. “Recontextualizing the Loyschieren-Excursus of Wolfram von Eschenbach’s Willehalm,” Hannah Robinson, U of Toronto

3. “Skewering Science: Reinhart Fuchs as Demon Doctor,” Philip Liston-Kraft, Harvard U

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/ after 8 Jan.

562. Dante and Kinship

5:15–6:30 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Association for Italian Studies. Presiding: Elizabeth Coggeshall, Florida State U

1. “Seeds, Roots, and Branches: Dante’s Botanical Lineages,” Martina Franzini, Johns Hopkins U, MD

2. “‘Biondo era e bello e di gentile aspetto’: Manfred and the Swabian Dynasty in the Commedia,” Attilio Cicchella, U degli Studi di Torino

3. “Kinship in Dante’s Tenzoni,” Savannah Cooper-Ramsey, Community C of Philadelphia, PA

4. “Dante’s Diachronic Citizenships,” Alejandro Cuadrado, Bowdoin C

563. Thinking with Plants and Animals through Latin American Texts

5:15–6:30 p.m., 602B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Oscar A. Pérez, Skidmore C

Speakers: Vanesa Miseres, U of Notre Dame; Jonathan Mulki, U of California, Davis; Kate Ostrom, Wayne State U; Niall Peach, U of Cincinnati; Beatriz Rivera-Barnes, Penn State U, Scranton; Victor Sierra Matute, Baruch C, City U of New York

Respondent: Cristina E. Pardo Porto, Syracuse U

Panelists explore the intersection of critical plant studies and critical animal studies in Latin American cultural production, reconsidering the ethics, agency, and representation of nonhuman life by examining literature, film, and visual arts from the region. Discussion focuses on how plants and animals shape multispecies narratives, challenging human-centered frameworks in the humanities.

564. Cultures of Climate in the Eighteenth Century

5:15–6:30 p.m., 206F, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS 18th-Century. Presiding: Sarah Benharrech, U of Maryland, College Park

1. “Watching the End of Nature: J. B. de Grainville’s Le dernier homme (The Last Man),” Hanna Roman, Dickinson C

2. “Toward a Temperate Tropics,” Li Qi Peh, Nanyang Technological U

3. “Maroon Meteorology: Johannes King and the Climate of Coloniality,” Emery Jenson, U of Wisconsin, Madison

4. “Dorothy Wordsworth’s Climates: The Grasmere Journals and Climate Justice,” Lauren Cooper, Syracuse U

565. LSL General Linguistics General Business Meeting

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LSL General Linguistics. Presiding: Catherine Fountain, Appalachian State U

566. Family Resemblances: Acts of Kinship, Comparison, and Relational Thinking in Lusophone Cultural Production

5:15–6:30 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Global Portuguese. Presiding: Daniel Da Silva, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

1. “Family Resemblances: An Intermedial Perspective in Aline Motta’s Work,” Fernanda Guida, Spelman C

2. “Alternative Configurations of Family and Home in Contemporary Brazilian Fiction,” Sophia Beal, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

3. “Fraternidade: Cultural Politics, Brotherhood, and Appeals for Solidarity,” C. Darius Gordon, Johns Hopkins U, MD

4. “Family, Sisterhood, and War Memories in Paulina Chiziane’s The First Wife,” Regina Castro McGowan, City C, City U of New York

Respondent: Daniel Da Silva

567. Poetry, Objects, and the Material Turn in Occitan Literature and Song

5:15–6:30 p.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Occitan. Presiding: María Sánchez-Reyes, California State U, Long Beach

1. “Makeover Advice in Occitan ‘Ensenhamen’ Poems of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries,” Sarah-Grace Heller, Ohio State U, Columbus

2. “Learned by Heart: Citation, Composition, and Transmission in Chansonnier R,” Anya Wilkening, Katholieke U Leuven

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/occitan/ after 8 Jan.

568. Navigating Greenland: Written Space, Geopolitical Place

5:15–6:30 p.m., 710, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Old Norse. Presiding: Andrew McGillivray, U of Winnipeg

1. “Reading Greenlandic and Icelandic First-Contact Narratives Together,” Timothy Bourns, U of Washington, Seattle

2. “Threads of Continuity and Change: Textiles, Heritage, and Identity in Medieval Greenland,” Meghan Anne Korten, U of Iceland

3. “Greenland and the Politics and Poetics of (In)Equality in Halldór Laxness’s Gerpla,” Julian Mendoza, U of Turku

4. “Thorfinnr and the Bear: Child Exposure in the Norse Greenland Colony in Flóamanna saga,” Robin Waugh, Wilfrid Laurier U

569. Food Representation in the Hispanic World

5:15–6:30 p.m., 802B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Mariana Zinni, Queens C, City U of New York

1. “Surviving the Borderlands: Food, Gender, and Identity in Boullosa’s Texas: The Great Theft,” Song No, Purdue U, West Lafayette

2. “Resistance through Food in Encarnación Pinedo’s El cocinero español,” Salma Valadez-Marquez, U of Oregon

3. “Disturbing Meals: Scatological and Morbid Food Representations in 1960s Spanish Dark Comedies,” Diana Jorza, Saint Mary’s C, IN

For related material, visit hcommons.org/groups/food-representation-in-the-hispanic-world/.

570. Two- and Four-Year Institutions: Members of the Same Academic Family?

5:15–6:30 p.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Community Colleges. Presiding: Douglas Keith Anthis, Houston Community C, TX

1. “Family Connections: Similarities between Language Programs in Four-Year and Two-Year Institutions,” Douglas Keith Anthis

2. “Family Bonds: Community Colleges and Four-Year Institutions Shaping the Future of World Language Education,” Erika Stevens, Walters State Community C, TN

571. Let’s Talk: Discussion in the Literature Classroom

5:15–6:30 p.m., 714A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM The Teaching of Literature. Presiding: Jessica DeSpain, Southern Illinois U, Edwardsville

Speakers: Angela Acosta, U of South Carolina, Columbia; David Bleich, U of Rochester; Brian Croxall, Brigham Young U, UT; Edrik Lopez, Choate Rosemary Hall, CT; Shannon Mooney, U of Massachusetts, Amherst; Billie Tadros, U of Scranton

We use discussion to teach literature, but sometimes students don’t speak when prompted. How do we get our students to talk about books? Speakers provide strategies, ideas, and real-life experiences to improve student learning through the discussion of literature.

572. Making Room for Understudied Texts

5:15–6:30 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the MLA Publications Committee. Presiding: Manish Sharma, Concordia U

Speakers: Jamie Carr, Niagara U; Andrew Clark, Brown U; Emma K. McNamara, independent scholar; Srimati Mukherjee, Temple U, Philadelphia; Carly Nations, U of Texas, Austin; Andrea Pauw, Christopher Newport U; Eric Strand, BNU-HKBU United International C

Introducing and reconsidering less frequently taught texts and arguing for their place in today’s classrooms, speakers discuss works by Paul Adam, Willa Cather, Howard Fast, Christopher Isherwood, Sally Rooney, and Olive Schreiner, as well as aljamiado literature of medieval and early modern Iberia.

573. Student Perceptions of AI Use in English Composition Courses at HBCUs

5:15–6:30 p.m., 712, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Adele Newson-Horst, Morgan State U

Speakers: Krishna Bista, Morgan State U; Robert Matunda, Morgan State U; Paul Mukundi, Morgan State U; Adele Newson-Horst

Panelists from Morgan State University (an HBCU) present a recent study on student perceptions of AI use in English composition courses. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, collecting data from 455 students enrolled in first- and second-year English composition courses.

For related material, visit msuscholars.mla.hcommons.org/.

575. Reception Arranged by the Margaret Atwood Society

7:15–8:30 p.m., Alberta, Fairmont Royal York

576. ALCESXXI Meet and Greet

7:15–8:30 p.m., Algonquin, Fairmont Royal York

578. Toni Morrison’s A Mercy in Focus

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Arianna James, Boston U

1. “Ghosts of 1676: A Mercy in King Philip’s Shadow,” Jack Bradford, U of Virginia

2. “‘Own Yourself’: Possession and Paranormal Ownership in A Mercy,” Lindsay Brown, Lafayette C

3. “Reconfiguring the Act of Reading: Cognitive Estrangement and Reader Engagement in A Mercy,” Jaya Shrivastava, National Inst. of Tech., Srinagar

579. Face, Head, Brain: Reading, Writing, and Embodied Form

8:30–9:45 a.m., 606, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Maria Farland, Fordham U

1. “The Brain of Andrea Long Chu,” Monique Rooney, Australian National U

2. “The Face without an Image: Taste and Identification in Madame Bovary,” Rochelle Rives, Borough of Manhattan Community C, City U of New York

3. “Marianne Moore’s Trans Poetics: A Refacement,” Benjamin Kahan, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

580. “If I Had Your Body”: Resemblance and Decolonizing Bodies in Korean Visual Media

8:30–9:45 a.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Korean. Presiding: Jooyeon Rhee, Penn State U, University Park

1. “The Sensory Emergence of Other Bodies in Korean Sci-Fi Literature,” Sung Yeun Kim, Yonsei U

2. “Bodies in Silence and Sound: Representing Deafness in Contemporary South Korean Audiovisual Narrative,” Hwajin Lee, Seoul National U

3. “‘Yongmo tanjŏng, Unmarried, at Least 160cm in Height,’” So-Rim Lee, U of Pennsylvania

4. “Global Affects and the Problem with K-Culture,” Michelle Cho, U of Toronto

581. Navigating Language and Politics in 1980s Sinophone Cultures

8:30–9:45 a.m., 715B, MTCC

A special session

Speakers: Géraldine Fiss, U of California, San Diego; Alison Groppe, U of Oregon; Li Guo, Utah State U; Jack Hang-tat Leong, York U; Jessica Tsui-Yan Li, York U; Wen-chi Li, U Bern; Chris Song, U of Toronto; Hongmei Sun, George Mason U

Participants explore the relationship between language and heterogeneous discourses of Sinophone subjectivity in the shifting linguistic, cultural, and geopolitical spaces of the 1980s, discussing how feminist, nativist, indigenous, diasporic, or politically dissident expressions contribute to a linguistic pluralism in the era’s Sinophone literature, film, media, and popular cultures.

For related material, write to li.guo@usu.edu after 1 Dec.

582. Shavian Family Resemblances

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: James Armstrong, City C, City U of New York

1. “‘People with Unimproved Minds’: Shavian Fathers and Resistance to the Ideal Paterfamilias,” Dibasi Roy, Diamond Harbour Women’s U

2. “Eugenic Laughter, Universal Laughter: Shaw’s Physiological Dramaturgy,” Alice Clapié, Columbia U

3. “Reconsidering the Unpleasant: Victorian Morality and the Censorship of Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” Dan Stuart, Texas Tech U

For related material, visit shavianfamily.mla.hcommons.org/.

583. Brave Sermons: Religious Speech and the Struggle for Justice

8:30–9:45 a.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Religion and Literature. Presiding: John Charles Hawley, Santa Clara U

1. “Transnational Solidarity and Social Reform: Charles Dall’s Unitarian Mission in Bengal,” Shaibal Dev Roy, U of Southern California

2. “‘A Brother Named Buddha’: Skillful Adaptation in Buddhist Racial Justice Discourse,” Kyle Garton-Gundling, Christopher Newport U

3. “‘All Right, Then, I’ll Go to Hell’: Rachel Held Evans, Huckleberry Finn, and Queer Christianity,” Melodie Roschman, U of Waterloo

584. Doors and Gates to the Ottoman Empire

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Sennur Bakirtas, San José State U

1. “Affective Encounters: Grace Ellison, Ottoman Women Writers, and Emotions in Travel Writing,” Emel Zorluoglu Akbey, Erzurum Technical U

2. “The Ottoman Empire via Mexico: Kerouac and the South-of-the Border Hajj,” Frank Gunshanan, Daytona State C

3. “Gothicizing Ottoman Lands: John Polidori’s The Vampyre,” Selçuk Yazıcı, Ataturk U

4. “Writing in Motion: Montagu’s Rhetoric of Travel and Uncertainty,” Yingnan Shang, U of Cambridge

For related material, write to bakirtassennur@gmail.com after 1 Dec.

585. Routes, Resemblances, and Correspondence in Présence Africaine

8:30–9:45 a.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the Modernist Studies Association and the American Comparative Literature Association. Presiding: Joel Rhone, U of Louisiana, Lafayette

1. “Family Resemblances: Présence Africaine and the Genres of Anticolonialism,” Peter J. Kalliney, U of Kentucky

2. “Fires in the Hearth: Présence Africaine as Cold War Ideological Battleground,” Christopher T. Bonner, Texas A&M U, College Station

3. “Family Rift: Modernist Realignments during the Early Years of Présence Africaine,” Fatoumata Seck, Stanford U

For related material, visit docs.google.com/document/d/1Oth66agg0JOkLSGXi7g3AL69_290KWOUVHRd2gRj4_k/edit?tab=t.0.

586. Reading Crosswords

8:30–9:45 a.m., 605, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: David Ben-Merre, Buffalo State U, State U of New York

Speakers: Rachel Fabi, State U of New York, Upstate Medical U; Natan Last, independent writer; Adrienne Raphel, Baruch C, City U of New York

Continuing a dialogue among the crossword and reading, writing, and critical practices, panelists reconsider how crossword puzzles touch on deeper social and cultural consciousnesses. Crosswords can change social perceptions, metaphorically leveling social strata and letting cultures be accessed in new and significant ways. What does it mean to read a crossword?

587. Narrating Queer Pasts and Futures at “the End of AIDS”

8:30–9:45 a.m., 709, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Danielle Shaw, West Valley C

1. “Left Melancholy and Historical Revisionism of AIDS and HIV in American Horror Story: NYC,” Christian Frantz, U of Sussex

2. “Excavating Queer Pleasure after AIDS in Todd Haynes’s Velvet Goldmine,” Danielle Shaw

3. “The ‘Australian Response,’ HIV/AIDS Etiquette, and Their Troubling Supplements,” Leigh Boucher, Macquarie U

For related material, visit queerpastsandfutures.mla.hcommons.org after 1 Jan.

588. The Family Plot Thickens: Psychoanalysis Returns to Literary Studies

8:30–9:45 a.m., 703, MTCC

A special session

1. “Toward a Bionian Theory of Reading,” Valerio Amoretti, U of California, Santa Barbara

2. “Affective Affinities: Between the ‘Ontological Clinic’ and ‘Too-Close Reading,’” James Curley-Egan, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

3. “The Involuntary Reader: Rhythm, Relationality, and the Poetics of Estrangement Presentation,” Neta Kleine, Yale U

4. “What the Self: Object Relations and the Autotheoretical Impulse,” Yael Segalovitz, U of California, Berkeley

590. Hebrew Literature in Crisis, Hebrew Literature and Crisis

8:30–9:45 a.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Hebrew. Presiding: Oded Nir, Queens C, City U of New York

Speakers: Naomi Brenner, Ohio State U, Columbus; Cynthia Gabbay, Humboldt-U zu Berlin; Allison Schachter, Vanderbilt U; Sheera Talpaz, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Scholars of modern Hebrew literature and culture reflect on the state of Hebrew cultural production and scholarship in the contemporary world. Panelists consider the stakes of researching and teaching Hebrew culture in precarious contexts, from contemporary diasporic Hebrew writers to affective dynamics of national trauma to the pragmatic and ethical dimensions of Hebrew literary production.

591. Like Mother, Like Daughter? Female Genealogies across Documents, Texts, and Objects

8:30–9:45 a.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Medieval and Renaissance Italian. Presiding: Jonathan Combs-Schilling, Ohio State U, Columbus

1. “Not-So-Distant Relatives: Margherita Costa and Arcangela Tarabotti,” Sara Diaz, Fairfield U

2. “Mothers of Invention: Female Genealogies and Literary Forgery in Early Modern Italy,” Laura Ingallinella, Wellesley C

592. Engaging Technocracy in the Modern Hispanic World

8:30–9:45 a.m., 803A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Carles Ferrando Valero, Bowling Green State U

1. “Speculative Fiction and Anti-Utopian Technocractic Society in Fin-de-Siglo Spain,” Anna Torres-Cacoullos, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

2. “Technofascism: On Madness and the Twilight of Neoliberal Reason,” Jose Luis Suarez Morales, Texas Christian U

3. “Mobility, Space, and Sensory Experience in Ricardo Montiel’s ‘Estar montado,’” Elizabeth Barrios, Albion C

593. Latin American Literatures of Internal Migration

8:30–9:45 a.m., 601B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Tess Renker, Georgetown U

1. “From the Plantation to the Monte: Esteban Montejo’s Black Ecology in Biografía de un cimarrón,” Monica Styles, Howard U

2. “Violence, Labor, and the Realist Novel: Rethinking Migration in Latin American Literature,” Lenin Lozano-Guzman, Bryn Mawr C

3. “Archival Kinship and Migration in Cristina Rivera Garza’s Autobiografía del algodón,” Zyanya Doniz Ibañez, Georgetown U

4. “‘Un brusco deseo de volver’: Counterfoundational Fictions in Daniela Catrileo’s Piñén and El territo,” Oriele Benavides, Princeton U

594. Spain, Hot and Cold: Thermal Affects in Spanish Culture

8:30–9:45 a.m., 601A, MTCC

A special session

1. “Let It Burn: Destruction and Environmental Changes in Carlos Saura’s Deprisa, Deprisa,” Justin Berner, New York U

2. “Paradise or Refuge: Asturian Music on a Warming Planet,” Luke Bowe, Kenyon U

3. “‘Aquí no hay invierno’: Thermoregulation and Domestic (Dis)Comfort in Francoist Spain,” Renee Congdon, Princeton U

595. Translanguaging as a Discursive Practice and Pedagogy: Insights from Three Contexts

8:30–9:45 a.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LSL Applied Linguistics. Presiding: Mahmoud Azaz, U of Arizona, Tucson

1. “Translanguaging in Content-Based Arabic Instruction: Exploring Classroom Dynamics,” Mahmoud Azaz; Ebtissam Oraby, George Washington U

2. “Translanguaging with AI in a Multilingual Digital Humanities Classroom,” Sayan Bhattacharyya, Yale U

3. “‘Codecloseting,’ Opacité, and the Racialized Politics of Linguistic Performativity,” Leland Harper, Siena Heights U; K. Adele Okoli, U of Central Arkansas

596. Spaces for Agency: Pedagogy and Environmental Advocacy in the Twenty-First-Century Classroom

8:30–9:45 a.m., 712, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Kurt Fosso, Lewis and Clark C

1. “‘But, Can They Suffer?’: Animal Rights, Cultural History, and Classroom Advocacy,” Kurt Fosso

2. “Curating Agency: Environmental Advocacy in Museums and Galleries,” Angie Dunstan, Queen Mary U of London

3. “Sustainability under Pressure: Environmental Advocacy and Colonial Legacies in Curriculum Design,” Valentina Aparicio, Queen Mary U of London

4. “Teaching Environmental Justice in Precarious Times,” Seth T. Reno, Auburn U, Montgomery

597. Radical Pedagogies and Institutional Change: Historical Perspectives and Global Contexts

8:30–9:45 a.m., 711, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Hester Baer, U of Maryland, College Park

1. “Between Reform and Revolt: Film Education at the Ulm School for Design, 1962–68,” Hester Baer; Angelica Fenner, U of Toronto

2. “Aama Samuha: Knowledge Production in the Indigenous Gurung Community,” Menuka Gurung, U of Texas, El Paso

3. “In from the Margins: Disability, DEI, and Dead Pedagogy,” David Gooblar, U of Iowa

4. “The Radical Pedagogy of Photovoice,” Renuka Khatiwada, U of Texas, El Paso

For related material, visit radicalpedagogies.mla.hcommons.org/.

598. Reimagining Language and Culture Immersion Today

8:30–9:45 a.m., 707, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Charlee Bezilla, U of Maryland, College Park

Speakers: Ian Carroll, U of California, Los Angeles; Marilyn Matar, U of Maryland, College Park; Leo Schauer, U of Wisconsin, Madison

How can language and culture immersion programs survive and thrive amid changing institutional, sociopolitical, and economic environments? These programs offer crucial opportunities for learners to develop linguistic and cultural competencies and expand students’ perspectives. Participants include immersion program leaders from around the world, who focus on innovations in program structures and cocurricular or experiential learning.

For related material, visit languagecultureimmersion.mla.hcommons.org/ after 1 Dec.

599. Close Reading for the Twenty-First Century

8:30–9:45 a.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Johanna Winant, Reed C

Speakers: Stephanie Hershinow, Baruch C, City U of New York; Jane Hu, U of Southern California; Oren Izenberg, U of California, Irvine; Dan Sinykin, Emory U; Johanna Winant

In recent years, scholars have increasingly published about close reading, including books by John Guillory and Jonathan Kramnick. What is the future of close reading? Participants make the case for rejuvenating the commitment to close reading—and to develop clarity to convince the public, and ourselves, of its value.

For related material, write to jwinant@reed.edu.

600. Humanities Writing Now: Case Studies in Unblocking Critical and Creative Practice

8:30–9:45 a.m., 802B, MTCC

A special session

Speakers: Rosie Clarke, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; Lena Crown, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; Jonathan P. Eburne, Washington U in St. Louis; Naomi Greyser, U of Iowa; Colton Hicks, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; Sarah Mesle, U of Southern California; Jenny Tan, University of Pennsylvania Press

What motives, practices, and pleasures might sustain humanist writers at a time of nearly overwhelming obstacles? What approaches to writing could nourish us, our various readers, and our worlds? Participants share on-the-ground strategies that emerge from their positions as editors, writing instructors, coaches, institute directors, professors, students, and writers themselves.

For related material, write to smesle@usc.eu.

601. “The Emotional Brain” and Affect Theory

8:30–9:45 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Yasuko Kase, U of the Ryukyus

1. “The Neuroscience of Affect and Emotions,” Janet Dubinsky, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities

2. “Rethinking Fear in Trauma Studies,” Yasuko Kase

3. “Narrative Empathy and the Theory of Affect Revisited: The Trouble with Passions,” Inna Livytska, Justus-Liebig-U Giessen

4. “Rethinking Affectivity in Virtual Reality Films: Collective Narratives and the Limits of Empathy,” Yuqing Liu, U of Hong Kong

For related material, write to yasukokase@gmail.com after 15 Dec.

602. Aesthetics, Politics, and Ecological Overshoot

10:15–11:30 a.m., 602A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: John Maerhofer, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

Speakers: Federico Correa Pose, U of Southern California; Bradley Fest, Hartwick C; Christopher Gortmaker, U of Chicago; Brenda Odria Loayza, U of Toronto; Pedro Gabriel Soares Daher, Maine C of Art and Design

Human activity has exceeded planetary thresholds and has resulted in biodiversity loss, oceanic acidification, and chemical overload. Global capital’s normalization of ecological overshoot inflames the prospects for creating the necessary equilibrium for evading unfolding crises. Panelists examine the intersection of aesthetic and political responses to ecological overshoot and the possibilities of radical transformation in the Anthropocene.

603. Family Resemblances: Hawthorne’s Extended Bloodlines

10:15–11:30 a.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society. Presiding: Ariel Silver, Southern Virginia U

1. “Private Spheres of Public Families: Hawthorne’s Epiphanic Relatives,” Michael Martin, Nicholls State U

2. “Specters of History and Family: Hawthorne’s Monsieur du Miroir,” Norma Jepson

3. “‘The Most Friendly Touch’: Affinity and Family in The Blithedale Romance and The Marble Faun,” Schuyler Chapman, Glenville State U

4. “Family Resemblances in Hawthorne’s Anonymous Fictions,” Jonathan W. D. Murphy, Texas A&M International U

For related material, visit michaelsmartin-hawthorne.mla.hcommons.org.

605. The Current State of Beat Studies

10:15–11:30 a.m., 707, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Erik Mortenson, Lake Michigan C

1. “Kerouac by the Numbers: An Alternate History of Kerouac’s Art and Reception,” Brett Sigurdson, Metropolitan State U

2. “Diane di Prima and Ancient Greek Literature,” David Calonne, Eastern Michigan U

3. “Anne Waldman’s Mind Grammar,” Marianna Hagler, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org after 31 Dec.

606. Jim Crow Modernism

10:15–11:30 a.m., 802B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Adam McKible, John Jay C of Criminal Justice, City U of New York

Speakers: Darryl Dickson-Carr, Southern Methodist U; Sarah Gleeson-White, U of Sydney; Jonathan Goldman, New York Inst. of Tech.; Robert A. Jackson, U of Tulsa; Heidi Kim, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Contributors to the forthcoming Jim Crow Modernism explore how writers and artists worked with a “separate but equal” landscape and discuss diverse topics, from literary and cultural studies to film history, the Japanese American incarceration, and the poetics and politics of the Puerto Rican diaspora.

607. A Mind of Its Own: Animism and Nonhuman Narration

10:15–11:30 a.m., 605, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Cognitive and Affect Studies. Presiding: Haiyan Lee, Stanford U

1. “Listening to the Voices of Rivers and Spirits: Khasi Nonhuman Narratives,” S Elika Assumi, National Law U Meghalaya

2. “The Animal, Unspeaking: Sonic Images in Miyazawa Kenji’s Short Stories,” Miyabi Goto, U of Kentucky

3. “The Gaze and Voice of Plants in Can Xue’s Biocentric Short Story ‘I Am a Willow Tree,’” Nicoletta Pesaro, Ca’ Foscari U of Venice

4. “Hybrid Minds: AI Cognition, Human Identity, and the Philosophy of Consciousness in ‘Twin Sparrows,’” Kun Qian, U of Pittsburgh

608. The Futures of East Asian Comparative Literature: Contemplating New Paradigms

10:15–11:30 a.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC East Asian. Presiding: Christopher M. Lupke, U of Alberta

Speakers: Minseung Kim, U of California, Los Angeles; Xiaolu Ma, Hong Kong U of Science and Tech.; Adhira Mangalagiri, New York U; Carles Prado-Fonts, U Oberta de Catalunya; Tian Jing Teh, U of Southern California; Karen Thornber, Harvard U

Area studies and comparative literary studies have changed much in the past 20 years. This session explores the futures of East Asian comparative literature. Our aim is to explore the ways in which East Asianists think transnationally and across languages to produce new scholarship from fresh perspectives. This includes textual dynamics involving East Asian languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, as well as trans-Asian or transregional relationships.

For related material, write to lupke@ualberta.ca after 1 Dec.

609. Science and Local Knowledge in Eighteenth-Century British Empire: State of the Field

10:15–11:30 a.m., 709, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Late-18th-Century English. Presiding: Sean Silver, Rutgers U, New Brunswick; Abigail S. Zitin, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

1. “Even a Worm Will Turn,” Lilith Todd, U of Pennsylvania

2. “Feminist-Imperial Networking from Syria-Palestine to Britain: Hester Stanhope’s Traffic in Knowledge,” Zoe Beenstock, U of Haifa

3. “Epidemiology and Plantation Slavery in the Caribbean, 1764–1838,” Ramesh Mallipeddi, U of British Columbia

610. Art and Smoke: Morris, Art, and Industrialism

10:15–11:30 a.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the William Morris Society. Presiding: Florence S. Boos, U of Iowa

1. “‘Love as Resistance’: William Morris, Guenevere, and the Moral Consequences of Industrialism,” Donna Tillotson, Queen’s U

2. “A Smokeless Place: William Morris, John Ruskin, and Reviving a Dream of Community,” Joshua Fagan, U of Washington, Seattle

3. “Smoke Is King: Ruskin, Morris, and Hopkins on Art and Industrialism,” Jude V. Nixon, Salem State U

4. “The Aesthetics of Anti-Industry Utopianism in William Morris’s ‘News from Nowhere,’” Harry Hall, Harvard U

611. Theorizing Institutions in Middle English Literature

10:15–11:30 a.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Middle English. Presiding: Shoshana Adler, Vanderbilt U

1. “Allegorizing Institutions in Fourteenth-Century Middle English Literature,” Yun Ni, Peking U

2. “The Manor, Apocalypse, and Institutional Totality,” William Rhodes, Jr., U of Iowa

3. “Nightwatch: The Medieval Roots of the Police,” Jordan Skinner, Princeton U

Respondent: Daniel Davies, U of Houston

612. W. H. Hudson: (Re)Greening the World

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

A special session

1. “W. H. Hudson’s Critical Environmentalism: From the Pampas to Richmond Park,” Alan Rauch, U of North Carolina, Charlotte

2. “How the Celebrated W. H. Hudson Was Moved from Center to Periphery,” Conor Jameson, independent scholar

3. “‘Nothing Dead in Nature’: Ethology and Ecoelegy in W. H. Hudson,” Reid Echols, Temple C

4. “Gothic Ecologies and Bird-Women in W. H. Hudson,” Eva Lencina, U Nacional de Córdoba

For related material, write to arauch@charlotte.edu after 29 Nov.

613. Arctic Melt: The West Writes Greenland

10:15–11:30 a.m., 606, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Old Norse. Presiding: Sarah M. Anderson, Princeton U

Speakers: Sarah M. Anderson; Timothy Bourns, U of Washington, Seattle; Andrew McGillivray, U of Winnipeg; Julian Mendoza, U of Turku

Arctic literature repeatedly declares that there is no one Arctic: the Arctic subject defies singular aggregation. Most medieval textual sources that represent Greenland come from Iceland. Greenland’s medieval textualization is varied but static: a frontier, a stage for retrograde social and religious ritual. What has changed? Do Western narratives of Greenland just repeat Frantz Fanon’s “perverse logic” of colonialism?

614. Transgressing Racial Boundaries Through the Centuries

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Donavan Ramon, Southern Illinois U, Edwardsville

Speakers: Manzar Feiz, U of Texas, Dallas; Anne Ruggles Gere, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Deirdre JJ Osborne, U of London, Goldsmiths C; Amy Ruckman, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Riley Thomas, Temple U, Philadelphia

Participants explore depictions of racial passing across time and place, beginning with Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and ending with Britt Bennett’s The Vanishing Half. Scholars discuss their take on racial-passing narratives, including close readings and relevant theories of canonical and modern texts.

615. Postcolonial Experimentations in the Representation of Trauma

10:15–11:30 a.m., 803B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Anna Chiari, U of Edinburgh

1. “Unwatchable Footage, Coerced Spectatorship, and Imperial Forms in Kantemir Balagov’s Closeness,” Lora Maslenitsyna, Yale U

2. “Representing Trauma in Temsüla Ao’s Oeuvre,” Anmol Sahni, Emory U

3. “Trauma in Muslim Comics,” Esra Mirze Santesso, U of Georgia

4. “Marguerite Duras and the Language of Silence,” Anna Chiari, U of Edinburgh

616. Literary Translation and Identity in Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Latin America

10:15–11:30 a.m., 706, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Marília Leite, U Federal de Santa Catarina

1. “Translating Transgender in José Donoso’s El lugar sin límites,” Marko Miletich, Buffalo State U, State U of New York

2. “Experiments in Jewish Translation in Contemporary Latin America,” Cynthia Gabbay, Humboldt-U zu Berlin

3. “Contemporáneos: Translating Queer Identities and Modernisms in 1920s and 1930s Mexico,” Ana Duclaud, U of Texas, Austin

4. “Lateral Translation: Cultural Diplomacies of the South and the Third World in Latin America,” Lara Norgaard, Harvard U

Respondent: Juan David Escobar, Emory U

617. Queer Creoles in French and Francophone Contexts

10:15–11:30 a.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century French. Presiding: Ryan Joyce, Ohio State U, Columbus

Speakers: Ryan Joyce; Rashana Lydner, Georgia State U; Matthew Skrzypczyk, U of Washington, Seattle

Panelists explore queer language use across borders and cultural contexts, which includes creolization, language accumulation, and translanguaging.

618. Folkloric Perspectives on Family

10:15–11:30 a.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Folklore Society. Presiding: James Deutsch, Smithsonian Institution

1. “The Seven Pleiad Sisters: Their Poetic and Ritual Presence for Millennia in South Asian Folklife,” Brenda Beck, U of Toronto, Scarborough

2. “Exploring Family Dynamics in Russian Folklore,” Irina I. Strout, Northeastern State U

3. “From Lands to Kitchens: Cooking Lessons in Rural Community Museums in Romania, 1920–40,” Irina D. Mihalache, U of Toronto

619. Reimagining Family Resemblance: Diasporic Inheritance, Queer Kinship, and Cultural Memory in Performance

10:15–11:30 a.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Theatre and Drama Society. Presiding: Vicki Hoskins, San Francisco State U

1. “Family Dissemblances: Performance Genealogies and Racial (Be)Longing,” Kellen Hoxworth, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

2. “Performing Care: Intergenerational Queer Kinships in My Grandmother and I,” Ariel Dela Cruz, Cornell U

3. “Performing Care: Intergenerational Queer Kinships in Anak ni Tapia and My Grandmother and I,” Waleska Solorzano, Cornell U

620. Global Musical Adaptations

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Nayoung Bishoff, George Washington U

Speakers: Michelle Assay, U of Toronto; Jarrod DePrado, U of Connecticut, Storrs; I. B. Hopkins, U of Texas, Austin; Netta Huebscher, U of Gothenburg; Nicholas Miller, Mary Inst. and Saint Louis Country Day School, MO; Julian Munds, Huron University C

Focusing on unconventional musical adaptations of literary works ranging from Shakespeare to twentieth-century popular literature, panelists explore how these literary masterpieces are reimagined worldwide.

For related material, write to nayoung.seo@gwu.edu.

621. Restructuring Material Histories of the Book

10:15–11:30 a.m., 601A, MTCC

Program arranged by the Society for Textual Scholarship. Presiding: John Young, Marshall U

1. “Books and Bodies,” Jessica Jordan, Stanford U

2. “Minding Our Ps and Zs: Lacroix, Zola, and Blurring the Boundaries between Books and Literature,” Andrea Thomas, Loyola U, MD

3. “Dust, Dirt, and Debris: Toward an Environmental History of the Book,” Nikita Willeford Kastrinos, U of Washington, Seattle

4. “The Convergence of Book History and Art History: German Expressionist Prints as a Liminal Case,” Nanjun Zhou, U of Texas, Austin

622. Reading and Philosophy, Reading as Philosophy

10:15–11:30 a.m., 715B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Robert Lucas Scott, U of Cambridge

1. “The Leibniz Syndrome,” Andrea Gadberry, New York U

2. “The Tragic Novel,” Nathan Brown, Concordia U

623. Rethinking Character beyond “Writing Back”

10:15–11:30 a.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Moumita Chowdhury, U of Hyderabad; Leenu Sugathan, George Washington U

1. “The Rise of Flat Characters in Iranian Diasporic Fiction,” Shekufeh Owlia, Allameh Tabataba’i U

2. “The Self as Projected Image: Cinematic Subjectivity in Korean Proletarian Literature,” Hannah Kwak, New York U

3. “Fragmented Cities, Fragmented Selves: Urban Space and the Dispersal of Character in Sarnath Banerjee,” Anu Sugathan, U of Oregon

Respondents: Moumita Chowdhury, U of Hyderabad; Leenu Sugathan

624. Explorations of Space

10:15–11:30 a.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 18th- and Early-19th-Century German. Presiding: Forrest Finch, Penn State U, University Park

1. “‘Mapping’ the Romantic Landscape,” Stefania Acciaioli, Sapienza U of Rome

2. “A Postcolonial Reimagining of Annette von Droste-Hülshoff’s Die Judenbuche,” Serena Bonaldo, Eberhard-Karls-U Tübingen

3. “Heterotopia, Imperial and Colonial Spatial Paradigms, and Race in Caroline Fischer’s ‘William der N**,’” Matthew Childs, Wake Forest U

4. “Center Stage: Mignon’s Queer-Trans Heterotopia in Goethe’s Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre,” Evan Martens, U of California, Davis

625. Empire and Sovereignty during Latin America’s Long Nineteenth Century

10:15–11:30 a.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 19th-Century Latin American. Presiding: Felipe Martinez-Pinzon, Brown U

1. “Canon, Empire, and Exclusion: Literary Anthologies and the Politics of Taste in Nineteenth-Century Latin,” Rosa Maria Mantilla Suarez, Columbia U

2. “Can a Gauche Gaucho Be a South American Gringo? The Paranhos-Zeballos Exchange,” Thomas Genova, U of Minnesota, Morris

3. “Russo-Japanese War (1904) from the Cultural Visual Production in Latin America,” Sebastian Diaz Martinez, Graduate Center, City U of New York

4. “Ricardo Güiraldes’s Xaimaca and Latin American Writers after World War I,” Hugo Salas, U of Pennsylvania

626. Collective Art, Alternative Networks, and Utopian Habitation in Latin America

10:15–11:30 a.m., 802A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Alfonso Fierro, Northwestern U

1. “Mail Art from Mexico: Building Alternative Art Networks and Circuits,” Alfonso Fierro

2. “The Science Fiction of Recent Insurrections,” Sergio Delgado Moya, U of Chicago

3. “Collapsing the Network: Casa Nuvem and the Poetics of ‘Moral Siege,’” Jeronimo Duarte-Riascos, Columbia U

4. “V.I.S.U.A.L.-izing: Collective Resonances in Catalina Parra and Eugenio Dittborn,” Edward Vazquez, Middlebury C

627. New Currents in Medieval Iberian Studies

10:15–11:30 a.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Medieval Iberian. Presiding: Donald Wood, Oklahoma State U, Stillwater

1. “New Materialist Approaches to Medieval Iberian Literature,” Yonsoo Kim, Purdue U, West Lafayette

2. “The Playful, the Comedic, and the Not-Funny: What Is Risible in Premodern Literature?,” Sanda Munjic, U of Toronto

3. “The Ethics of Transliteration in Medieval Castilian Manuscripts,” Anita Savo, Boston U

4. “Rediscovering the Medieval Threshold: Animal-Human Relations in the Royal Hunt,” Jonathan David Burgoyne, Ohio State U, Columbus

628. Editing as Art and Activism: Rethinking Turn-of-the-Century US Radical Periodicals

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 605, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Sarah Salter, Emory U

1. “At the Margins of Print and the Limits of Literature in New York City’s Spanish Language Press,” Kelley Kreitz, Pace U, NY

2. “Showing the Seams: Lucy Parsons’s Anarchist Editorial Praxis,” J. Michelle Coghlan, U of Manchester

3. “Yiddish Anarchist Ecologies: Translating Kropotkin’s Mutual Aid in the Yiddish Radical Press,” Anna Elena Torres, U of Chicago

4. “Striking Type: Upton Sinclair’s Editorial Revolution,” John Funchion, U of Miami

629. Trauma and Healing in Latinx Memoirs

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Nicole Eitzen Delgado, Hunter C, City U of New York

1. “Schizophrenia as a Multiactor and Intercultural Experience in Josie Méndez-Negrete’s Family Memoir A Life on Hold,” David Lombard, Katholieke U Leuven

2. “Desalmado and Almado: Healing and Addiction in Jessica Hoppe’s First in the Family,” John Kennedy, U of Colorado, Boulder

3. “Wounded from Within: Latinx Embodied Writing and Decolonial Healing in Yesika Salgado and Rigoberto González,” Aitor Bouso Gavin, Harvard U

4. “‘They Perished in the Tar that Also Preserved Them’: Suciedad and Other Crude Matters in Wendy Ortiz’s Excavation: A Memoir,” Fernanda Cunha, U of California, Berkeley

630. James Baldwin and the Reproduction of Racial Capitalism

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 606, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Justin A. Joyce, Washington U in St. Louis

1. “Racial Capitalism and the (Un)Knowing US Whiteness in James Baldwin’s Another Country,” Ronnel Keith Berry, Austin Peay State U

2. “‘Our Identities…Are Being Altered’: James Baldwin and the Neoliberalization of Racial Capitalism,” Rohan Ghatage, U of New Brunswick

3. “Black Madness in Another Country,” Grace Murry, Cornell U

631. Translation History of Chinese and into Chinese

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 601B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Translation Studies. Presiding: Mary Helen McMurran, U of Western Ontario

1. “Retranslations of Zhuangzi: From Burton Watson to Richard John Lynn,” Wei Zeng, U of Alberta

2. “The Concept of ‘Minzu’ and the Chinese Translations of Canadian Indigenous Literature,” Celine Huang, U of Toronto; Chris Song, U of Toronto, Scarborough

3. “Self-Translations by Chinese-Language Authors,” Simona Gallo, U of Milan

4. “Du Fu’s Travels in America and Britain: Text, Context, and Authorial Intent in Translation,” Lucas Klein, Arizona State U, Tempe

632. Shaping Family Boundaries: Tradition and Change in Early Modern East Asia

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 706, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Ihor Pidhainy, Georgia Gwinnett C

Speakers: Kuan Liu, U of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Mark McNally, U of Hawai‘i, Mānoa; Young Kyun Oh, Arizona State U, Tempe; Ihor Pidhainy; Ye Yuan, Oberlin C

Participants explore family boundaries in East Asia from the fourteenth through eighteenth century, focusing on literary and nonliterary discussions of family and friends in China, Choson Korea, Tokugawa Japan, and the Ryukyu Kingdom.

633. Comparative Liberties

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum CLCS 18th-Century. Presiding: Pamela F. Phillips, U of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras

1. “Joining Copies: Phillis Wheatley’s Copybooks and Their Creative Liberties,” Maggie Dryden, Emory U

2. “Economic Forces and Political Psychology: Defoe’s Colonizer in Robinson Crusoe and Captain Singleton,” Bilal Khan, U of Louisiana, Lafayette

3. “Interpreting Liberty and Constraint on the Eighteenth-Century Dance Stage,” Olivia Sabee, Swarthmore C

634. Performing Cultures, Performing Communities

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 803B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum MS Opera and Musical Performance

1. “Giggling Golems: Neurodivergent Monsters in Contemporary Jewish Romance,” Marissa Herzig, U of Toronto

2. “Performing the Neighborhood: Scabia’s Theater in the Space of Conflict,” Federica Parodi, Yale U

3. “‘Space-Dark Airs’: Jean Toomer’s Theater,” Andrew Schlager, Princeton U

635. Spectral Kinships: Haunting, Trauma, and Kairotic Awakening in Asian Diasporic Narratives

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Ji Nang Kim, U of Texas, Arlington

1. “The Passed Made Present: Trinh Mai’s Still Quiet and Live Relations,” Kelsey Chen, Stanford U

2. “Intangible but True Ghosts in Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing,” Xiaowen Xu, U of British Columbia

3. “Archive Trauma: Disciplining Punjabi Queer Presence in the Diaspora,” Tavleen Purewal, U of New Brunswick

636. Contemporary Queer and Trans Life Writing: Locating the Autobiographical “I”

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 711, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jane Tolmie, Queen’s U

1. “‘This Book Is Not an Autofiction’: Fabulating Selves in Paul B. Preciado’s Testo Junkie,” Benoit Loiseau, New York U

2. “Writing the Body and Self: Affective Multimodal Self-Representation in Maylott’s My Body Is Distant,” Sophie Johanna Been, Queen’s U

3. “I Am Orlando: The Universal Nonbinary ‘I’ in Paul Preciado’s Orlando: My Political Biography,” Levi Hord, Columbia U

637. Storied Seas, Blue Humanities and the Mediterranean Imagination

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Deniz Gundogan Ibrisim, Kadir Has U

1. “Between Water Sung and Traveled: Musically Mediated Representations of Water,” Elisabetta Visaggio, King’s C London

2. “Mediterranean Witness,” Evren Ozselcuk, U of South Carolina, Columbia

3. “Speculative Fictions,” Ezgi Hamzacebi, Ozyegin U

638. New Approaches to Négritude, Blackness, and Belonging in the Francosphere

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Francophone. Presiding: Doyle Calhoun, U of Cambridge

1. “Translating Blackness: Rehabilitating Senghor’s Aesthetics,” Alioune Fall, Providence C

2. “Green Negritude: Aimé Césaire’s Anticolonial Ecopoetics,” Jane Hiddleston, U of Oxford, Exeter C

3. “At the Origins of Négritude: Jane Nardal’s Black Internationalism and Beyond,” Myriam Moise, U des Antilles, Martinique

4. “Flux: Scripts of Becoming in Girlhood and Négritude,” Amber Sweat, Amherst C

639. Mapping the Futures of Children’s Literature Scholarship: Where Do We Go from Here?

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 703, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Children’s and Young Adult Literature. Presiding: Gabrielle (Brie) Owen, U of Nebraska, Lincoln

Speakers: James Hunt Smith, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Gabriela Lee, U of Pittsburgh; Noah Mullens, U of Florida; Laila Nashid, Cornell U; Cristina Rhodes, Shippensburg U of Pennsylvania; Lidong Xiang, U of Pittsburgh

Working from an expansive understanding of children’s literature scholarship, emerging and established scholars share new work with us—mapping the futures of our field—while considering generative forms of relatedness and diverse points of intersection.

640. Ecocinema in the Late Twentieth Century

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 713A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Matthew Lambert, U of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

1. “Reading the Cruelty of Water Hoarding in Chinatown,” Dez Miller, Emory U

2. “A Haunted Ecofuture: Crises, Imaginations, and Bodies in The Ozone Layer Vanishes,” Qiyan Chen, U of California, San Diego

3. “‘Life, uh, Finds a Way’: The Ecocinematic Legacy of Spielberg’s Jurassic Park,” Matthew Lambert

641. Aesthetic, Activist, and Comparative Connections across Holocaust Literature in a Global Context

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC 20th- and 21st-Century German. Presiding: Lynn L. Wolff, Michigan State U

1. “Singularities and Strange Loops: Holocaust Literature and Its Recursions,” Kirstin Gwyer, U of Oxford

2. “Queer Holocaust Literature since the 1970s,” Helen Finch, U of Leeds

3. “Unku’s Testimony: Sinti and Roma Voices in Third-Generation Holocaust Literature,” Leonie Ettinger, Freie U Berlin

4. “Contemporary Holocaust Representation in B. Stein’s Die Leinwand: Between Fiction and Forgetting,” Molly Krueger, U of California, Berkeley

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/20th-and-21st-century-german/docs/ after 1 Jan.

642. Literature and Anthropology Now! New Histories of Aesthetics

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Anthropology and Literature. Presiding: Brad Evans, Rutgers U, New Brunswick

1. “Jewish Primitivism,” Samuel Spinner, Johns Hopkins U, MD

2. “‘The Golden Bridge of Sympathy’: The Anthropology of World Religions and Sarojini Naidu’s Aesthetic,” J. Barton Scott, U of Toronto

3. “Fantastic Scholarship,” Meryl Winick, Virginia Commonwealth U

643. Record, Document, Archive: Constructing the South Out of Region

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Southern United States. Presiding: Stephanie Rountree, U of North Georgia

Speakers: Layla Amar, Atlanta Community Press Collective; Allison Harris, U of North Carolina, Wilmington; Rose Lynn Norman, U of Alabama, Huntsville; Drew Swanson, Georgia Southern U

Respondent: Stephanie Rountree

Contributors to Record, Document, Archive: Constructing the South Out of Region (LSU Press, forthcoming 2026) engage Black, Native, LGBTQ+, and environmental studies to examine how acts and artifacts that record, document, and archive the past can challenge hegemonic narratives of history, place, belonging, and sovereignty—ultimately framing archives as sites of liberation.

644. Literature and Surveillance Studies

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 601A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Katherine Johnston, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

1. “The Glitch in the Surveillance Machine: Rewritings of Bartleby in Ali Smith’s There but for the,” Claire Wrobel, Paris-Panthéon-Assas U

2. “Surveilling, Reading, Narrating: Christopher Isherwood and the Berlin Police,” Sarah Schwartz, Princeton U

3. “Surveillance and Drone Form in the Small Drone Age,” Beryl Pong, U of Cambridge

For related material, write to katydw@gmail.com after 1 Jan.

645. Goethe and Transcultural Translation

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 707, MTCC

Program arranged by the Goethe Society of North America. Presiding: Sheila A. Spector, Baruch C, City U of New York

1. “Translation Practices in the Journal von Tiefurth,” Angela C. D. Borchert, U of Western Ontario

2. “Goethe across Borders: The Transcultural Impact of His Arabic Translations,” Mounia Alami, U Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah

3. “On the Translation Scene in Goethe’s Faust and Its Chinese Translation,” Zongwen Gao, Johannes Gutenberg U Mainz

4. “Şinasi Dikmen’s Goethe Allusions and Multilayered Translation Practices,” Didem Uca, Emory U

For related material, write to sheilaaspector@verizon.net.

646. Mexican Print Culture and the Public Sphere

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 803A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Mexican. Presiding: Mónica García Blizzard, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

1. “Serializing Villa in the Postrevolutionary Press: Repetition’s Role in the Creation of a Mass Media,” Amy Wright, Saint Louis U

2. “A Cursi Intellectual for the Masses: Rosario Sansores in Mexico,” Alejandra Vela-Martinez, Harvard U

3. “Forging a Mexican People: Collective Subjectivities in the 1968 Mexico City Prints,” Pablo Zavala, Loyola U, LA

4. “Writing as Path: Print Culture for Zapotec Cultural Preservation and Revitalization,” Angelica Waner, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

647. Literary Scenes of Value in the Hispanophone Caribbean, Fin de Siècle to Contemporary

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 715A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Violeta Lorenzo, Skidmore C; Olga Nedvyga, U de Montréal

1. “Tricks, Tents, and Dispossession in Font Acevedo’s La troupe Samsonite,” Violeta Lorenzo, Skidmore C

2. “La supervivencia es bella: Gendered Economies of Care in Rita Indiana and Leticia Tonos,” Olga Nedvyga

3. “Patios y haciendas: Racial Purity, Interracial Friendship, and de la Parra’s ‘Moderate Feminism,’” Victoria Zurita, U de Montréal

Respondent: Luis Othoniel Rosa, U of Nebraska, Lincoln

For related material, write to olga.nedvyga@umontreal.ca.

648. Strategies of (Dis)Engagement: Lessons from Eastern Europe for Academic Self-Governance Today

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC Slavic and East European. Presiding: Bradley Gorski, Georgetown U

1. “Radical Poetics Unbound: The Films of Lazar Stojanović,” Zdenko Mandusic, U of Toronto

2. “Documentary as Metadiscursive Practice in Socialist Poland and Beyond,” Masha Shpolberg, Bard C

3. “A More Perfect Union: KwieKulik against and inside the Polish Visual Artists’ Union,” Eliza Rose, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

For related material, write to elizacr@email.unc.edu after 1 Jan.

649. Nature Writing in the Early Modern Period

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC 16th- and 17th-Century Spanish and Iberian Poetry and Prose. Presiding: Magdalena A. Altamirano, San Diego State U, Imperial Valley

Speakers: Montse Chenyun Li, Cornell U; Sanda Munjic, U of Toronto; Hector Pineda Cupa, Washington U in St. Louis; Gabriela Rodriguez Lebron, U of California, Berkeley

Is it possible to link current concerns about the environment with the early modern world? How can the current turn in environmental studies help us better understand the culture of the past? What are the opportunities that these new approaches offer us? How can we recover common concerns about the environmental crises of yesterday and today? Panelists examine the relationship between humans and the environment in Spanish and Iberian early modern poetry and prose.

650. Hispanic Queer Cultures: Transatlantic Connections and Collaborations, 1875–1950

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 712, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Angela Acosta, U of South Carolina, Columbia; Jeffrey Zamostny, Kansas State U

1. “Transatlantic Gender Dissidences: Queer Identities in Concepción Gimeno de Flaquer and Josefa Murillo,” Ana Simon Alegre, Adelphi U

2. “Exile, Collaboration, Memory: Spain’s Generación del 27 and Mexico’s Contemporáneos,” Rhiannon Clarke, Johns Hopkins U, MD

3. “Hidden Places, Safe Spaces: Coded Language and Heterotopias in Elena Fortún’s Sapphic Literature,” Kara Cybanski, U of Ottawa

For related material, visit queercultureshispanicworld.mla.hcommons.org/ after 15 Dec.

651. Health Humanities Pedagogies

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum TC Medical Humanities and Health Studies. Presiding: Amanda Caleb, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

1. “‘Vulnerable Reading’ and Vulnerable Teaching as Narrative Competence in the Health Humanities Classroom,” Billie Tadros, U of Scranton

2. “Materializing Health: Children’s Literature as a Tool for Health Humanities Pedagogy,” Maryam Khorasani, U of Florida

3. “All’s Well: Multimodality and Embodiment as Pedagogical Tools for Exploring Humanities in Medicine,” April Bayer, U of Nebraska, Lincoln

4. “Interdisciplinary Assignment Design in the Health Humanities,” Katherine Shwetz, Rice U

652. Student-Centered AI and DH Practices

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 705, MTCC

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology. Presiding: Leonardo Flores, Appalachian State U

1. “Human in the Loop: On AI and Student-Centered Learning,” Kathi Inman Berens, Portland State U

2. “Teaching through Machines,” Brian Croxall, Brigham Young U, UT

3. “Prompts in the Process: Writing Pedagogy that Supports Conscientious Engagement with LLM Technology,” Matthew Kollmer, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Respondent: Ryan Cordell, U of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

653. Teaching Literature as Refuge, Teaching Refugee Literature

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 802A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TM The Teaching of Literature. Presiding: Brandi Locke, Penn State U, University Park

Speakers: Kevin Artiga, U of Florida; Shahab Nadimi, U of Alberta; Jennie Snow, Montclair State U; Joya Uraizee, Saint Louis U

Respondent: Margaret Banks, Columbia U

Participants explore the teaching of literature about migration or by refugee authors to consider how literature itself might serve as refuge.

654. Care Practices at Graduate Writing Centers

12:00 noon–1:15 p.m., 709, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Colleen McDonell, U of Toronto

Speakers: Lauren Barnes, Penn State U, University Park; Charles Carroll, Brown U; Erika Chung, Toronto Metropolitan U; Rana Haidar, U of Toronto; Lauren Hammond, U of California, Riverside; Stephanie Redekop, Case Western Reserve U

Graduate writing centers provide a useful case study for analyzing care practices in higher education. Graduate students often experience writing issues and anxieties that distinguish them from undergraduate students, and many employees at writing centers are current master’s or doctoral students themselves. Panelists address the care—that exists, or that is needed—in graduate writing instruction and within the broader networks of academic institutions.

For related material, visit caregradwriting.mla.hcommons.org/ after 15 Nov.

655. Fumes and Flames: Petro- to Pyromodernity in American Literature and Culture

1:45–3:00 p.m., 605, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Harilaos Stecopoulos, U of Iowa

1. “Energy Democracy at the End of the World,” Stacey Balkan, Florida Atlantic U

2. “Rivers of Fire,” Jeffrey Insko, Oakland U

3. “Pyromodern Poetics: The Fire as Archive in T. S. Eliot and Alexis Pauline Gumbs,” Jennie Sekanics, U of Iowa

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/core.

656. What’s So Funny about America?

1:45–3:00 p.m., 712, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Humor Studies Association. Presiding: Todd Nathan Thompson, Indiana U of Pennsylvania

1. “The Empire of the Pun: How Jews Shaped American Comedy and Comedy Shaped American Jews,” Jennifer Caplan, U of Cincinnati

2. “The Roots of Comedy; or, Striking at the Branches of Americanism,” Christopher Gilbert, Assumption U

3. “Hip Hop, Humor, and the ‘Exultant I,’” Benjamin Schwartz, Fairfield U

4. “‘Kitsch Is King’: Nonsense as a National Language in Zippy the Pinhead,” Adam Kane, Boston U

657. Intermedial Intersections: Race, Gender, and Performance in Early-Twentieth-Century Literature and Culture

1:45–3:00 p.m., 706, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Victorian and Early-20th-Century English. Presiding: Elicia Clements, York U

1. “An Assurance of a Fuller Self: Legacies of Black Femme Performance Studies,” Erica Cardwell, U of Toronto, Scarborough

2. “Voicing the Vernacular: Zora Neale Hurston’s Sonic Modernism and Oral Traditions,” Ola Mohammed, York U

3. “Hearing Ann Petry’s Mediations,” Sarah Jensen, U of Toronto, Scarborough

For related material, visit mla.hcommons.org/groups/victorian-and-early-20th-century-english/forum/ after 1 Dec.

658. The Future of Graphic Narrative in Japan

1:45–3:00 p.m., 602B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Japanese since 1900. Presiding: Charles Exley, U of Pittsburgh

1. “The Green Dreams of Kyō Machiko’s Manga,” Kathryn Hemmann, U of Pennsylvania

2. “Manga Thinking Technology: Reconsidering Miyazaki Hayao’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” Christopher Taylor, Johns Hopkins U, MD

3. “Are You Alice? Manga in Wonderland,” Amanda Kennell, U of Notre Dame

4. “Japanese ‘Girls’ Love’ Manga’s Influences on Gender Queerness,” Katsuya Izumi, Trinity C, CT

659. Unpopular Shaw

1:45–3:00 p.m., 604, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jennifer Buckley, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

1. “Predatory Rent: Widowers’ Houses Comes of Age,” Katrina Dunn, U of Manitoba

2. “Shaw’s Unpopular Political Views: On Suffering and Executions,” Virginia Costello, U of Illinois, Chicago

3. “‘Shaming the Devil about Shelley’: Reading Shaw Reading Shelley,” Eric Powell, U v Ljubljani

For related material, visit unpopularshaw.mla.hcommons.org/.

660. Joseph Conrad: False Truth and the Absurd

1:45–3:00 p.m., 715B, MTCC

Program arranged by the Joseph Conrad Society of America. Presiding: Mark Deggan, Simon Fraser U

1. “Conrad’s Composite Truths,” Julian Murphet, U of Adelaide

2. “Demystifying Conrad: Religion as Make-Believe in ‘Falk,’ ‘The Duel,’ The Shadow Line, and Nostromo,” Jana Maria Giles, U of Louisiana, Monroe

3. “Reality as a Controlled Hallucination in Conrad’s Fiction,” Richard Jeffrey Ruppel, Chapman U

661. Formal Experimentations in Colonial South Asia

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Feba Rasheed, U of Oregon

1. “Polemics, Homiletics, and Print Publics: Makti Thangal and the Making of the Nineteenth-Century Mappila Public Sphere,” Musab Abdul Salam, U of Oregon

2. “(Re)Conquering Al-Andalus: Orientalism and Historical Fiction between Cairo and Lucknow,” Jaideep Pandey, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3. “Forms of Colonial Duress: On the Miracles of Muhammad,” Ifrah Javaid, Brown U

662. Quantum Narratives: AI and Multiverse in Asian American Literature and Film

1:45–3:00 p.m., 713A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum LLC Asian American

1. “After Yang: AI as Asian American Memory and Identity Formation,” Robert Nguyen, Lycoming C

2. “Multilives and Multiverse: Transnational Space-Times in Asian American Cinema,” Zhen Cheng, Cornell U; Tianyi Shou, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor

3. “Quantum Subjectivity: Opacity and Scale in A Tale for the Time Being and Kindred,” Olivia Matsuoka, U of Oregon

4. “In Another Life: Queer Asian Space-Time in Multiversal Media,” Shebati Sengupta, U of New Mexico, Albuquerque

For related material, write to Claire.yijiec@gmail.com after 1 Dec.

663. Tuneful Resemblances: Rethinking the Broadway Musical and the World

1:45–3:00 p.m., 802B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Drama and Performance

1. “Staging Racism: Transnational Disavowal and The Scottsboro Boys,” Ariel Nereson, U at Buffalo, State U of New York

2. “Canadian Niceties and Nationalism in Come from Away,” Ryanne Kap, U of Calgary

3. “Staging Multiculturalism for Genocide Denialism: The Politics of Musical Theater in Turkey,” Rustem Ertug Altinay, U of Milan

664. Haunting and Recovering Media: Analog Pasts, Digital Presents, and Multimedia Futures

1:45–3:00 p.m., 705, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Jim Coby, Indiana U, Kokomo

1. “Recovering Regionality: Regional Gothic Photography and Spectral Salvage Ethnography,” Kit Bauserman, William and Mary

2. “‘More Microphone Than Man’: Cecil as Queer Cyborg in Welcome to Night Vale,” Drumlin Crape, Queen’s U

3. “‘This RPG Has Ghosts in It’: The Spectral and Material Afterlives of Tabletop Role-Playing Games,” Justin Wigard, U of North Dakota

For related material, visit hcommons.org/groups/lost-haunted-and-dead-media/.

665. A Year of Poets: 1926

1:45–3:00 p.m., 715A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum GS Poetry and Poetics. Presiding: Kamran Javadizadeh, Villanova U

1. “Paul Blackburn and Frank O’Hara: A Reappraisal at One Hundred,” Elin Kack, Linkoping U

2. “The Difficulties of Desire: On Ginsberg’s and O’Hara’s Catalogs,” Jonatan Tadmor, Stanford U

3. “The 1926 Generation of American Poets and Their Interpretations of the End of New Criticism,” Katherin Yu, Stanford U

666. Using and Abusing History: On Jonathan Gienapp’s Against Constitutional Originalism

1:45–3:00 p.m., 602A, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum TC Law and the Humanities. Presiding: Lisa Siraganian, Johns Hopkins U, MD

Speakers: Andrew Donnelly, U of Memphis; Jonathan Gienapp, Stanford U; Thomas Koenigs, Scripps C; Deidre Lynch, Harvard U; Lisa Siraganian

Participants discuss Jonathan Gienapp’s game-changing new book, Against Constitutional Originalism, exploring the implications for literary scholars of his idea that what constitutes a text is itself a historical question and that modern judicial ideas that text is text fail under historical scrutiny.

667. Cognitive Marronage: Thinking through the Res Extensa

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

A special session

1. “Distributed Cognition, Counterdystopia, and Caribbean Futures in Michael Roch’s Tè Mawon,” Isabel Bradley, New York U

2. “Ceremonies of Cognitive Resistance: Neurological Marronage as Decolonial Epistemological Praxis in the Creole History Ti dife boule sou istwa Ayiti,” Michaelle Vilmont, Duke U

3. “Sand and Bayous: Figures of Thought from the Circum-Caribbean,” Timothy Messen, Emory U

668. Poetry and AI

1:45–3:00 p.m., 803B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Lizzy LeRud, U of Oregon

Speakers: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram, U of Maryland, College Park; Kyle Booten, U of Connecticut, Storrs; Zihan Feng, Washington U in St. Louis; Nick Montfort, Massachusetts Inst. of Tech.; Lisa Marie Rhody, Graduate Center, City U of New York

Considering the long history of computational poetics—and the even longer history of traditional poetic forms and patterns—what does generative AI mean for poetry? Panelists offer perspectives on the role of the poet, the critic, and the literary historian, investigating how poetry is uniquely situated to teach us about generative AI itself.

For related material, visit www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/krwkj3e1fw4g0utbvt7pn/AGiortg4Q42ULbyQD2NOUS0?rlkey=6057hr6z69ym3ikyrktagvos7&st=thjaas4z&dl=0 after 5 Jan.

669. Realism and Distraction

1:45–3:00 p.m., 707, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Valeria Mutc, U of California, Davis

1. “‘To Live Is to Change’: Distraction and Conversion in Newman’s Loss and Gain,” Alexander Lynch, U of Cambridge

2. “Distraction and the Social Consciousness of the High Realist Novel,” Valeria Mutc

3. “Negative Character Space in the Postrealist Novel,” Elizabeth Mundell-Perkins, California Inst. of Tech.

4. “Achieving Distraction: Fantasy, Creativity, and Twenty-First-Century Realism,” James Draney, Haverford C

670. Familiar Resemblances in Contemporary Venezuelan Diasporic Narratives

1:45–3:00 p.m., 803A, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Victor Rivas, U of Toronto

1. “Family Structures in the Sculptural Works of Marisol,” Waleska Solorzano, Cornell U

2. “Mourning from Abroad: Negotiating Familial Relationships in Two Different Spaces,” Johann Kirchenbauer, U of Toronto

3. “Kinships of Cultural Resistance: Familiar Resemblance in Daniel Centeno Maldonado’s La vida alegre,” Victor Rivas

For related material, write to j.kirchenbauer@mail.utoronto.ca.

671. The Technological Turn: Intersections of Technology and Literature in Latin America

1:45–3:00 p.m., 802A, MTCC

A special session

1. “Piglia and His Precursors: Tensions between Technology and Writing in Sergio Chejfec and Michel Nieva,” Roberto Rodriguez Reyes, Brown U

2. “Filtering and Suspending the Body: Grasping Reality through Filters,” Paulette Rosales, Stony Brook U, State U of New York

3. “Poetry’s Potential (Re)Publics: An Archaeology of Latin American Newspaper Poems,” Peter Edgar, U of Central Florida

4. “Literature as Data and the Myth of the Vast Amazonian Emptiness,” Daniel Carrillo Jara, U of North Texas

672. Literary Cartographies of War, Displacement, and Identity in Ukrainian North American Fiction

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

A special session. Presiding: Mariya Shymchyshyn, Kyiv National Linguistics U

1. “Belonging or Longing? Home Vistas in Ukrainian-Canadian Literature,” Weronika Suchacka, U of Szczecin

2. “Children and Their Lost Home: The Russia-Ukraine War in Ukrainian (North) American Historical Fiction,” Mateusz Swietlicki, U of Wrocław

3. “A Literary Frontline: Post-2022 Ukrainian Poetry in North America,” Sophie Shields, U of Toronto

4. “Framing the Past: Photography, Memory, and the Search for Identity in Myrna Kostash’s Ghosts in a Photograph,” Mariya Shymchyshyn

For related material, write to mariya.shymchyshyn@knlu.edu.ua after 30 Nov.

673. Language Education Reimagined: Words Matter!

1:45–3:00 p.m., 711, MTCC

Program arranged by the American Association of University Supervisors, Coordinators and Directors of Language Programs. Presiding: Senta Goertler, Michigan State U

1. “Whose Words Matter? Rethinking Authority in Humanities Advocacy,” Francesca Beretta, U of Kansas

2. “Reaffirming the Humanities in an AI-Driven World,” Vera Felder, Columbia U

3. “The Future of World Language Education: Amplifying the Global Seal of Biliteracy’s Impact,” Krista Chambless, U of Alabama, Birmingham; Linda Egnatz, Global Seal of Biliteracy; Kelly Moser, Mississippi State U

Respondent: Senta Goertler

For related material, write to goertler@msu.edu.

674. Postcolonial Ecologies, Displacement, and Decolonial Futurities

1:45–3:00 p.m., 703, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Mohammad Zahidul Islam, Louisiana State U, Baton Rouge

1. “The Postcolonial Anthropocene: Reading Precarity and Bare Life in South Asian Climate Fiction,” S A M Raihanur Rahman, U of Massachusetts, Amherst

2. “Hope with(in) Solidarity: Véronique Tadjo’s In the Company of Men,” Camille Houle-Eichel, U de Montréal

3. “Vilakazi’s Train as Chronotope of Modernity and Formation of Collective Migrant Labor Subjectivities,” Mpho Molefe, Stanford U

675. Global Encounters, Translations, and Transformations in the Comedia

1:45–3:00 p.m., Virtual

Program arranged by the forum LLC 16th- and 17th-Century Spanish and Iberian Drama. Presiding: Glenda Y. Nieto-Cuebas, Ohio Wesleyan U

1. “Colonial Encounters and Theatrical Representations: Spanish Drama and the Transatlantic Conquest,” Medardo Gabriel Rosario, Florida International U

2. “Staging Empire: Theatrical Spectacle and Iberian Hegemony in Lope de Vega’s El Brasil restituido,” Victor Sierra Matute, Baruch C, City U of New York

3. “A City Transformed: Alva’s Nahuatl Translation of Lope’s La madre de la mejor,” Jose Estrada, Carnegie Mellon U

4. “The Translation History of Sacrificio de Isaac: Adapting the Akedah into and out of Nahuatl,” Rebecca Smith, U of California, Los Angeles

Respondent: Laura Muñoz, Colorado Mesa U

676. Pedagogies of Falling Apart

1:45–3:00 p.m., 713B, MTCC

Program arranged by the forum HEP Teaching as a Profession. Presiding: Kenneth Johnson II, C of Charleston

Speakers: Mustafa Baqai, U of California, Irvine; Celiese Lypka, U of Winnipeg; Janice McGregor, U of Arizona, Tucson; Atia Sattar, U of Southern California

How do we continue to teach in unending crisis? How do we move from neoliberal and ableist expectations of “excellence” and “resilience” to center community and care? How can classrooms make space for what hurts? Participants discuss teaching approaches and strategies that faculty members are using to attend to their own needs and the needs of their students in the face of ongoing institutional and political turmoil.

For related material, write to asattar@usc.edu.

677. The Multilingual Classroom

1:45–3:00 p.m., 709, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Cameron Flynn, Creighton U

1. “Teaching Multilingually in Postsecondary German Classrooms: Learner and Educator Perspectives,” Mary Ellen Rutemeyer, Michigan State U

2. “Ignorance Is Key: Multilingual Belonging in the Writing Classroom,” Aili Pettersson Peeker, U of California, Santa Barbara

3. “French, pour Moi, Es Muy Difícil: Insights from the Trilingual Classroom,” Cameron Flynn

678. Reclaiming and Redefining Family Ties: English Assignments as Community Creation

1:45–3:00 p.m., 601B, MTCC

A special session. Presiding: Claire Carly-Miles, Texas A&M U, College Station

1. “Music, Text, Vision: Empowering Student Voices,” Claire Carly-Miles

2. “‘In Da Clerss, We All Fam’: Cultivating Student Agency through Family Resemblances in Pop Culture,” Matt McKinney, Texas A&M U, College Station

3. “Centering the Student: Self-Advocacy in the English College Classroom,” James Francis, Jr., Texas A&M U, College Station

4. “Canonical and Contemporary Conversation in the Literature Classroom,” Patricia M. García, U of Texas, Austin

For related material, visit drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/0AL03Th5JhdBtUk9PVA after 15 Dec.