News from the MLA » New Online

MLA Commons Reaches Two Thousand Members

Anna Chang — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:47:40 +0000

Congratulations to Anouk Alquier, visiting lecturer in French at Amherst College, who has won an iPad mini for being the two-thousandth member of MLA Commons. We thank all of you who have logged in to help build this community. For more information about getting started on the site, we encourage you to visit the Welcome Group blog or to e-mail commons@mla.org.

Be the Two-Thousandth Member of MLA Commons

Anna Chang — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:40:16 +0000

Since MLA Commons launched in January, nearly two thousand MLA members have logged in to the network to create their profile, join groups related to their interests, start blogs, and much more. To celebrate, we’re awarding an iPad mini to the two-thousandth person to log in and create a profile. If you haven’t yet explored what you can do on the Commons, we invite you to log in with your MLA credentials, update your profile with a photo and description of your interests, and take a video tour of the site. We look forward to seeing you there!

April Job Information List PDFs

Anna Chang — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:46:36 +0000

PDFs of the English and foreign language editions of the April MLA Job Information List (JIL) are now available online. The lists contain live links provided by advertisers as well as links to apply through Interfolio for positions that are still accepting applications. Anyone who applies for a position from the JIL will receive an Interfolio Dossier account at no cost. With an account, a job seeker can submit application letters and CVs electronically for free. More information about the dossier service is available in the JIL section of the MLA Web site.

Candidates for 2013 MLA Elections

Anna Chang — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:26:54 +0000

The 2013 Nominating Committee has nominated Kwame Anthony Appiah, David J. Bartholomae, and Garrett Stewart for second vice president of the MLA and Douglas M. Armato, Brian Croxall, Morris E. Eaves, Margaret R. Higonnet, Anton Kaes, Tracy Denean Sharpley-Whiting, and Philip M. Weinstein for the MLA Executive Council. The 2013 Elections Committee has arranged contests to fill seventeen special-interest and thirty-eight regional seats in the Delegate Assembly. Background information on the candidates for second vice president and the Executive Council and the names and affiliations of the Delegate Assembly candidates are now available online. To propose an additional candidate for any of these positions, see the procedures for filing petitions described in articles 6.E, 8.A.2, and 10.E of the MLA constitution.

Data Added to the MLA Language Map

Anna Chang — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:57:47 +0000

Want to know what state has the highest concentration of Hungarian speakers or where Arabic is taught in your area? The MLA Language Map, which displays the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages commonly spoken in the United States, and the Language Map Data Center now include data from the 2006–10 American Community Survey. The addition allows you to compare 2000 and 2010 language communities through tables and graphs generated in the data center and to view up-to-date demographic information on the map. You can also use the map to find out which colleges and universities teach a given language and to retrieve fall 2009 enrollment data for those institutions. Enrollments for African, Native American, Pacific Island, and Scandinavian languages, previously available only in aggregate form, are now identified by name on the map.

New Guidelines from the Committee on Information Technology

Anna Chang — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:03:28 +0000

The Committee on Information Technology has announced new updates to its guidelines for authors of Web pages and for technology support by institutions. The “Guidelines for Authors of Digital Resources” and “Guidelines for Information Technology Access and Support for the Modern Languages” have been approved by the MLA Executive Council and are now available in the committee’s area of the MLA Web site. They join “Guidelines for Evaluating Work in Digital Humanities and Media,” which was updated in 2012.

The News Is on the Move

Anna Chang — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 16:25:00 +0000

News from the MLA is moving to MLA Commons. Beginning on 6 March, news headlines that appear on the MLA home page and in the biweekly digest e-mail message will be linked to posts on the Commons. If you subscribe to a feed for the news page on the MLA Web site, you can use the Subscribe link on the left of this page to set up your Commons feed.

February Job Information List PDFs

Anna Chang — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:48:31 +0000

PDFs of the English and foreign language editions of the MLA Job Information List (JIL) are available online. The lists contain live links provided by advertisers as well as links to apply through Interfolio for positions that are still accepting applications. Anyone who applies for a position from the JIL will receive an Interfolio Dossier account at no cost. With an account, a job seeker can submit application letters and CVs electronically for free. More information about the dossier service is available in the JIL section of the MLA Web site.

MLA President Supports Freedom of Expression at Brooklyn College

Anna Chang — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:46:36 +0000

In response to the New York City Council’s pressure on Brooklyn College to rescind an invitation to a speaker the council considered controversial, Marianne Hirsch, the 2013–14 president of the MLA, wrote to Karen Gould, the president of Brooklyn College. Hirsch affirmed her support for the college’s “efforts to uphold the principles of freedom of expression and debate.” The full message is available on the From the President site.

2013 Presidential Address Online

Anna Chang — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:50:52 +0000

A transcript and audio recording of Michael Bérubé’s Presidential Address, delivered at the 2013 MLA Annual Convention in Boston, are now available online. In “How We Got Here,” Bérubé considers what inspired teachers of literature and language to join the profession, how they can make the case for the importance of what they do, and why they must strive to improve the working conditions of their colleagues. The 2012–13 president looks back on important initiatives of the past year with the hope “that this will have been a watershed year, the year when attention to the working conditions of the majority of our colleagues in higher education moved from the margin to the center of discussion.”