SCMLA 81st ANNUAL CONFERENCE

 

 

September 19-21, 2024

 

WELCOME TO NEW ORLEANS

 

 

 

Monteleone front.jpg

 

 

Please join us for what promises to be an exceptionally lively, engaging conference with many opportunities for both networking and professional development.

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

SCMLA 2024 Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS 

 

REGULAR/ALLIED SESSIONS

(FOR INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS WHO WISH TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT TO ONE OF OUR EXISTING SESSIONS)

Regular and Allied Sessions are managed by a chair and secretary. The chair selects papers, checks with the Executive Office to ensure that participants are members of South Central MLA, organizes the session, coordinates the session with the South Central MLA Executive Office, introduces session and speakers, moderates the session and encourages discussion. The secretary collects signatures of session attendees, keeps a record of attendance, files the gathered information to the Executive Office, and substitutes for the chair when the situation requires. The South Central MLA prohibits chairs of Regular and Allied Sessions from delivering a paper in the session on which they serve; a chair may however present a paper on a different Regular Session or on a Special Session. Double submissions are not permitted. Each member may submit only one abstract for an academic paper to a single session each year and apply to present on only one creative writing panel. However, if an abstract cannot be accommodated in the session to which it was originally submitted but is deemed of good quality, the Chair will forward it to the Program Committee, which will try to find an alternative placement for the abstract. Alternately, the Chair may, with the consent of the submitter, contact other sessions that might be able to accommodate the abstract and ask if they have space. 

 

Session Chairs who receive more than four good abstracts are encouraged to consider splitting their session into two panels. In most years, SCMLA has enough conference space to accommodate such requests.


Regular/Allied Sessions are created after a session chair selects the best papers or abstracts submitted through open competition. The list of Regular Session Chairs and their email addresses is listed at the top of this section, and will also be listed in the SCMLA Winter Newsletter. To see a list of the Regular and Allied Sessions that SCMLA offers, scroll down.


SPECIAL SESSIONS

(FOR MEMBERS WHO WISH TO ORGANIZE A PANEL NOT REPRESENTED IN OUR REGULAR AND ALLIED SESSIONS)

Each member may propose only one Special Session per year. The organizer is responsible for recruiting two to four panelists (including the organizer, if he/she presents) and filling out the paperwork posted HERE. Organizers and presenters must be current South Central MLA members. For Special Sessions, chairs and organizers may also deliver papers in their own sessions. Special Sessions will be refereed by the South Central MLA Program Committee. Organizers are encouraged to include presenters of varying rank and university affiliations to diversify the session. Members may not deliver more than one paper at the conference.

 

To issue a Call for Papers, return the form to the SCMLA office beginning October 16, 2023 for posting in the Special Sessions Call for Papers section of the Winter 2023/2024 Newsletter. We will continue to post “Calls” on our website as they are received. The “Due Date” indicates the date by which you would like to receive abstracts or papers for consideration; please keep the final proposal deadline (February, 2024) in mind when choosing a due date. Please note you may also submit proposals by completing the Volunteer Form or send an email to scmla@ou.edu.

 


ALLIED AND REGULAR SESSIONS (From Past Conferences)


ALLIED SESSIONS
ASOCIACIÓN DE LITERATURA FEMENINA HISPÁNICA
CONFERENCE ON CHRISTIANITY AND LITERATURE
THE EUDORA WELTY SOCIETY
FLANNERY O’CONNOR SOCIETY
INTERNATIONAL COURTLY LITERATURE SOCIETY
SOCIETY FOR CRITICAL EXCHANGE
SOUTH CENTRAL AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY

SOUTH CENTRAL COLLEGE ENGLISH ASSOCIATION
WOMEN IN FRENCH


REGULAR SESSIONS
AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE
AFRICAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
AMERICAN LITERATURE I: LITERATURE BEFORE 1900
AMERICAN LITERATURE II: LITERATURE AFTER 1900
APPLIED LINGUISTICS
AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND BIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND TEXTUAL CRITICISM
CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
CREATIVE WRITING - CREATIVE NONFICTION

CREATIVE WRITING - POETRY

CREATIVE WRITING - SHORT STORY

DIGITAL HUMANITIES
EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
ENGLISH I: OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
ENGLISH II: RENAISSANCE LITERATURE EXCLUDING DRAMA
ENGLISH III: RESTORATION AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE
ENGLISH IV: NINETEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE
ENGLISH V: TWENTIETH-CENTURY BRITISH LITERATURE
ENGLISH VI: GENERAL LINGUISTICS
FILM 1: ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM

FILM 2: FRENCH AND FRANCOPHONE FILM

FILM 3: HISPANIC FILM

FILM 4: GLOBAL FILM (PAPERS MUST BE PRESENTED IN ENGLISH)
FOLKLORE

FRANCOPHONE LITERATURE
FRENCH I: LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE TO 1600
FRENCH II: LITERATURE, 1600–1800
FRENCH III: LITERATURE AFTER 1800
FRESHMAN ENGLISH AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION
GAY AND LESBIAN STUDIES IN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
GENDER AND RACE IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY LITERATURE
GERMAN II: LITERATURE AND CULTURE FROM 1700 TO 1890
GERMAN III: LITERATURE AND CULTURE FROM 1890 TO PRESENT
GERMAN WOMEN WRITERS
GOTHIC
HISPANIC LITERATURE WRITTEN IN THE UNITED STATES
INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES IN THE HUMANITIES
IRISH LITERATURE
ITALIAN STUDIES I: MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE

ITALIAN STUDIES II: OPEN TOPIC

ITALIAN STUDIES III: PEDAGOGY

LITERATURE AND POLITICS
LITERATURE AND PSYCHOLOGY
LITERARY CRITICISM AND THEORY
LUSO-AFRO-BRAZILIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

MIDDLE EASTERN LITERATURE AND CULTURE

MODERN DRAMA
NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE

POP CULTURE

PROFESSIONAL WRITING
RENAISSANCE DRAMA
RHETORIC

RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AND METHODOLOGY
RUSSIAN LITERATURE
SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY LITERATURE
SCIENCE AND LITERATURE
SHORT FICTION
SLAVIC AND EASTERN EUROPEAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES
SOUTHERN LITERATURE
SOUTHWESTERN AMERICAN LITERATURE
SPANISH I: PENINSULAR LITERATURE BEFORE 1700
SPANISH II: PENINSULAR LITERATURE 1700-1898
SPANISH III: 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY PENINSULAR LITERATURE
SPANISH IV: COLONIAL LITERATURE THROUGH MODERNISMO

SPANISH V: 20TH CENTURY LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE

SPANISH VI: 21ST CENTURY LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE
SPANISH VII: LINGUISTICS

TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
WAR, LITERATURE, & THE ARTS
WOMEN OF COLOR
WOMEN’S CAUCUS OF THE SCMLA

SCMLA Regular Session Guidelines

 

GUIDELINES FOR REGULAR/ALLIED SESSIONS

I. SESSION STAFFING AND MANAGEMENT

 

Sessions are managed by a chair and a secretary. The chair selects papers, ensures that participants are members of SCMLA, organizes the session, coordinates the session with SCMLA, introduces session and speakers, moderates the session, and encourages discussion. The chair must also observe SCMLA processes and deadlines on ordering equipment. The secretary collects signatures of session attendees, keeps a record of attendance, files the gathered information with the Executive Director of SCMLA and substitutes for the chair when the situation requires.

 

During the session the chair conducts a brief business meeting at which a new chair and secretary are elected.

 

Other matters may also be addressed. If speakers are candidates for office, the meeting might be scheduled after their presentations. The chair is ordinarily the secretary from the preceding year; however, if the secretary is not in attendance, he/she should not be a candidate unless his/her willingness to serve as chair for the following year has been ascertained prior to the business meeting.  Session chairs may not deliver a paper in the session for which they serve (they may, of course, present on another panel). The session secretary may deliver a paper in the session for which he/she serves. Potential candidates for session chair and secretary should not agree to stand for election if they are unwilling to accept this condition and to carry out their responsibilities as officers, including attendance, at the following year’s session.

 

Sessions in which  officers are drawn from the same small pool of people year after year tend to become stagnant; every effort should be made to  keep session elections open and to encourage participation by new members.

 

II. CALL FOR PAPERS AND SESSION REPORT FORM

The Calls for Papers for Regular/Allied Sessions at the annual convention appear in the Winter Newsletter. Calls includes the names and institutional affiliations of the session officers, as well as the mailing address and E-mail address (or, alternatively, phone or fax number) of the session chair. The Newsletter announcement calls for 500 word abstracts or complete papers.

 

The information provided on the Post-Convention Session Report Formwill be the basis for the annual convention Call. All current chairs and secretaries use this form to report activities and statistics of each session. These forms are to be completed online immediately after the panel concludes. The Session Reports and Attendance Forms are vital to the continuation of all sessions. If they are not filled out completely and accurately, members will be unable to communicate with session chairs and secretaries.

 

If session members and/or chairs elected at the annual meeting wish to adopt a theme for the upcoming convention session, they may do so; themes reflecting the overall conference theme are encouraged, but not required. Chairs may also use the form included with the Post-Convention Report materials to submit a description of the session’s focus (maximum 30 words) for inclusion in the Newsletter. Session themes and/or calls for papers must be submitted to the SCMLA office by the deadline for inclusion in the Winter Newsletter. Calls for sessions that do not specify a theme and/or topic will be listed as “Open Topic.”

 

Session officers are encouraged to publicize their session through a separate mailing or through postings in appropriate venues, but the SCMLA cannot reimburse for expenses connected to publicity. Some members have been successful posting a Literary Call for Papers at CFP@english.upenn.edu. Full information on this is at http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/.

 

III. SUBMISSION OF PROGRAMS TO THE SCMLA OFFICE

The deadline for submission of papers or abstracts to the session chairs is listed in the Winter Newsletter and on the SCMLA website. Final Programs must be sent to the Executive Director by the deadline to be included in the Preliminary Schedule and the Convention Program.  All Panel participants must be SCMLA members by the time the panel line-up is submitted to the SCMLA office. 

 

The format for the submission of programs should include the names, affiliations and addresses of the chair and secretary and the names, affiliations, addresses and paper titles of each presenter on the Final Program Form. A brief session business meeting (see I. above) should be indicated on the Final Program Form (i.e., “between 2nd and 3rd papers”). Every effort should be made to provide clean, correct copy, especially for foreign languages; indicate all necessary accent marks, italicizations for book titles, etc.  

 

IV. DOUBLE PAPER SUBMISSIONS TO CHAIRS

SCMLA does not allow double submissions. Each member may submit only a single academic paper proposal each year.   Members may submit one proposal to participate in a creative writing session in addition to a single academic paper proposal.

 

Chairs who receive more than four good abstracts for a session are encouraged to consider splitting their session into two or more panels.  In most years, SCMLA has enough conference space to split sessions. Please contact the SCMLA office before splitting your panel.  If splitting the session is not feasible, then the chair should send extra abstracts deemed of good quality to the SCMLA office.  The office will try to find an alternative placement for quality abstracts that could not be accommodated in the session to which they were submitted.  Alternately, chairs may, with the permission of the submitter, contact the chairs of sessions that might also be able to accommodate the abstract and ask if they have space.  

 

Each year at the convention, a member may:

  • Read one academic paper
  • Present creative work (poetry, fiction..) in one additional session
  • Chair an additional session
  • Serve as secretary for a session

 

· Regular session chairs may read only in a session other than their own.

· Regular session secretaries may read in their own session or another session.

 

Chairs are responsible for informing all submitters of the status of their submissions, either selected or rejected. They must also verify that panel members have paid their membership dues and have not agreed to present on more sessions than is allowed.

 

V. SUBMISSIONS/CHANGES TO COMPLETED PANEL

Chairs must inform the SCMLA office immediately of changes to the Final Program as submitted. The SCMLA cannot guarantee that all changes will appear in the Convention Program. Papers of presenters who are absent should not be read in sessions unless some special circumstance prevented the panelist from attending.

 

VI. LENGTH AND CONTENT OF SESSIONS

All sessions run for 90 minutes. Chairs may not schedule more than four speakers in this limited time slot. The session should stay within the times and topics announced for the program. The SCMLA strongly encourages discussion at the conclusion of readings. Please leave time for such discussions and for the business meeting.

 

VII. PROGRAM SCHEDULE

A Preliminary Schedule of the Convention Program listing participants, paper titles, times, and locations will be available on the SCMLA website in August. Members requiring a print copy should contact the SCMLA offices at scmla@ou.edu or at the mailing address.

 

VIII. CONVENTION PROGRAM

Convention Programs will be distributed to registrants at the convention. Consult the Preliminary Schedule when making plane and hotel reservations.

 

IX. INVITED OR SOLICITED PAPERS:

Sessions are created after a session chair selects the best papers or abstracts submitted through open competition. Chairs may invite a particular individual to speak or set up a panel discussion as part of a session. If chairs wish judiciously to blend solicited and unsolicited papers, they should inform constituencies of this decision. In composing panels, chairs might consider the following an ideal mix: one widely-known and established scholar, one junior scholar or advanced graduate student, and one or two mid-level (associate) professors. All program chairs should be careful to avoid overloading one session with participants from a single institution.

 

X. CONTINUITY AND QUALITY OF SESSIONS

Members of the Executive Committee are alert to the content and conduct of sessions, especially those in the fields they represent, and are available for consultation by session officers and members. Questions regarding SCMLA program procedures may be addressed to the Program Committee Chair and the Executive Director. A session may be discontinued by the Executive Committee for low program quality, weak administration, low attendance, or related problems. Appeal of a decision to discontinue a session should be addressed to the Program Chair.

 

 

 

INVITATION TO EXHIBIT AND ADVERTISE

SOUTH CENTRAL MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION

 81st ANNUAL CONFERENCE

 

 

We invite you to join us in New Orleans for our 81st annual conference.  Be a part of this reinvigorated organization.

 

Who should exhibit at the South Central MLA conference?

Organizations interested in reaching college-level educators in language, literature, linguistics, and the humanities. Organizations such as:

  • Publishers
  • Suppliers of products or services for people studying and teaching language and literature
  • Producers of information technologies for humanities scholarship and research, English and foreign language teaching, and writing labs

 

Who attends the South Central MLA conference?

Over 500 college-level educators and graduate students from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and abroad attend our annual conference.  All have the potential to purchase or recommend to purchase your products and services. 

 

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet with:

  • College and university department chairs and division heads
  • Teachers and scholars from our region, Canada and abroad
  • Graduate students on their way to establishing their careers

 

If you are interested in exhibiting or advertising for the 2024 Conference, please contact the SCMLA office at SCMLA@ou.edu 

Future SCMLA Conferences

 

Hotel Monteleone

New Orleans

September 19-21, 2024