Procedures for Organizing Convention Meetings
This guide describes the kinds of meetings at the MLA convention and the procedures for organizing them. All correspondence concerning these procedures should be sent to the MLA convention office. The e-mail address for the convention office is convention@mla.org.
1. Who Can Organize Meetings
Meetings at the convention are arranged by MLA forums, individual members, allied organizations, and committees of the association.
2. Guidelines for All Meetings
Deadlines. The deadline for submitting convention program forms for all convention sessions is 1 April. Participants in all sessions must be listed on the membership rolls by 7 April of the year before the year in which the convention will be held or must have been granted a waiver of membership.
Session Formats. MLA meetings may be formal panels, roundtable sessions (which may be interactive electronic demonstrations), workshops, or special events. Individual members may also propose working groups or seminars. The Program Committee welcomes innovative session proposals that do not fit into one of these categories. Please contact the MLA convention office (convention@mla.org) if you have questions.
- Panel sessions feature a presider and three formal presentations (up to 18 minutes each) with at least fifteen minutes of unstructured discussion. If four speakers are included, or if there is a respondent, the presentations should be shortened accordingly, and the presider must make certain that at least fifteen minutes remain for discussion.
- Roundtable sessions contain up to eight participants, including the presider, but no formal presentations. Participants will engage in informal discussion of broad scholarly or professional questions with an emphasis on engagement between panelists and attendees. Electronic roundtables offer interactive demonstrations and allow attendees to circulate among three to eight stations that will be set up around the meeting room with appropriate audiovisual equipment.
- Workshops are intensive discussions led by one or two facilitators. They emphasize participation by all session attendees and focus on hands-on learning and career development with clear takeaways for participants. Workshops focus on professional development or professional interests, responsibilities, and proficiencies (e.g., pedagogy, mentoring, academic freedom, departmental governance). Workshops may take place within a seventy-five-minute session or may have a three-hour period to explore issues in greater depth. Three-hour workshops cannot be submitted as guaranteed sessions and must be reviewed by the Program Committee. These workshops will require participants to preregister and, in some cases, to pay a fee. All workshop proposals must meet MLA requirements and follow required submission procedures.
- Special events include poetry readings, films, or performances that are of significant interest to attendees. The MLA executive director, with the assistance of the Program Committee, reviews and approves special events. Forums, MLA committees, and allied organizations may propose a special event as one of their nonguaranteed sessions. Individual members may also propose such events. See section 6.
- Working groups are proposed by individual members who post a call for participation and then engage eight to twelve participants to meet together to discuss their work in two or three sessions during the convention, working toward a collective project or outcome. All approved working groups will be required to establish groups on MLA Commons, through which papers and other materials must be circulated to participants and auditors before the convention. Session time will then be used for very brief presentations and extended discussion rather than for the reading of papers. Working groups extend over more than one session, so participants in a working group will not be able to participate in any other sessions.
Membership. While anyone who has registered for the convention may attend sessions, only current MLA members may organize, chair, or participate formally in sessions (i.e., give presentations, serve as discussants, or have their names listed in the Program). Participants in MLA sessions must be current MLA members for the year in which their proposed session is submitted. For example, sessions for the 2023 convention will be submitted in 2022. Participants must be members by 7 April 2022. Current MLA members may check the membership status of a session participant. A member number and password are required to access this members-only section of the MLA website.
At the discretion of the executive director, waivers of the membership requirement may be granted for nonscholars and for scholars who work in disciplines other than language and literature. The request must be included in the People section of the Program copy form when the form is submitted (1 April submission deadline). Speakers may be granted a waiver once every five years. The speaker’s discipline (history, economics, psychology, etc.) or profession (curator, archivist, attorney, etc.) and reason for requesting the waiver must be specified on the form. Please note that waived nonmembers cannot organize or chair a session.
Registration. All session participants, including those who received membership waivers, must register for the convention.
Payment for speakers. Limited funding is available for eligible waived nonmembers. Funding is restricted to graduate students, those with income of less than $30,000, and those who reside outside the United States and Canada. Waived nonmembers who meet these requirements may receive partial travel reimbursement up to $400. A request for funding must come from the nonmember directly.
Waived nonmembers must register for the convention before applying for funding. The deadline to request assistance is 1 December. Travel assistance is in the form of a reimbursement check provided after the convention. Itemized receipts must be submitted before funds are disbursed. For further information on funding, visit the MLA Financial Assistance page or write to awards@mla.org.
Participation in meetings. So that as many members as possible may actively participate in convention sessions, a member may be listed only twice in a single convention program. Presenting a paper, serving as panelist or respondent, facilitating a workshop, or presiding at a session leads to a listing in the convention program. The two listings may occur in a single session or in two different sessions. Note: Working groups extend over more than one session, so participants in a working group will not be able to participate in any other sessions.
A member may propose only one special session a year.
No more than two participants (including presiders and respondents) may be from the same institution unless the institution is a key aspect of the session.
The Delegate Assembly has approved the policy that there must be a fifteen-minute discussion period at the end of each session; therefore, the Program Committee strongly recommends that there be no more than three principal presentations in a panel session.
Up to eight participants, including presiders and respondents, and their affiliations may be listed for any roundtable session, and the bulk of the session should be allotted to discussion between panelists and attendees.
Workshops are typically led by one or two facilitators.
Length of meetings. All convention meetings other than plenaries and some workshops last one hour and fifteen minutes; plenaries last one hour and forty-five minutes; workshops (depending on the type) last either three hours or one hour and fifteen minutes. A minimum of fifteen minutes must be left at the end of each panel session for discussion, while most other session formats focus on discussion throughout.
Calls for papers. Calls for papers bring together potential session organizers (be they forums, MLA committees, allied organizations, or individual members) and participants. Calls for papers are simply statements of intent to propose a session; they do not in any way bind the organizer or the Program Committee.
Calls for papers may be posted online until late February for the convention held the following January. See the calendar of deadlines for more information. Calls for papers on the website must be limited to thirty-five words, including the title of the session but not counting the name and address of the person placing the announcement. The MLA reserves the right to edit calls for papers submitted to the website.
3. Forum Meetings
The MLA forums encompass the scholarly and professional concerns of the association. Each forum may arrange at least one guaranteed session of one hour and fifteen minutes. The number of guaranteed sessions allotted to each forum is determined by the Program Committee. A minimum of fifteen minutes must be left at the end of each panel session for discussion, while most other session formats focus on discussion throughout. Forums also have the possibility of organizing up to two additional sessions; proposals will be reviewed by the Program Committee, which will select the additional sessions to be held at the convention. Entities (forums, allied organizations, MLA committees) may submit proposals independently or in collaboration with one other entity, but priority will be given to proposals submitted in collaboration. If a forum submits proposals for two nonguaranteed sessions, one proposal must be for a collaborative session. Please note that each entity may submit and participate in only one collaborative session.
As an alternative to its regular programs, a forum may propose a plenary (see sec. 5), perhaps in conjunction with another forum, an MLA committee, or an allied organization. A forum that arranges a plenary may also organize one other meeting during the convention.
Executive committee program responsibilities. Forum executive committees are responsible for planning forum sessions. It is the duty of the chair of the executive committee to handle the details of organizing the session(s) and to prepare copy for the Program. If the chair delegates these responsibilities to another member of the executive committee, the MLA convention office must be notified. Forum executive committees are encouraged to experiment with a variety of formats in organizing their sessions. A forum session can, for example, present a roundtable, a panel discussion, a workshop, two speakers, or a single speaker who delivers a major address.
Executive committees meet during the convention to select topics for future convention sessions and to transact other business. Immediately after the convention, the secretary of each executive committee (who will have become the chair after the close of that year’s convention and thus will organize the Program for the following year’s convention) must submit electronically a call for papers for at least one of the forum’s sessions if the forum plans to submit more than one session. Forums are encouraged to post a call for papers as a way of involving all MLA members. The call should include the deadline for submissions, the name of the person to whom papers should be sent, and other pertinent information (see Calls for papers in sec. 2 for more details).
Executive committees may arrange informal social gatherings during the convention for members of their forums—luncheons, dinners, receptions, or cash bars. All these types of events can be held off-site, but only cash bars and receptions can be held in a headquarters venue. When scheduling sessions, the convention office is not able to take into account any off-site events a forum may be hosting during convention hours. To prevent conflicts, it is strongly recommended that such off-site events be scheduled after the Program is finalized. Cash bars and receptions that are held in a headquarters venue will be scheduled during the cash-bar time period (7:15–8:30 p.m. on the Friday and Saturday of the convention). Executive committees should note that there are costs related to holding a social event and that the MLA does not assume financial responsibility for any social event arranged by executive committees.
Selecting topics for forum programs. Because forum sessions are among the largest convention sessions in terms of scope and attendance, executive committees are urged to plan at least tentative topics for their sessions a year or more in advance. In selecting topics for forum sessions, executive committees should keep in mind that forums represent major areas of membership interest and that their sessions, over a period of years, should attempt to convey the range of interests of the forum membership. Executive committee members may access past convention sessions in Convention History on the MLA website.
Selecting speakers. Executive committees may place calls for papers on the MLA website (see Calls for papers in sec. 2). Any executive committee that plans to propose more than one session for a particular convention must submit a call for papers for at least one of those sessions.
Preparing program copy. The chair is responsible for submitting final copy for the Program to the MLA convention office by the 1 April deadline. Chairs are reminded that they must adhere to the guidelines on membership and on payment for speakers (see sec. 2).
4. Special Sessions
Special sessions differ from guaranteed convention sessions in two ways: (1) they are initiated and organized by individual members to exchange ideas on topics of limited scope; (2) they must be approved by the Program Committee each year. A member may propose only one special session a year. The organizer of the session is responsible both for arranging the session (e.g., ensuring that at least fifteen minutes are available for discussion for panels; the majority of session time is dedicated to discussion for roundtables and workshops) and for monitoring the length of presentations (up to 18 minutes each for three formal presentations). The session format is determined by the organizer; papers may be circulated in advance to a public or private group on MLA Commons, summarized at the start of the meeting, or delivered by the participants. Roundtable sessions and workshops follow the formats outlined under Session Formats in section 2.
The Program Committee reviews all valid proposals for special sessions and selects the special sessions to be held at the convention. To be valid, a special-session proposal must be submitted through the MLA website no later than 1 April. The proposer must be a current MLA member. All session participants must be MLA members or have been granted waivers of membership by 7 April. The committee aims to approve sessions on a wide range of subjects and approaches, taking care not to approve too many sessions on the same topic.
Selecting topics for special sessions. Careful selection of a topic is the first step in preparing a good proposal. Topics should be specific enough to be dealt with adequately in the one hour and fifteen minutes allotted. Organizers should always keep in mind the requirement that fifteen minutes be reserved for discussion. Topics such as teaching composition, Proust’s Du côté de chez Swann, or archetypal criticism are too broad. More suitable topics would be new methods of teaching composition in the community college, nature imagery in Proust’s Du côté de chez Swann, or archetypal interpretations of The Scarlet Letter. Because the sessions are specialized, their topics may vary considerably from year to year according to the changing interests of the membership.
Organizing a special session. Session organizers should give careful consideration to their choice of panelists and other participants and include in their proposal only the names of those who have formally agreed to participate in the session, if it is approved. The organizer must obtain these commitments before submitting the proposal. All participants must be members of the MLA by 7 April and must register for the convention (see sec. 2 for membership and registration details). A member may be listed twice in the Program, whether in two different sessions, twice in a single session, or as part of a working group. A member who has submitted papers or agreed to be a respondent or a presider for more than two sessions must inform each session organizer, and the organizers should then indicate on their proposals (in the description of the session) who will replace the member if a replacement is necessary. In panel sessions, there should normally be three panelists. In roundtable sessions, there may be up to eight participants, including presiders. For workshops, there are normally one to two facilitators. No more than two participants (including presiders and respondents) may be from the same institution, unless the institution is a key aspect of the session (e.g., New Approaches to Beginning Language Teaching at the Monterey Institute). The proposal should include information about the participants, explaining why they are particularly well suited to serve on the panel. (See Participation in meetings in sec. 2.)
The session organizer decides which method of selecting panelists best suits the topic. Some sessions bring together individuals who are known to one another and who are aware of their shared interest in a highly specialized topic; other sessions bring together individuals who are identified with a certain theory, idea, or program and whose collective participation would be of particular interest. Under these circumstances, the session organizer would probably approach the three persons who, in his or her view, would contribute most significantly to the session and ask them to serve as panelists. Sometimes, however, a session organizer may propose a session precisely for the purpose of seeking out individuals who are actively involved with the topic. The organizer would then issue a call for papers to announce his or her intention to propose a session and invite prospective panelists to express their interest. Members who wish to solicit panelists in this manner should submit a call for papers on the MLA website (see Calls for papers in sec. 2). Members who place calls for papers should acknowledge receipt of all responses to the call for papers, notify panelists whether or not their paper has been selected, and notify members whose proposals could not be included in the session.
Session organizers and presiders. Usually a proposal has only one session organizer (the member who organized and submitted the proposal). Proposals often have one presider (the member who will introduce and moderate the session and enforce time limits). The session organizer can be, but does not have to be, the session presider. Presiders’ names are listed in the Program, but session organizers’ names are not. If the organizer is also the presider, that should be noted on the proposal form. Proposals listing two organizers should indicate which person should receive correspondence from the MLA convention office concerning the session. Both session organizers and presiders must be MLA members and are not eligible for waivers.
Preparing a proposal for a special session. The forms to be used in preparing proposals for special sessions, as well as a tour of the special-session-proposal form, examples of successful proposals, and additional information, are available on the MLA website. Proposals should have paragraph breaks. Without paragraph breaks, proposals are difficult to read. Members who wish to organize sessions should pay attention to the deadline (1 April) for the submission of proposals. Proposals received after the deadline cannot be considered. Special-session proposals cannot be connected with other proposals. Each special-session proposal will be evaluated separately on its merits by the Program Committee.
A proposal for a special session must be complete to receive proper consideration. It should include (1) the title of the session; (2) a thorough description of the session and an intellectual rationale for the topic; (3) the names of the session organizer, presider, and panelists who will participate and their professional titles and institutions; and (4) complete program copy that includes presentation titles (if a panel session), names of participants, and only one affiliation per person.
(1) The title should reflect the topic and purpose of the session. Since titles of sessions are used not only in the indexes to meetings in the Program but also in special-interest mailings to segments of the MLA membership, it is important that they convey what the session is about. Naturalism in Nineteenth-Century Fiction is an apt title for a session dealing with fiction in several languages, but a session focusing on the works of two French novelists might more accurately be titled Naturalism in Novels by Émile Zola and Guy de Maupassant. Similarly, the title Virginia Woolf does not indicate the focus of the session. If the session will treat a theme in one of the author’s works, a more appropriate title might be The Betrayal of Family Relations in Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse.
(2) The description of the topic should include (a) an explanation of the topic and the way in which it will be treated, (b) the rationale for organizing a session on that particular topic and a statement of the way the proposed topic relates to existing scholarship, and (c) a brief description of each presentation with information on how it relates to the other presentations and the overall topic. Since the Program Committee tries to achieve a balance between sessions on subjects of wide interest and sessions on subjects in which only a few persons are interested, this information is important.
(3) The names, professional titles, and institutions of the session organizer and all session participants (presiders, respondents, presenters, or panelists) should be included. Only one institution may be listed for each participant. A member's name may appear in the Program twice (e.g., as presider, respondent, or serving as a speaker or panelist) at the MLA Annual Convention. No more than two individuals from the same institution may participate in a session. A member may propose only one special session a year. A member who has agreed to participate in more than two sessions must inform each session organizer, and the organizers should then indicate on their proposals who will replace the member if a replacement is necessary. Special-session proposals may only be submitted through the MLA website on the electronic form provided. Proposals submitted in an e-mail or a paper format cannot be accepted. If all the information requested is not provided, or if the proposal includes the names of persons who are not MLA members by 7 April or for whom the membership requirement has not been waived, the proposal will be at a disadvantage. To avoid delays in having their proposals processed, members proposing sessions should verify the membership status and current affiliation of panelists before submitting proposals. If the individual’s name does not appear, you can check further by calling the MLA membership office.
Review by the Program Committee. Each May, the Program Committee meets to review all valid proposals and to select the special sessions to be held at the upcoming convention. The committee approves proposals on the basis of their quality in relation to the others submitted. The committee aims to include sessions on a wide variety of topics and approaches and to distribute its selections among English and foreign languages and literatures; writing; scholarly, professional, and pedagogical subjects; and so on. The committee strives to balance its selections between topics of continuing interest and topics to which little or no attention has been paid. The committee welcomes proposals that allow for a variety of formats, including roundtable discussions and electronic presentations and workshops, provided all other guidelines for special sessions are observed. Organizers are notified in writing of the committee’s decisions.
Approved sessions. Once a session has been approved, its organizer should confirm with panelists their intention to participate and should reiterate what is expected of them. Session organizers should be aware that substantial changes in the list of panelists cited in the proposal could result in cancellation of the approved session, since sessions have been approved on the basis of the proposals submitted. Only changes in affiliation of previously proposed speakers or the names of speakers who are replacing participants who have withdrawn from the session may be noted on the Program proof that the proposer receives in July.
5. Plenaries
Arranged by individual members, forums, MLA committees, or allied organizations, plenaries are large public meetings on topics of broad general interest. In addition to the main session of one hour and forty-five minutes, a maximum of two linked sessions may be organized to treat specialized aspects of the general topic. No more than four plenaries, including the Presidential Plenary, are arranged for a convention.
The MLA executive director, with the assistance of the Program Committee, is responsible for approving plenaries for each year’s convention. Any member who wishes to propose a plenary—as an individual member, as a representative of a forum executive committee, or as an officer of an allied organization—is encouraged to get in touch with the executive director (execdirector@mla.org) to discuss ideas for convention programs for the following year before submitting a formal proposal.
Formal proposals should describe in detail the topic and nature of the proposed plenary and explain the number and purpose of linked sessions. The description of the topic, between 500 and 750 words in length, should include an explanation of the topic, the rationale for organizing a plenary on that particular topic, and a statement of the way the proposed topic relates to existing scholarship. Plenary proposals should also include the titles of the plenary and each linked session, the names of the presiders at the plenary and each linked session, and the names of all other participants and their presentation titles. Relevant biographical information should be provided for all plenary participants as well as their professional affiliations (one for each person). A brief description of each paper or presentation should be included, but do not send abstracts. All speakers must have agreed to participate when the proposal is submitted. If the proposed plenary would entail payment of expenses for speakers, an estimate of the cost should also be provided. Eligibility of speakers to receive payment is explained in the general guidelines for all convention meetings (see sec. 2). The total expenditure per plenary should not exceed $1,000.
The deadline for submission of proposals is 1 April, though organizers are encouraged to submit proposals earlier. The Program Committee will review all proposals and recommend for approval by the executive director those that, in its view, would deal in a productive way with a subject suitable to this format. Members will be notified of the decision on their proposals after the May Program Committee meeting.
6. Special Events
Special events include poetry readings, films, performances, or other events that are of significant interest to attendees. The MLA executive director, with the assistance of the Program Committee, reviews and approves special events. Proposals for special events should be made on the special-event form (which may be obtained on the MLA website) and must be submitted electronically no later than 1 April. A special event must be proposed by a current MLA member or be proposed as a nonguaranteed session by a forum, an allied organization, or an MLA committee. The special event should be described in detail, including how the event will function and who will facilitate the event at the convention. When planning the event, proposers should keep in mind that the MLA uses standard meeting rooms for sessions. These rooms are set theater-style and may not have a stage, special lighting, or specialized audiovisual equipment beyond what is generally available at the convention.
7. Allied Organization Meetings
Allied organizations may arrange one guaranteed session of one hour and fifteen minutes for the convention. A minimum of fifteen minutes must be left at the end of each panel session for discussion, while most other session formats focus on discussion throughout. Allied organizations can also propose up to two additional nonguaranteed sessions; these proposals will be reviewed by the Program Committee, which will select the additional sessions to be held at the convention. Entities (forums, allied organizations, MLA committees) may submit proposals independently or in collaboration with one other entity, but priority will be given to proposals submitted in collaboration. If an allied organization submits proposals for two nonguaranteed sessions, one proposal must be for a collaborative session. Please note that each entity may submit and participate in only one collaborative session. As an alternative to their regular sessions, allied organizations may propose a plenary (see sec. 5), perhaps in conjunction with another allied organization, a forum, or an MLA committee. Allied organizations may arrange informal gatherings in the evenings (7:15–8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday or 8:45–10:00 p.m. on Thursday and Saturday) during the convention for business meetings, social events, or informal networking (see sec. 10).
Preparing Program Copy. Allied organizations that plan to arrange sessions will be notified when program-copy forms are available online (by mid-March). Calls for papers may be published on the MLA website (see Calls for papers in sec. 2). Organizers should confirm with panelists their intention to participate in the session and should reiterate what is expected of them. Organizers are responsible for submitting the appropriate program-copy forms by the deadline (1 April).
Participation. Like participants for all other meetings at the MLA convention, those who are on the programs of allied organizations must be MLA members (unless the membership requirement has been waived; see sec. 2) and must register for the convention. Membership in the allied organization is not required by the MLA for participation in convention sessions. Allied social functions that are listed on the MLA website are open to all persons registered at the convention.
8. Working Groups
Working groups provide a means for a group of members to meet together to discuss their work in more than one session during the convention. An MLA member who wants to propose a working group must first submit a call for participation by 28 February, which will be publicized to the membership. The organizer will engage eight to twelve participants who agree to meet together to discuss their work in two or three sessions during the convention, working toward a collective project or outcome. All approved working groups will be required to establish groups on MLA Commons, through which papers and other materials must be circulated to participants and auditors before the convention. Session time will then be used for very brief presentations and extended discussion rather than for the reading of papers.
The Program Committee reviews all valid working group proposals and selects those to be held at the convention. To be valid, a working group proposal must be preceded by a call for participation, and the proposal must be submitted through the MLA website no later than 1 April. The proposer must be a current MLA member. All session participants must be MLA members or have been granted waivers of membership by 7 April (see sec. 2).
Like participants for all other meetings at the MLA convention, those who propose or participate in working groups must be MLA members, register for the convention, and adhere to all the participation guidelines (see sec. 2). Working groups extend over more than one session, so participants in a working group will not be able to participate in any other sessions.
9. Social Events, Informal Gatherings, and Allied Organization Business Meetings
On-Site Social Events
Social events provide an opportunity for informal gatherings of convention attendees. Forum executive committees, MLA committees, allied organizations, and institutional departments and schools may submit a request to hold an on-site social event during the 7:15–8:30 p.m. time slot on the Friday or Saturday of the convention.
To have approved events listed in the Program, you must submit a request by 1 April.
Late-Night Events
Late-night events can be scheduled during the 8:45–10:00 p.m. time slot on the Thursday and Saturday of the convention for business meetings, social events, or informal networking. Space will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority going to allied organizations, and must be requested by e-mailing dhenry@mla.org.
Late-night events will not be listed in the printed Program but will be listed on the MLA website. Requests must be submitted before 15 October.
Off-Site Events
An off-site event may be held at a restaurant, a nonheadquarters location, or other venue. However, because of the complexity of scheduling convention sessions, off-site events cannot be considered when scheduling the convention. To prevent conflicts, please plan your off-site events after 1 August.
Requests may be submitted between 1 August and 15 October.
Submissions will appear online; off-site events will not be listed in the printed Program.