Special-Session FAQs
General Information
Special sessions are organized and proposed by individual MLA members rather than by an MLA committee, forum, or allied organization. Special-session proposals are reviewed by the Program Committee, whose job it is to decide which proposals will be approved for the convention. For complete information on the procedures for proposing a special session, please refer to Procedures for Organizing Convention Meetings.
CloseNo. Only current MLA members may propose a special session.
CloseVisit Proposing a Special Session to find information about proposing a special session, to view excerpts from successful proposals, to take a tour of the proposal form, and to submit a special-session proposal. You must be a current MLA member to access the proposal form.
CloseSpecial-session proposals, complete with any scheduling or audiovisual requests, must be submitted no later than 1 April. Proposals that are incomplete, submitted after the deadline, or not submitted on the special-session form will not be considered. Scheduling requests are not guaranteed and must be accompanied by an appropriate rationale to be considered.
CloseEach MLA member may propose only one special session per convention.
CloseThere are three types of special sessions.
- Panels: Sessions that feature three formal presentations and a presider, with at least fifteen minutes of unstructured discussion with session attendees
- Roundtables: Sessions without formal presentations that focus on open discussion of broad scholarly or professional questions with an emphasis on engagement between panelists and attendees
- Workshops: Intensive discussions led by one or two facilitators that emphasize participation by all session attendees. There are two types of workshops: those focused on professional development and those focused on professional interests, responsibilities, and proficiencies.
Individual members may also organize one other type of session.
- Working groups: While not technically a special session, working groups are proposed by individual members as a way to meet together to discuss their work in more than one session during the convention, working toward a collective project or outcome. Session time will be dedicated to very brief presentations and extended discussion rather than the reading of papers.
No. Sessions must be organized and proposed in their entirety. However, if you are working on a project related to exploring innovative curricular thinking in both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary configurations and wish to engage in one-on-one conversations with attendees, you are welcome to submit a proposal to participate in the Innovation Room.
CloseCalls for Papers
A call for papers invites MLA members to submit presentations for possible sessions; it is not a session proposal. A call for papers is not required for panels, roundtables, or workshops; it is a required part of the process for proposing a working group. Only post a call for papers for a panel, roundtable, or workshop if you are seeking submissions for prospective participants. If you have already selected your participants, you should not post a call for papers.
CloseCalls for papers must be submitted through the MLA website. Session organizers may submit calls for papers from early November to 28 February for the following year’s convention. Calls for papers will be posted on the website as they are submitted and will be removed in late March.
CloseNo.
CloseYes. Session organizers who place calls for papers should acknowledge receipt of proposals and let members know whether their proposals will be included in the submitted session.
CloseProposal Guidelines
Typically, each MLA session is one hour and fifteen minutes long. For panels, the Delegate Assembly requires a fifteen-minute discussion period at the end of each session. For roundtables, the bulk of the session should be allotted to discussion between panelists and attendees.
CloseVisit the Convention Program Forms page to access the session proposal forms. Click on the appropriate proposal type, then click the Begin a Submission button.
CloseThere are three formats for special sessions: panels (sessions with formal presentations and a presider), roundtables (group discussion with no formal presentations), and workshops (one or two leaders focused on attendee experience and learner outcomes). You can select the session type on the first page of the special-session proposal form. When you select Panel, you will be asked to provide not only participants’ names and affiliations but also presentation titles; when you select Roundtable or Workshop, you will be asked to provide the participants’ names and affiliations but not presentation titles.
CloseSince fifteen minutes must be reserved at the end of each panel for discussion, the Program Committee strongly recommends that a formal session include no more than three presentations. It is helpful if you explain how the session will run, how long each presentation will be (17–18 minutes each for three presentations), and why that best suits your session. Proposals that appear not to leave adequate time for the fifteen-minute discussion period will be at a disadvantage.
CloseRoundtables may have up to eight participants, including presiders. Each roundtable will last one hour and fifteen minutes; the bulk of the session should be allotted to discussion between panelists and attendees. You should select the number of participants that allows you to create the richest conversation and stay within the allotted time.
CloseSpecial sessions are individual proposals and cannot be submitted in conjunction with other sessions. Because of subject conflicts, scheduling conflicts, and the Program Committee’s attempts to include sessions on a wide variety of subjects and approaches, we are not able to accommodate connected or related special sessions.
CloseMembers who wish to receive comments on the detailed description of their session proposals should send drafts to scourtney@mla.org no later than 1 March. The executive director or one of the Program Committee members will review draft proposals and provide comments and suggestions.
CloseThere is no way to guarantee that your proposal will be approved. We encourage you to visit Proposing a Special Session to read detailed information about proposing a special session.
Please note the following:
- It is important that in the session description you situate the content of the proposed session within the context of existing scholarship, explain how the session builds on that scholarship, and describe the reasons you chose the speakers and presentations you did and how the speakers will work within the session.
- The Program Committee tends to accept only those proposed sessions that are supported by a strong written proposal and not those that solely feature a timely subject, a worthwhile cause, or a prestigious speaker.
- Proposals that are not submitted on the MLA proposal form, that do not contain all the requested information, or that contain participants who are not MLA members (or have not been granted waivers of membership) by the 7 April deadline will be at a disadvantage.
Yes. A confirmation e-mail will be sent to you when you begin your proposal and after you have completed your online submission. Please make sure that your e-mail account is set up to receive messages from mla@confex.com so that confirmation e-mails are not stopped by spam-blocking software.
CloseThe Program Committee meets in early May to review proposals. Session organizers will be notified of the committee’s decisions by early June. The MLA will contact only the session organizer regarding the outcome; it is the responsibility of the session organizer to inform session participants of the committee’s decision.
CloseBecause of constraints on the number of sessions that can be held at the convention, members of the Program Committee carefully review and score all session proposals, accepting only those that receive the highest scores (see scoring guidelines). Its decisions on session proposals are final, although submitters are welcome to revise their proposals for the following year (see FAQ below).
CloseThe Program Committee cannot provide specific details or feedback on all the sessions that were not accepted. If you plan to resubmit your proposal for the following year’s convention, you can request assistance with the revision. Send your request, along with a revised proposal description, to scourtney@mla.org no later than 1 February, and include the reference number that was listed on the notification letter. The executive director or one of the Program Committee members will review your revised proposal as well as your original one and provide comments and suggestions.
CloseParticipants and Participation
Yes, you may list yourself as presider, panelist, or respondent for the session you are proposing. Please keep in mind that you can have your name in the Program no more than twice, so that if you preside and give a presentation in one session, you cannot participate in another session. 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.
CloseNot necessarily. The session organizer is the person who has organized and submitted the session and will receive notification of whether the session has been accepted. The session organizer’s name will not appear in the Program unless that person is also participating in the session. The presider will introduce the session and the speakers, moderate the session, enforce time limits, and provide the required fifteen-minute discussion period. The presider’s name and affiliation are listed in the Program. Session organizers may list themselves as presiders for their sessions, but it is not a requirement.
CloseUsually only one person serves as presider for a session. If you feel that your session requires two presiders, select Presider as the role on the Session Participants page.
CloseYes, you may have copresenters on your panel, provided that they are able to give the presentation in the allotted time. On the Add/Edit People page of the form, click the Add Copresenter link under a panelist’s name to add a copresenter for that presentation.
CloseYes. So that as many members as possible may have the opportunity to be active in convention programs, a member may be listed only twice in the Program. Participants are listed in the Program if they are giving a presentation, participating in a roundtable or workshop, or serving as a presider or respondent. Participating in two different roles in the same session (e.g., as the presider and a panelist) would count as two Program listings. 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.
CloseNo more than two participants from the same institution may participate in a session.
CloseNo. All the information that you provide in your special-session proposal form should be complete, and the information should appear exactly as you would wish it to appear in the Program if your proposal is accepted. You should have commitments from all the session participants before submitting your special-session proposal. Special sessions are approved on the basis of the proposals submitted, so any late changes made to the names of your session participants could result in cancellation of the approved session.
CloseIf you are on the Search Results page, select “Not Found” if there are any questions and continue submitting your proposal. Once we receive the proposal forms, we manually check the membership status of all session participants and e-mail the organizers if there are any membership questions.
CloseOnly current MLA members (or those whose membership requirements have been waived) may be included in your special-session proposal. To be listed in the Program, session participants must be MLA members by the 7 April deadline. If a session participant is not a member (and the waiver requirement has not been met) by the 7 April deadline, your proposal will be reviewed by the Program Committee without that person’s name or contribution to your panel. If your proposal is accepted and the nonmember subsequently joins the MLA and registers for the convention, you can request to have that person added to the online program.
CloseIf the potential participant is not a scholar or works in a discipline other than language and literature, you may request a waiver of membership for that person. Please see the following FAQs for additional information.
CloseAt the discretion of the executive director, waivers of membership may be granted to nonscholars (e.g., medical doctors, visual artists) and to scholars who work in fields other than language and literature. MLA members, including those in the emeritus category, are not eligible for waivers of membership. A waiver of membership may be granted to an individual once every five years. Session organizers and presiders are not eligible for waivers of membership. For additional information on waivers of membership, please refer to Procedures for Organizing Convention Meetings.
CloseThe request must be made by 1 April by clicking the Request a Membership Waiver button on the Participant Information page for that participant on the session program copy form. Those who are granted waivers will be eligible to register at the appropriate member rate during regular member registration. If the waiver is not approved, the participant may still become an MLA member by the 7 April deadline to participate in your session. For additional information on waivers of membership, please refer to Procedures for Organizing Convention Meetings.
CloseFunding must be requested by those seeking it, not by session organizers.
Travel grants are available for advanced graduate student members, non-tenure-track or unemployed members, and regular or life members residing outside the United States and Canada. For more information about travel grants, please visit the MLA Financial Assistance page or write to awards@mla.org.
Limited funding is available to support travel for waived nonmembers who need financial assistance. Funding for waived nonmembers is restricted to graduate students, to those whose income is under $30,000, and to those who permanently reside outside the United States and Canada. Eligible waived nonmembers may apply for partial travel reimbursement of up to $400. Waived nonmembers must be registered for the convention to apply for funding. The funding application deadline is 1 December. No complimentary hotel rooms will be provided for waived nonmembers.
Travel assistance is awarded in the form of reimbursement after the convention. Recipients must submit itemized receipts before funds are disbursed. The deadline for submitting receipts for reimbursement will be the same for all travel grant recipients.
ClosePlease let your session organizer know immediately. It may be possible to arrange for a replacement. Please note that papers normally cannot be read in absentia (whether by videoconferencing, audio delivery, or presentation by surrogates). Presenters who are unable to attend the convention because of unforeseen emergencies may circulate their papers in advance through private or public groups on MLA Commons or upload them to CORE, the MLA’s open-access repository.
ClosePlease contact the MLA convention office immediately (convention@mla.org). Information about a valid replacement will be included in the online program as time permits.
CloseMLA sessions should only be canceled if nearly all the participants are unable to attend the convention. In such a situation, please contact the MLA convention office immediately (convention@mla.org), so that convention attendees can be informed of the cancellation. You should also inform all the participants in your session of the cancellation.
CloseOther Questions
The session organizer is responsible for including all audiovisual requests for the session in the designated “A/V Equipment” section on the first page of the special-session proposal form at the time the proposal is submitted. All audiovisual requests must be submitted by 1 April. It is the session organizer’s responsibility to obtain all audiovisual requirements from the session participants before submitting the special-session proposal. Late requests cannot be accommodated.
CloseUse the buttons along the top for italics, boldface, and other special formatting. The Program Committee members will disregard any odd punctuation or symbols in their review of the special-session proposals.
CloseSpecial sessions are approved on the basis of the proposals submitted, so any substantial changes could result in cancellation of the approved session. If your session is accepted, the information printed in the Program (participants’ names and affiliations, session title, and presentation titles) will be taken directly from your proposal, so please review the proposal carefully. Please also be sure that you have accurately described your audiovisual needs and any accessibility requirements before submitting your proposal. The final section of the online proposal form (“Conclude Submission”) allows you to view the information that you have entered and make corrections before final submission. Make sure to print out a copy of this page for your records.
CloseThis requirement was established in part to demonstrate the applying organization’s ability to create sessions that would pass the MLA’s proposal review process. The Program Committee does not give special consideration to sessions that are proposed as part of the allied organization application process. Your proposal should focus on the merits of the particular proposed session and should not be used to promote or advertise your organization. All special-session proposals must follow the same submission requirements and are subject to the same review processes. Please refer to Proposing a Special Session and Procedures for Organizing Convention Meetings for more information about proposing a special session.
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