The Modern Language Association convention, first held 1883, is an annual gathering of teachers and scholars in the field of language and literature study. The convention enables members of the profession to share their ideas and research with colleagues from other universities and colleges. Sessions will take place either in person or online. Online sessions are listed in the Program, and details for accessing those sessions will be in the online program. In-person sessions will be in the San Francisco Marriott Marquis and Moscone West. The exhibit hall will be in Moscone West and will have online components, and the MLA Professional Development Hub will be in the Marriott Marquis. Sessions begin at 12:00 noon on 5 January, and there are workshops at 8:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. on 5 January. The last sessions will end at 3:00 p.m. on 8 January.
Convention sessions are organized by MLA members, but nonmembers are welcome to attend. All participants—members and nonmembers alike—must pay registration fees, whether attending in person or online. Registrants receive badges, which grant attendees admission to sessions, the MLA Professional Development Hub, and the exhibit hall. On-site registrants who lose their badges may purchase replacements at the registration area.
Sessions
Most sessions at the 2023 MLA convention were arranged by the membership at large, either through the association's forums or by individual members. Attendance is open to all convention registrants, but only current MLA members may organize or participate formally in sessions. On occasion, the membership requirement is waived for individuals whose main interests are in other disciplines. The kinds of sessions arranged for this year's convention are described below.
Forum Sessions
MLA forums encompass the scholarly and professional concerns of the association; to this end, their executive committees advise on specific research and pedagogical needs, propose to the MLA Executive Council programs that might be undertaken on behalf of their forums, compile information of interest to their members for publication in MLA periodicals or in special mailings, and elect forum representatives to serve in the MLA Delegate Assembly.
Members who have suggestions for a forum's sessions or who would like to participate in those sessions should correspond with the 2023 secretary of the appropriate forum, since 2023 secretaries become chairs for the 2024 convention (see the list of executive committee members that follows the sessions listing). For forums approved in 2022, the executive committee members will be listed on the MLA website in January 2023.
Plenaries
Arranged by forums or individual members, plenaries are meetings on topics of broad interest. The MLA executive director, with the assistance of the Program Committee, has final responsibility for approving plenaries.
Special Sessions
MLA members whose scholarly or professional interests are not adequately accommodated through convention programs arranged by the forums may propose special sessions. These sessions are the most specialized of all convention meetings and are intended to enable participants to exchange ideas on specific topics.
Allied Organization Sessions
Other scholarly, business, or social meetings are arranged in conjunction with the MLA convention by officially recognized allied organizations. Typically, these organizations are learned societies or professional associations whose purposes are closely allied with those of the MLA.
Language and Literature Program Innovation Room
The Language and Literature Program Innovation Room (session 164) provides a space for faculty members to share successful and promising new programs, courses, collaborations, educational resources, and other pedagogical initiatives, offering convention participants opportunities to explore innovative curricular thinking in both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary configurations. Each presentation appears as an individual station in this poster-style event, and audience members are welcome to drop in any time while the event is in session.
Working Groups
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. Working groups extend over more than one session, so participants in a working group will not be able to participate in any other sessions.
Organizing Sessions for 2024
Please see the Procedures for Organizing Meetings on the MLA website (www.mla.org/organizing-meetings/) for further details on all types of sessions. All program copy is due 1 April 2023 for the 2024 convention in Philadelphia.
