Philadelphia, Pa — Over 7,000 participants will gather at the 132nd MLA Annual Convention for four days of presentations, discussions, and debate on a wide array of topics related to the study and teaching of modern languages, literatures, digital media, and the arts and humanities more broadly. The convention, which is the world’s largest gathering of humanities scholars, will return to Philadelphia, January 5–8, 2017.
This year’s MLA Annual Convention program includes over 800 sessions. Sessions dedicated to the literature and culture of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania include “Philadelphia Stories,” “Pennsylvania and Romanticism,” and “Reviving Robert Montgomery Bird.” “The MLA has chosen Philadelphia to host the convention four times since 2005,” said MLA Executive Director Rosemary G. Feal. “The city offers attendees so much, from outstanding museums to an exceptional food scene. Our members find so many ways to engage intellectually and socially in this city that has played a decisive role in the history of the United States.”
Thirteen sessions are free and open to the public, including the MLA Awards Ceremony, at which the actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith will receive the Phyllis Franklin Award for Public Advocacy of the Humanities. The award-winning Jamaican poet Lorna Goodison will discuss her work and read some of her poems in an MLA creative conversation. Among the other free sessions are “We Can’t Stop Talking about Elena Ferrante,” the “MLA Style Workshop,” and “Why Teach Literature?”
Members of the public may purchase day passes to visit the exhibit hall, where nearly ninety exhibitors will be showcasing new publications and services. Passes are $10 per day and are available at the exhibit-hall registration desk January 6–8.
More than 400 of the convention sessions are linked to the 2017 presidential theme, Boundary Conditions. Chosen by MLA President Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy and law at New York University and the author of the New York Times’s Ethicist column, the theme draws attention to ways that scholars challenge traditional field divisions. “So often MLA members’ work doesn’t fit into the narrow boundaries of departments and course catalogs,” said Appiah. “This year’s theme acknowledges the interconnectedness of our research and teaching as well as the many other ways scholars cross or break down boundaries.”
MLA convention sessions will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. The MLA Job Information Center, which hosts hundreds of interviews for positions in higher education at each convention, will be located in the convention center.
Nonmembers can attend the MLA Annual Convention by registering in advance or on-site at the registration area in the Pennsylvania Convention Center (Grand Hall, level 2).
For more information, please contact Anna Chang at 646 576-5029.
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