Modern Language Association facts for kids
 |
|
| Formation | 1883 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Aaron Marshall Elliott |
| Type | Learned society |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Fields | |
|
President
|
Christopher John Newfield |
|
Executive director
|
Paula M. Krebs |
The Modern Language Association of America, usually called the Modern Language Association (MLA), is a main group in the United States. It is for people who study and teach languages and literature. The MLA wants to make the study and teaching of language and literature stronger.
More than 25,000 members from 100 countries belong to the MLA. Most members are academic scholars, professors, and graduate students. They study or teach English, other modern languages, and comparative literature. Even though the MLA started in the United States and has offices in New York City, its members and influence are worldwide.
Contents
What is the MLA?
The MLA was started in 1883. It began as a group for talking about and supporting the study of literature and modern languages. Modern languages are all languages except very old ones like Latin and Greek.
The MLA's goal is to help with the academic and scientific study of languages. This includes English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and other modern languages and their literatures.
How the MLA is Run
The leaders of the MLA are chosen by its members. For example, Judith Butler was the president for 2020–2021.
The MLA is guided by an Executive Council. This council is also chosen by the members. The Executive Director, who helps run the daily operations, is Paula M. Krebs.
What the MLA Does
The MLA does many things to help people who study language and literature.
Publications
The MLA publishes several important academic magazines. One is Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, known as PMLA. It is one of the most respected journals in literary studies. Another publication is Profession, which is now online. It talks about issues teachers of language and literature face.
The MLA also publishes the MLA Handbook. This guide helps high school and college students write research papers. Millions of copies have been sold. The MLA also creates the MLA International Bibliography. This is an online list of books and articles about language and literature.
Annual Convention
Since 1884, the MLA has held a big meeting every year. This meeting lasts four days. It usually happens in early January. About eight to twelve thousand members attend this event. The location changes each year, moving between major cities in the United States.
The MLA Annual Convention is very important for language and literature scholars. Many universities and colleges use the convention to interview people for teaching jobs. The MLA also has an online list of job openings called the Job Information List (JIL).
The convention has about 800 different sessions. These include presentations, discussions, poetry readings, and film showings. There are also social events and large book exhibits.
Other Projects
In 2016, the MLA started Humanities Commons. This is an open online space for anyone interested in humanities research. Other groups, like the College Art Association, also help with this project.
The MLA's website has a Language Map. This map shows where different languages are spoken in the United States and Canada. It uses information from the U.S. Census.
The MLA also discusses important social topics. These include race, gender, and social class. Some people have said that the MLA focuses too much on politics. They argue that the MLA supports making literary study too political in colleges.
A Big Discussion
In 2017, the MLA had a big discussion about a proposed boycott. Some members wanted the MLA to boycott academic institutions in Israel. They believed this would support human rights. This idea came from a global movement called Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).
Many scholars supported the boycott, while others were against it. Those against it said it would harm Israeli scholars. After much debate, the MLA members voted against the boycott. The vote was 113 to 79.
Related Groups
There are several regional groups that are similar to the MLA. They hold smaller meetings throughout the year:
- Midwest Modern Language Association
- Northeast Modern Language Association
- Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association
- Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association
- South Atlantic Modern Language Association
- South Central Modern Language Association
Partner Organizations
The MLA also works with other organizations, such as:
- Association of Departments of English
- Association of Departments of Foreign Languages
- Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship
- The International Federation for Modern Languages and Literatures (FILLM)
See also
In Spanish: Modern Language Association para niños
- List of most commonly learned foreign languages in the United States
- MLA Handbook
- MLA Style Manual
- Style guide
