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The ACH Guide to Humanities-Computing Talks at the 2001 MLA Convention


The Association for Computers and the Humanities has compiled this list of sessions with computing-related talks at the 2001 Modern Language Association Convention (in New Orleans, Louisiana, from December 27 through 30). Some of these sessions contain only one or two computing-related talks, but this list includes the entire program for each session.

In most cases you must pay the convention-registration fee in order to attend any of these talks. But the following sessions are free and open to the public: "Teaching Smarter" and "American Sign Language Dictionary and Inflection Guide: A Demonstration of the CD-ROM". MLA talks are published at the discretion of their authors; if you want to obtain the text of a talk you were unable to attend, the best method is to contact the author directly.

Although the 2001 convention is now in the past, this information will remain available, as a record of what went on. Similar information for many other years is available via the main page on ACH MLA sessions.

Corrections and additions are welcome; please send them to John.Lavagnino@kcl.ac.uk.


Summary of Sessions


73: A New Generation of Comparatists I: Research

Thursday, 27 December 2001, 7:00 to 8:15 p.m., Studio 10, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the American Comparative Literature Association. Presiding: Steven Ungar, University of Iowa

76: Technologies of Song

Thursday, 27 December 2001, 7:00 to 8:15 p.m., Galerie 4, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the Lyrica Society for Word-Music Relations. Presiding: Leslie C. Dunn, Vassar College


100: Tuning In to Culture: German Authors and Twentieth-Century Media

Thursday, 27 December 2001, 8:45 to 10:00 p.m., Balcony I, New Orleans Marriott

A special session; session leader: Daniel D. Gilfillan, University of Oregon

104: Business Meeting of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals

Thursday, 27 December 2001, 8:45 to 10:00 p.m., Pontchartrain Ballroom F, Sheraton New Orleans


126: Spanish Golden Age Drama I: Pedagogy

Friday, 28 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Galerie 4, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the Division on Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Spanish Drama. Presiding: Patricia Ann Kenworthy, Vassar College

130: Research Methods for the Digital Age: What Should Graduate Students Know, and When Should They Know It?

Friday, 28 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Division on Methods of Literary Research. Presiding: Richard J. Finneran, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Respondent: W. Speed Hill, Graduate Center, City University of New York

136: Arabic Media Culture

Friday, 28 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Balcony I, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Arabic Literature and Culture. Presiding: Tarek Adnan El Ariss, Cornell University

Respondent: Nader Khalaf Uthman, Columbia University

137: Epistemologies of "Truth" across Disciplines: A Cognitive Perspective?

Friday, 28 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Poydras Room, Sheraton New Orleans

A special session; session leader: Ronald Schleifer, University of Oklahoma

Respondent: Ronald Schleifer


161: Novedad y ruptura II: Nuevos nexos

Friday, 28 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Studio 2, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the Division on Twentieth-Century Latin American Literature. Presiding: Carlos J. Alonso, University of Pennsylvania

167: Rhetorics and Poetics: Historical and Theoretical Relationships

Friday, 28 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Pontchartrain Ballroom B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Division on the History and Theory of Rhetoric and Composition. Presiding: Susan Wells, Temple University

178: Digital Poetics: The E-Poetry Genre

Friday, 28 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Pontchartrain Ballroom C, Sheraton New Orleans

A special session; session leader: Maria Damon, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

200: Pairings: The Intersectional Work of American Literature

Friday, 28 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Rhythms Ballroom II, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the American Literature Section. Presiding: Betsy Erkkila, Northwestern University


207: W(h)ither the Eighteenth Century? A Cross-Generational Assessment

Friday, 28 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Bayside Room A, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Division on Restoration and Early-Eighteenth-Century English Literature. Presiding: Joel Reed, Syracuse University

215: Digital Diaspora: New Media, Indigenous Spaces, and Postcoloniality

Friday, 28 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Rhythms Ballroom II, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Postcolonial Studies in Literature and Culture. Presiding: Lynn Marie Houston, Arizona State University

222: Lost, Stolen, Strayed, or Forgotten: The Impact of "Unknown" Women's Texts

Friday, 28 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

A special session; session leader: Julia H. Flanders, Brown University

230: Postnational Imaginaries: Cultural Practices in Latin America

Friday, 28 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Iberville Room, New Orleans Marriott

A special session; session leader: Miguel López, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Respondent: Javier Durán, Michigan State University


269: Le Français en Louisiane: Our Past, Present, and Future

Friday, 28 December 2001, 1:45 to 3:00 p.m., Galerie 1, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the MLA Office of Foreign Language Programs. Presiding: Carol Marie Lazzaro-Weis, Southern University, Baton Rouge

272: Digital Discourse I: Theory and Practice of Teaching Online

Friday, 28 December 2001, 1:45 to 3:00 p.m., Poydras Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Association for Business Communication. Presiding: Melinda A. Knight, University of Rochester

Respondent: Melinda A. Knight


295: Language Change in Social Contexts

Friday, 28 December 2001, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., Poydras Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Division on Language Change. Presiding: Kristin Hanson, University of California, Berkeley

316: When Is a Web Site Scholarship?

Friday, 28 December 2001, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., Rhythms Ballroom II, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Advisory Committee on the MLA International Bibliography. Presiding: Todd W. Taylor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

317: Interactive Technology in Foreign Languages, Linguistics, and Literature

Friday, 28 December 2001, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., Balcony I, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the MLA Office of Foreign Language Programs. Presiding: Alex L. Chapin, Middlebury College

323: Web Development in the Technical Communication Service Course

Friday, 28 December 2001, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. Presiding: Sam Dragga, Texas Tech University


365: Teaching Language with Technology

Friday, 28 December 2001, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Balcony I, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the Division on the Teaching of Language. Presiding: Diane W. Birckbichler, Ohio State University, Columbus


409: Archival Research and New Technologies: A Discussion

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Division on Nineteenth-Century American Literature. Presiding: Jay Grosman, Northwestern University

425: Versions of Modernism

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Gallier Rooms A and B, Sheraton New Orleans

A special session; session leader: W. Speed Hill, Graduate Center, City University of New York

433: Electronic Media and Intellectual Property

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Grand Chenier Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Rights and Responsibilities. Presiding: David A. Kent, Centennial College


450: Textual Criticism and Theory

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Pontchartrain Ballroom F, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Division on Methods of Literary Research. Presiding: Pamela M. Dalziel, University of British Columbia

457: 2001, a Cultural Studies Odyssey: Science Fiction and Technocultural Fact

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Bayside Room A, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Science Fiction and Utopian and Fantastic Literature. Presiding: Marleen Sandra Barr, Columbia University

466: Defining Digital Scholarship

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology. Presiding: James F. Knapp, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh

Respondent: Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, University of Maryland, College Park

475: Global Connections II: South American, Asian, and United States Theater and Drama

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Bayside Room C, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the American Theatre and Drama Society. Presiding: David Román, University of Southern California


506: Language Barriers and Barriers to Language: Disability and Foreign Language Acquisition

Saturday, 29 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Galerie 4, New Orleans Marriott

A special session; session leader: Susan Burch, Gallaudet University

508: Enabling Technologies and Electronic Publishing

Saturday, 29 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Rampart Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the MLA Publications Committee. Presiding: Dierk O. Hoffmann, Colgate University; Antonette diPaolo Healey, University of Toronto

Respondent: Susan M. Belasco, University of Nebraska, Lincoln


550: Computer Games, Narrative, and Special Effects

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 1:45 to 3:00 p.m., Grand Couteau Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities. Presiding: Andrew Mactavish, McMaster University; Geoffrey M. Rockwell, McMaster University

See the associated web site for further details.


570: Digital Approaches to Language and Text: Words, Images, and Beyond

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Computer Studies in Language and Literature. Presiding: Henry P. Biggs, Washington University

575: Conflicts, Culture Wars, Curricula: A Roundtable on Gerald Graff

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., Pontchartrain Ballroom G, Sheraton New Orleans

A special session; session leader: Andrew Hoberek, University of Missouri, Columbia

586: Teaching Smarter

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., Pontchartrain Ballroom F, Sheraton New Orleans

A workshop arranged in conjunction with the forum Understanding Teaching (session 442). Presiding: Sue Lonoff, Harvard University

Respondent: Susan Anne Kress, Skidmore College


596: American Sign Language Dictionary and Inflection Guide: A Demonstration of the CD-ROM

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 5:15 to 6:30 p.m., Southdown Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Presiding: Geoffrey S. Poor, Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf


631: Bibliography in the Electronic Environment

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Bibliography and Textual Studies. Presiding: Robin G. Schulze, Penn State University, University Park

645: The Portuguese Diaspora in the Indian Ocean and Beyond / A diáspora portuguesa no Oceano Indico e mais além

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Studio 2, New Orleans Marriott

A special session; session leader: Joseph Abraham Levi, Rhode Island College

Respondent: Nechama Kramer-Hellinx, York College, City University of New York

647: Career Planning for Graduate Students: A Holistic Vision

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Rhythms Ballroom I, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on the Status of Graduate Students in the Profession. Presiding: Dolores Mary Tierney, Tulane University

648: How to Drive a New Variorum Shakespeare

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Salon 825 & 829, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on the New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare. Presiding: Thomas L. Berger, Saint Lawrence University

Respondent: Russ McDonald, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

649: Online Research and Learning in Modern Languages and Literature: Issues of Quality

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Grand Couteau Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology. Presiding: James S. Noblitt, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Respondent: James S. Noblitt


655: The Arts of (Making) Money II

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 9:00 to 10:15 p.m., Grand Couteau Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Division on Literature and Other Arts. Presiding: Marguerite Rowland Waller, University of California, Riverside

673: Systems of Control: Navigating Academic Authority in the Digital Age

Saturday, 29 December 2001, 9:00 to 10:15 p.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

A special session; session leader: Brandy Brown Walker, Georgia Institute of Technology


696: Race, Sexuality, and Popular Culture

Sunday, 30 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Rampart Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Division on Popular Culture

Respondent: Carole-Ann Tyler, University of California, Riverside

707: Making Pedagogy Visible

Sunday, 30 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

A special session; session leader: Margaret Katherine Willard-Traub, Oakland University

713: The Information Superrailway: Literature and Media in the Nineteenth Century

Sunday, 30 December 2001, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Cornet Room, Sheraton New Orleans

A special session; session leader: Richard Menke, University of Georgia


729: Technology and Language Acquisition

Sunday, 30 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Galerie 1, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the Division on Applied Linguistics. Presiding: M. Rafael Salaberry, Rice University

751: Teaching Language and Literature Online

Sunday, 30 December 2001, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology. Presiding: Douglas Morgenstern, Massachusetts Institute of Technology


772: Professing Technical Communication

Sunday, 30 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Bayside Room B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. Presiding: Carolyn G. Rude, Texas Tech University

774: Seeking the Soul of the Machine: Interrogating Human-Computer Relations in Literature, Composition, and Art

Sunday, 30 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Grand Couteau Room, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities. Presiding: Art Young, Clemson University

See the associated web site for further details.

782: Living between Cultures and Languages

Sunday, 30 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Audubon Room, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Presiding: Carol E. Klein, Beaver College

783: Rethinking German Curricula and Classroom Practices in the Time of Cultural Studies

Sunday, 30 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Studio 2, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the American Association of Teachers of German. Presiding: C. Lynne Tatlock, Washington University

784: South Asians in Public Culture

Sunday, 30 December 2001, noon to 1:15 p.m., Galerie 4, New Orleans Marriott

Program arranged by the South Asian Literary Association. Presiding: Shailja Sharma, DePaul University


789: Digital Discourse II: Civility, Subjectivity, and Difference

Sunday, 30 December 2001, 1:45 to 3:00 p.m., Gallier Rooms A and B, Sheraton New Orleans

Program arranged by the Association for Business Communication. Presiding: Bernadette Celia Longo, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Respondent: Kitty O'Donnell Locker, Ohio State University, Columbus