ACH heads logo ACHWeb - MLA Sessions

The ACH Guide to Digital-Humanities Talks at the 2007 MLA Convention


The Association for Computers and the Humanities has compiled this list of sessions with digital-humanities talks at the 2007 Modern Language Association Convention (in Chicago from December 27 through 30). Some of these sessions contain only one or two relevant 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 these talks. But three sessions are free and open to the public: “Professionalization in a Digital Age”, “Scholarship in New Media”, and “Keywords for a Digital Profession”. 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 2007 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 at kcl.ac.uk.


Summary of Sessions

Thursday, 27 December 2007

3:30–4:45 p.m.

5:15–6:30 p.m.

7:00–8:15 p.m.

8:45–10:00 p.m.

Friday, 28 December 2007

8:30–9:45 a.m.

10:15–11:30 a.m.

Noon–1:15 p.m.

1:45–3:00 or 3:30 p.m.

3:30–4:45 p.m.

7:15–8:30 p.m.

Saturday, 29 December 2007

8:30–9:45 a.m.

10:15–11:30 a.m.

Noon–1:15 p.m.

1:45–3:00 p.m.

3:30–4:45 p.m.

5:15–6:30 p.m.

7:15–8:30 p.m.

9:00–10:15 p.m.

Sunday, 30 December 2007

8:30–9:45 a.m.

10:15–11:30 a.m.

1:45–3:00 p.m.


13: Kafka Now: Kafka and Popular Culture

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Parlor C, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the Kafka Society of America

Presiding: Judith L. Ryan, Harvard University

21: The Challenge of a Million Books

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Grand Suite 2, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities

Presiding: Arno Bosse, University of Chicago


66: Open Digital Communities

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Columbus Hall G, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology

Presiding: Geoffrey Rockwell, McMaster University

Respondent: David G. Nicholls, MLA

72: Performance and Technology: Techniques of Embodiment

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Stetson B and C, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Drama

Presiding: Elin Diamond, Rutgers University, New Brunswick

73: Corpus-Based Applied Linguistics Research

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Ohio, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the Division on Applied Linguistics

79: Persuasive Games

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Toronto, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Literary Criticism

Presiding: Rita M. Raley, University of California, Santa Barbara


98: Reconstructing Whitman: The Rhetoric of Recovery

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 7:00–8:15 p.m., Grand Suite 2, Hyatt Regency.

A special session.

Presiding: Jay Grossman, Northwestern University

102: Class, Inequality, and the Digital

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 7:00–8:15 p.m., Michigan B, Sheraton Chicago.

A special session.

Presiding: Robert A. Wilkie, University at Albany, State University of New York

105: Cosmofeminisms

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 7:00–8:15 p.m., Water Tower, Hyatt Regency.

A special session.

Presiding: Jennifer Williams, Michigan State University

For copies of abstracts, write to will1881@msu.edu.

120: Teaching in Changing Technological Environments

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 7:00–8:15 p.m., New Orleans, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Teaching as a Profession

Presiding: Sheila T. Cavanagh, Emory University


131: Film and the History of Technology

Thursday, 27 December 2007, 8:45–10:00 p.m., Erie, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the Division on Film

Presiding: Alice Ann Kuzniar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill


159: Got ECCO? The Contents and Discontents of Electronic Media for Early Modern Studies

Friday, 28 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Atlanta, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Restoration and Early-Eighteenth-Century English Literature

Presiding: Cynthia S. Wall, Literature Compass

Speakers: Gail Aw, University of Virginia; Peter Brown, University of Kent; David A. Golumbia, University of Virginia; Kathryn J. Lowerre, Michigan State University; David Radcliffe, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Christine Ruotolo, University Librarian

174: Free Culture: Intellectual Property and Restricted Archives

Friday, 28 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Truffles, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Methods of Literary Research

Presiding: William Baker, Northern Illinois University

177: The Electronic New Variorum Shakespeare

Friday, 28 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Columbus Hall K and L, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on the New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare

Presiding: Suzanne Gossett, Loyola University, Chicago

183: Writing Empires: Composition and the Expansion of English

Friday, 28 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., New Orleans, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Society for Critical Exchange

Presiding: Kurt M. Koenigsberger, Case Western Reserve University

Respondent: Jessica Beth Yood, Lehman University, City University of New York

For copies of papers, visit www.case.edu/affil/sce.


212: Using Digital Archives

Friday, 28 December 2007, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Columbus Hall K and L, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions

Presiding: Donald R. Dickson, Texas A&M University, College Station

215: Novel History, Media History

Friday, 28 December 2007, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Atlanta, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Media and Literature

Presiding: Ivan Kreilkamp, Indiana University, Bloomington


224: Roundtable on Editing Collections of Poetry

Friday, 28 December 2007, noon–1:15 p.m., Water Tower, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Poetry

Presiding: Cristanne Miller, University at Buffalo, State University of New York; Susan J. Wolfson, Princeton University

Speakers: George J. Bornstein, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Michael Davidson, University of California, San Diego; Jenny Penberthy, Capilano University; Kenneth M. Price, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Nigel S. Smith, Princeton University

228: Editing Sound

Friday, 28 December 2007, noon–1:15 p.m., Stetson E, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Bibliography and Textual Studies

Presiding: Peter J. Kalliney, University of Kentucky

244: Romantic Futures: Romantic Circles at the Start of Its Second Decade

Friday, 28 December 2007, noon–1:15 p.m., Grand Suite 3, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Keats–Shelley Association of America

Presiding: Steven E. Jones, Loyola University, Chicago

250: New Reading Interfaces

Friday, 28 December 2007, noon–1:15 p.m., Missouri, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities

Presiding: Elizabeth Swanstrom, University of California, Santa Barbara

For copies of abstracts, see www.english.ucsb.edu/faculty/rraley/research/conferences/ACH07.html.


256: Professionalization in a Digital Age

Friday, 28 December 2007, 1:45–3:30 p.m., Columbus Hall C and D, Hyatt Regency.

A forum arranged by the Committee on the Status of Graduate Students in the Profession

Presiding: William Erwin Orchard, University of Chicago

Respondent: W. J. T. Mitchell, University of Chicago

For coordinated workshops, see meetings 373 and 472.

261: Lyricism in Modern East Asian Literatures

Friday, 28 December 2007, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Parlor E, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the Division on East Asian Languages and Literatures after 1900

Presiding: Michelle Yeh, University of California, Davis

273: Psychoanalysis and Relational Space

Friday, 28 December 2007, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Toronto, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Psychological Approaches to Literature

Presiding: Esther Rashkin, University of Utah

279: Teaching Strategies for the New Millennial Business Writing Classroom

Friday, 28 December 2007, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Columbus Hall H, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Association for Business Communication

Presiding: Jennifer Veltsos, Iowa State University

For copies of abstracts, write to kwills@iupui.edu.


298: Training Teaching Assistants for the Future: Current Issues on Curricular Shifts at Public Institutions

Friday, 28 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Columbus A and B, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the American Association of Teachers of German

Presiding: Helene Zimmer-Loew, American Association of Teachers of German

Respondent: Peter Höyng, Emory University

317: Electronic Literature: Reading, Writing, Navigating

Friday, 28 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Columbus Hall K and L, Hyatt Regency.

Program sponsored by the MLA Ad Hoc Committee on the Structure of the Convention in conjunction with the MLA Committee on Information Technology

Presiding: Susan Schreibman, University of Maryland, College Park

N. Katherine Hayles has described electronic literature as “‘digital born,’ a first-generation digital object created on a computer and (usually) meant to be read on a computer.” The Electronic Literature Organization describes it as “works with important literary aspects that take advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand-alone or networked computer.”

This poster session provides the opportunity for attendees to engage firsthand with works of electronic literature, to meet with electronic literature authors and theorists, and to engage with interactive computer presentations of their work. Presenters will exhibit their work simultaneously, creating ample opportunity for discussion and demonstration.

324: Brave New World: Digital Scholarship and the Future of Early American Studies

Friday, 28 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., New Orleans, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on American Literature to 1800

Presiding: Karen A. Weyler, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

329: Breaking into Print: Multicultural Authors and Independent Publishers

Friday, 28 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Acapulco, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses

Presiding: Dorothy J. Wang, Williams University

Respondent: Aldon Lynn Nielsen, Penn State University, University Park


361: Textual Visualization

Friday, 28 December 2007, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Columbus Hall K and L, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology

Presiding: Maureen Jameson, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

A variety of new tools are being developed that are designed to let scholars literally see text in new ways. Displays of word occurrences, pattern distribution, collocation, and textual genesis can yield insights about a text that might not be revealed or as easily comprehended without the visual element.

This poster session provides the opportunity for attendees to engage firsthand with visualization tools, to meet with the scholars who develop and use them, and to engage with interactive computer presentations of these tools. Presenters will exhibit their work simultaneously, creating ample opportunity for discussion and demonstration.

For demos and copies of abstracts, visit http://textualvisualization.blogspot.com.

373: Scholarship in New Media

Friday, 28 December 2007, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Columbus Hall C and D, Hyatt Regency.

A workshop arranged in conjunction with the forum Professionalization in a Digital Age (256)

Presiding: Markus Zisselsberger, Binghamton University, State University of New York

For copies of papers, write to weorchar@uchicago.edu after 1 December.

376: Performance and Technology: Writing and Speaking as Techne

Friday, 28 December 2007, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Stetson E, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Drama

Presiding: Angela C. Pao, Indiana University, Bloomington


402: Early Modern Research in the Digital Age

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Stetson F, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Literature of the English Renaissance, Excluding Shakespeare

Presiding: Jonathan Gil Harris, George Washington University

408: Networks: Interrelationships Characterizing the Subjects We Study and Our Methods of Studying Them

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., New Orleans, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the American Literature Section

Presiding: Sandra Abelson Zagarell, Oberlin University

Respondent: Priscilla B. Wald, Duke University


432: The Josephine A. Roberts Forum: E-Editing in Corpora

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Stetson F, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Renaissance English Text Society

Presiding: Michael Roy Denbo, Bronx Community University, City University of New York

446: Methods for Making Technical Communication Research Meaningful for Learners: Using Technical Communication Research to Instruct

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 10:15–11:30 a.m., New Orleans, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing

Presiding: Marc Santos, Purdue University, West Lafayette

For copies of abstracts, write to denise.tillery@unlv.edu.

455: Literary Geospaces

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Atlanta, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Computer Studies in Language and Literature

Presiding: Stephen J. Ramsay, University of Nebraska, Lincoln


472: Keywords for a Digital Profession

Saturday, 29 December 2007, noon–1:15 p.m., Columbus Hall C and D, Hyatt Regency.

A workshop arranged in conjunction with the forum Professionalization in a Digital Age (256)

Presiding: Megan Moore, Newberry Library

For copies of papers, write to weorchar@uchicago.edu after 1 December.

483: Morris as Metatext: Manuscripts, Print Forms, and Illustrations

Saturday, 29 December 2007, noon–1:15 p.m., Plaza Ballroom A, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the William Morris Society

Presiding: Kathleen O. Sims, Manchester, NH

For copies of abstracts, write to florence-boos@uiowa.edu.


523: Archive Trouble

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Stetson F, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Society for Textual Scholarship

Presiding: Andrew M. Stauffer, Boston University


535: Teaching Undergraduate Linguistics

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Huron, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on General Linguistics

Presiding: Rebecca Day Babcock, University of Texas of the Permian Basin

Respondent: Roslyn Sue Raney, University of San Mateo, CA

541: Electronic Literature: After Afternoon

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Mississippi, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the Division on Methods of Literary Research

Presiding: Neil Fraistat, University of Maryland, College Park

545: Are Eighteenth-Century Studies Changing Literary Studies? Doing the Math

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Plaza Ballroom B, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Late-Eighteenth-Century English Literature

Presiding: Janet L. Sorensen, University of California, Berkeley

560: The Ends of Cinema in the Digital Age

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Plaza Ballroom A, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Film

Presiding: Nora M. Alter, University of Florida; Anna Everett, University of California, Santa Barbara

For copies of abstracts, write to everett@filmandmedia.ucsb.edu.

561: Performance and Technology: Performing Machines

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 3:30–4:45 p.m., New Orleans, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Drama

Presiding: Karen Shimakawa, New York University


581: Cash Bar Arranged by the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and the Brown University Women Writers Project

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Columbus Hall G, Hyatt Regency.


592: New Poetic Archives

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Stetson F, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Restoration and Early-Eighteenth-Century English Literature

Presiding: Ann Louise Kibbie, Bowdoin University

601: Voice as Sound: The Material Voice in Discourses on Bodies and Media

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Plaza Ballroom A, Hyatt Regency.

A special session.

Presiding: Annette Schlichter, University of California, Irvine

Respondent: Alexander G. Weheliye, Northwestern University

607: Poetry and Globalization

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Atlanta, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Poetry

Presiding: Jahan Ramazani, University of Virginia


649: Sampling the Original: Rethinking Appropriation, Attribution, and Copyright

Saturday, 29 December 2007, 9:00–10:15 p.m., Plaza Ballroom A, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology

Presiding: Thomas C. Spear, Lehman University, City University of New York


660: Editing and Interpreting in the Digital Age

Sunday, 30 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Grand Suite 3, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions

Presiding: Bruce R. Smith, University of Southern California

662: The Novel and/as Written Testimony

Sunday, 30 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Horner, Hyatt Regency.

A special session.

Presiding: Tony E. Jackson, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

678: “Bartleby,” Resistance, and the City of Immaterial Labor

Sunday, 30 December 2007, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Stetson B and C, Hyatt Regency.

A special session.

Presiding: Kimberly DeFazio, Clarkson University


704: Literary Criticism for the Twenty-First Century: Topology, Politics, Mind

Sunday, 30 December 2007, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Columbus Hall G, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Division on Literary Criticism

Presiding: Herman Rapaport, Wake Forest University


747: New Approaches to Endgame

Sunday, 30 December 2007, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Columbian, Hyatt Regency.

Program arranged by the Samuel Beckett Society

Presiding: Linda Ben-Zvi, Tel Aviv University

757: How Revolutionary Are We? Current Issues on Curricular Shifts at Private Institutions

Sunday, 30 December 2007, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Colorado, Sheraton Chicago.

Program arranged by the American Association of Teachers of German

Presiding: Helene Zimmer-Loew, American Association of Teachers of German