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The ACH Guide to Digital-Humanities Talks at the 2008 MLA Convention


The Association for Computers and the Humanities has compiled this list of sessions with digital-humanities talks at the 2008 Modern Language Association Convention (in San Francisco 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 five sessions are free and open to the public: “Scholarly Editing in the Twenty-First Century: Digital Media and Editing”, “The Way We Teach Now”, “Biocultures: Closing the Science-Humanities Gap”, “Our Affection for Books”, and “Editing Manuscripts in Digital and Print Forms”. 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 2008 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

Saturday, 27 December 2008

2:00–5:00 p.m.

3:30–4:45 p.m.

5:15–6:30 p.m.

7:00–8:15 p.m.

8:45–10:00 p.m.

Sunday, 28 December 2008

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.

7:15–8:30 p.m.

Monday, 29 December 2008

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.

7:15–8:30 p.m.

9:00–10:15 p.m.

Tuesday, 30 December 2008

Noon–1:15 p.m.


1: Evaluating Digital Work for Tenure and Promotion: A Workshop for Evaluators and Candidates

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 2:00–5:00 p.m., Powell, Hilton San Francisco.

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

Presiding: Robert James Blake, University of California, Davis; Raymond G. Siemens, University of Victoria

Do you know how to assess effectively digital work for promotion and tenure? Do you know how to prepare your dossier so that your digital work can be effectively assessed? This three-hour workshop will offer discussion of case studies (including CVs, digital projects, and supporting materials) and identification of effective evaluation strategies and guidelines. The workshop will be limited to thirty participants so that there will be ample time for facilitated discussion. Our facilitators have extensive experience in the evaluation of digital literary scholarship and of work in computer-assisted language learning.

Preregistration is required.


23: Staging Postmodernity: Embodiment

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Union Square 15, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the American Theatre and Drama Society

Presiding: Elizabeth Reitz Mullenix, Miami University, Oxford

29: Pastiche in Postmodern Business Communication Pedagogy: History, Service Learning, and Technology

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Union Square 16, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Association for Business Communication

Presiding: Katherine V. Wills, Indiana University, Columbus


52: Defoe, James, and Beerbohm: Computer-Assisted Criticism of Three Authors

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Union Square 15, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities

Presiding: Mark Algee-Hewitt, New York University

For copies of abstracts, visit www.ach.org/mla/mla08/.

62: The Internet Dialogue between Eastern Europe and the United States

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Nob Hill D, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Romanian Studies Association of America

Presiding: Maria-Sabina Draga Alexandru, University of Bucharest

Respondent: Letitia Ileana Guran, University of Richmond

For copies of abstracts, write to msdalexuk at yahoo.co.uk.

70: Beyond the Classroom: Research into Knowledge Making

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Union Square 22, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing

Presiding: David Dayton, Towson University

92: What Is a Scholarly Journal? Identity Issues in Our Digital Age

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 5:15–6:30 p.m., Golden Gate 6, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals

“What Is a Scholarly Journal? Identity Issues in Our Digital Age,” James O’Donnell, Georgetown University

Respondent: Ann Okerson, Yale University

The CELJ awards will be presented.


100: Reconceiving Poetics

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 7:00–8:15 p.m., Golden Gate 6, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Poetry

Presiding: Michael Davidson, University of California, San Diego

106: Editing Orally Based Texts in a Digital Age

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 7:00–8:15 p.m., Powell, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions

Presiding: John D. Niles, University of Wisconsin, Madison

For copies of abstracts, write to jdniles at wisc.edu.

108: Using Technology to Teach Languages

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 7:00–8:15 p.m., Yerba Buena Salon 12, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology

Presiding: Robert James Blake, University of California, Davis

116: New Subjects in and beyond the Classroom

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 7:00–8:15 p.m., Golden Gate 1, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the MLA Executive Council

Presiding: Paula Rabinowitz, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Sidonie Smith, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

119: Queer Uses of New Media

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 7:00–8:15 p.m., Golden Gate 3, Hilton San Francisco.

A special session.

Presiding: Mark McHarry, Petaluma, California


141: Technology: A Critical Examination

Saturday, 27 December 2008, 8:45–10:00 p.m., Foothill F, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Division on the Teaching of Language

Presiding: Charlotte Ann Melin, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities


163: Scholarly Editing in the Twenty-First Century: Digital Media and Editing

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 8:30–10:15 a.m., Yosemite B, Hilton San Francisco.

A forum.

Presiding: Jerome J. McGann, University of Virginia

For linked sessions, see meetings 549 and 617.

168: Psychoanalysis and Science Fiction

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Golden Gate 8, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Psychological Approaches to Literature

Presiding: Ewa Plonowska Ziarek, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

174: Microblogging: Producing Discourse in 140 Characters or Less

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Golden Gate 6, Hilton San Francisco.

A special session.

Presiding: Brian L. Croxall, Emory University

For abstracts, references, and additional information, visit www.outsidethetext.com/microbloggingMLA.html.


202: The Way We Teach Now

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 10:15 a.m.–noon, Continental 5, Hilton San Francisco.

The Presidential Forum.

Presiding: Gerald Graff, University of Illinois, Chicago

For linked sessions, see meetings 320, 337, and 488.

223: MLA Bibliography Performance across Vendor Platforms

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Golden Gate 5, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the MLA Advisory Committee on the MLA International Bibliography

Presiding: John B. Dillon, University of Wisconsin, Madison

224: Methodologies for Literary Studies in the Digital Age

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Union Square 14, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology

Presiding: Stephen Olsen, MLA

Speakers: Tanya Clement, University of Maryland, College Park; David L. Hoover, New York University; Alan Liu, University of California, Santa Barbara; Kenneth M. Price, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Susan Schreibman, Royal Irish Academy

244: Technology and the Teaching of Linguistics

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Nob Hill A, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on General Linguistics

Presiding: Iulia Pittman, Auburn University, Auburn

Respondent: Rebecca Day Babcock


251: The University Press as Cyberinfrastructure: A Roundtable

Sunday, 28 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Lombard, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Methods of Literary Research

Presiding: Laura C. Mandell, Miami University, Oxford

Speakers: Linda Bree, Cambridge University Press; Daphne Ireland, Princeton University Press; Penny Kaiserling, University of Virginia Press; Michael Lonegro, Johns Hopkins University Press

271: Genre, Form, and Cultural Practice in Contemporary Electronic Literature

Sunday, 28 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Golden Gate 6, Hilton San Francisco.

A special session.

Presiding: Jay David Bolter, Georgia Institute of Technology

Respondent: John Cayley, Brown University


301: Drama/Performance and the Scene of Translation: The Pragmatics and Poetics of Translation in Print, on Stage, in Cyberspace

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Sierra Suite F, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Division on Drama

Presiding: Claire Sponsler, University of Iowa

320: Biocultures: Closing the Science-Humanities Gap

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Continental 5, Hilton San Francisco.

A linked session arranged in conjunction with the Presidential Forum The Way We Teach Now (202)

Presiding: Gerald Graff, University of Illinois, Chicago


335: Romance and Hypertext

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Foothill G1, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the International Courtly Literature Society

Presiding: Daniel E. O’Sullivan, University of Mississippi

343: Pirandellian Moods: Mechanized and Mediated

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Pacific Suite F, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Pirandello Society of America

Presiding: Susan Tenneriello, Baruch University, City University of New York

Respondent: Jana O’Keefe Bazzoni, Baruch University, City University of New York

For copies of abstracts, visit pirandellosocietyofamerica.org.

356: Digital NDNs: Pedagogies for American Indian Writing and Literature in the Twenty-First Century

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Sutter, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures

Presiding: Malea D. Powell, Michigan State University

363: Comparative Literature and Media Studies: Convergence or Opposition?

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Yerba Buena Salon 15, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the American Comparative Literature Association

Presiding: C. P. Haun Saussy, Yale University

369: Promoting the Useful Arts: Copyright, Fair Use, and the Digital Scholar

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Foothill E, San Francisco Marriott.

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

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

Speakers: Aileen Berg, John Wiley and Sons; Kari M. Kraus, University of Maryland, College Park; Amitabh Rai, Florida State University; Robin G. Schulze, Penn State University, University Park

Getting Funded in the Humanities: An NEH Workshop

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 3:30–5:30 p.m., Yosemite B, Hilton San Francisco.

Jason C. Rhody, senior program officer at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), will highlight recent awards and outline current funding opportunities during this session. In addition to emphasizing grant programs that support individual and collaborative research and education, this workshop will include information on new developments such as the NEH’s Digital Humanities Initiative. A general question-and-answer period with the audience will follow.


405: Multimodal Literacies: A Pedagogical Imperative?

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Continental 1–2, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on the Teaching of Writing

Presiding: Mary R. Boland, California State University, San Bernardino

For copies of abstracts, write to mboland at csusb.edu.

419: Between “Home” and “Host”: Iranian Diaspora Literature and Its Many Modes of Representation

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Yerba Buena Salon 4, San Francisco Marriott.

A special session.

Presiding: Persis M. Karim, San José State University

Respondent: Nasrin Rahimieh, University of California, Irvine

For copies of abstracts, visit www.persiskarim.com.

421: Digital Immigrants Teaching Digital Natives

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Golden Gate 5, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Office of the Executive Director

Presiding: Gerhard J. Joseph, Lehman University, City University of New York; George L. Levine, Rutgers University, New Brunswick

424A: Globalization, Language Use, and Community

Sunday, 28 December 2008, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Yerba Buena Salon 10, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Division on Language and Society

Presiding: Andrea Abernethy Lunsford, Stanford University


434: Investigating Language Change: Corpora and Databases

Monday, 29 December 2008, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Yerba Buena Salon 4, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Division on Language Change

Presiding: David West Brown, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

437: YouTube and the Canon

Monday, 29 December 2008, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Continental 1–2, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Literature and Other Arts

Presiding: Marc A. Weiner, Indiana University, Bloomington

445: Anonymity

Monday, 29 December 2008, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Continental 3, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Society for Critical Exchange

Presiding: Jeffrey R. Di Leo, University of Houston, Victoria

For copies of papers, visit societyforcriticalexchange.org.

464: Online Course Management: Friend or Foe?

Monday, 29 December 2008, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Yosemite A, Hilton San Francisco.

A special session.

Presiding: Julie McFadden, Carleton University

For copies of abstracts, write to julie.mcfadden at tmconsulting.com.

465: Net.art and Electronic Literature

Monday, 29 December 2008, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Yerba Buena Salon 6, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Division on Twentieth-Century Spanish Literature

Presiding: María T. Zubiaurre, University of California, Los Angeles

468: Humanities 2.0: Participatory Learning in an Age of Technology

Monday, 29 December 2008, 8:30–9:45 a.m., Golden Gate 5, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the MLA Executive Council

Presiding: Zita Nunes, University of Maryland, College Park

Speakers: Cathy N. Davidson, Duke University; Greg Niemeyer, University of California, Berkeley; Todd Samuel Presner, University of California, Los Angeles; Howard Rheingold, Stanford University


484: Stereotypes of Contingent Faculty Members: Humor and Social Commentary

Monday, 29 December 2008, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Union Square 15, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Part-Time Faculty Members

Presiding: Lila Marz Harper, Central Washington University

For copies of abstracts, write to harperl at cwu.edu.

497: Digital Initiatives in Early Modern English Literature

Monday, 29 December 2008, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Golden Gate 6, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities

Presiding: John Lavagnino, King’s College London

501: Editing Where You Least Expect It: Cultural Studies

Monday, 29 December 2008, 10:15–11:30 a.m., Continental 1–2, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions

Presiding: Bruce R. Smith, University of Southern California


514: Second Lives: Reading and Writing Virtual Worlds

Monday, 29 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Sutter, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Media and Literature

Presiding: Matthew Gary Kirschenbaum, University of Maryland, College Park

520: Roundtable on Electronic Editions and Archives of Poetry

Monday, 29 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Continental 1–2, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Poetry

Presiding: Cristanne Miller, University at Buffalo, State University of New York

Speakers: Michael S. Hennessey, University of Pennsylvania; Joseph Foster Loewenstein, Washington University; Jerome J. McGann, University of Virginia; David Radcliffe, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; William Shaw, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Martha Nell Smith, University of Maryland, College Park

This session is arranged in conjunction with session 692.

530: Teaching Literature in the Twenty-First Century

Monday, 29 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Union Square 15, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the National Council of Teachers of English

Presiding: Carol Winkelmann, Xavier University, Ohio

538: The Josephine A. Roberts Forum: Digital Technology and Manuscript Study

Monday, 29 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Golden Gate 6, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Renaissance English Text Society

Presiding: Arthur F. Marotti, Wayne State University; Steven William May, Emory University

Respondent: Alan Nelson, University of California, Berkeley

543: The Library of Google: Researching Scanned Books

Monday, 29 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Van Ness, Hilton San Francisco.

A special session.

Presiding: Michael Hancher, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

For detailed session proposals, visit mh.cla.umn.edu/MLA_SHARP.pdf.

549: Our Affection for Books

Monday, 29 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Yosemite B, Hilton San Francisco.

A linked session arranged in conjunction with the forum Scholarly Editing in the Twenty-First Century: Digital Media and Editing (163)

Presiding: Susan J. Wolfson, Princeton University

For brief previews, see Wolfson’s Web page at Princeton University (english.princeton.edu).


562: Teaching Popular Media; or, Theorizing Our Students’ Pleasure

Monday, 29 December 2008, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Yosemite B, Hilton San Francisco.

A special session.

Presiding: Cynthia Fuchs, George Mason University

566: Engaging the Senses in Colonial Latin American Literature

Monday, 29 December 2008, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Yerba Buena Salon 12, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Division on Colonial Latin American Literatures

Presiding: Cynthia L. Stone, University of the Holy Cross

592: The Good Web: A Workshop in Teaching Your Students How to Evaluate Web Resources

Monday, 29 December 2008, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Continental 1–2, Hilton San Francisco.

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

Presiding: Matthew Jockers, Stanford University; Susan Schreibman, Royal Irish Academy

Our students will be lifelong users of the Internet. This workshop will introduce participants to methods and strategies to teach students how to be more savvy Web users, from how to evaluate sites and sources to how to find information in the deep Web. For additional information and to preview materials, visit www.mla.org/web_wkshp.

594: Editing Spaces in the Known and Unknown Worlds

Monday, 29 December 2008, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Franciscan A, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Society for Textual Scholarship

Presiding: Marta L. Werner, D’Youville University

599: Editorial Futures

Monday, 29 December 2008, 1:45–3:00 p.m., Sutter, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Methods of Literary Research

Presiding: Robin G. Schulze, Penn State University, University Park


614: Technology and Composition: Implications for the Profession

Monday, 29 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Golden Gate 5, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on the Teaching of Writing

Presiding: Donna Strickland, University of Missouri, Columbia

617: Editing Manuscripts in Digital and Print Forms

Monday, 29 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Yosemite B, Hilton San Francisco.

A linked session arranged in conjunction with the forum Scholarly Editing in the Twenty-First Century: Digital Media and Editing (163)

Presiding: Arthur F. Marotti, Wayne State University

618: Roundtable: What Is a Scholarly Journal? Identity Issues in Our Digital Age

Monday, 29 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Union Square 14, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals

Presiding: Robert Lowry Patten, Rice University

Speakers: Elizabeth Brown, Johns Hopkins University; Martha J. Cutter, University of Connecticut, Storrs; Sheri Spaine Long, University of Alabama, Birmingham; Alan Rauch, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek, Northeastern University

635: Art and Second Life

Monday, 29 December 2008, 3:30–4:45 p.m., Continental 1–2, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Literature and Other Arts

Presiding: Marc A. Weiner, Indiana University, Bloomington


673: Expanded Cinema Today

Monday, 29 December 2008, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Lombard, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Film

Presiding: Anna Everett, University of California, Santa Barbara; Alice Ann Kuzniar, University of Waterloo

692: Electronic Roundtable: A Demonstration of Digital Poetry Archives

Monday, 29 December 2008, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Continental 1–2, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the MLA Office of Research

This session is arranged in conjunction with session 520. It allows attendees to use scholarly applications of digital poetry archives. Presenters will exhibit their archives simultaneously, creating opportunities for small-group discussion and demonstration.

694: The Internet and Public Intellectuals in the Postcommunist World

Monday, 29 December 2008, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Foothill F, San Francisco Marriott.

Program arranged by the Division on Slavic and East European Literatures

Presiding: Vitaly Chernetsky, Miami University, Oxford

695: Literary Experimentalism in East Asia

Monday, 29 December 2008, 7:15–8:30 p.m., Nob Hill D, San Francisco Marriott.

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

Presiding: Walter K. Lew, University of Miami


700: New Media in the World / What in the World Is New Media?

Monday, 29 December 2008, 9:00–10:15 p.m., Sutter, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the Division on Literature and Science

Presiding: Henry S. Turner, Rutgers University, New Brunswick

Speakers: Kimberly M. De Vries, California State University, Stanislaus; Richard A. Grusin, Wayne State University; Richard E. Miller, Rutgers University, New Brunswick; Joseph Paul Tabbi, University of Illinois, Chicago

710: Creative Writing in the Twenty-First Century

Monday, 29 December 2008, 9:00–10:15 p.m., Golden Gate 5, Hilton San Francisco.

A special session.

Presiding: Kelly Allison Ritter, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

724: E-Criticism: New Critical Methods and Modalities

Monday, 29 December 2008, 9:00–10:15 p.m., Continental 1–2, Hilton San Francisco.

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Information Technology

Attendees will learn to use new computer models, paradigms, and tools for literary criticism. Presenters will provide concurrent demonstrations of their digital work, creating opportunities for discussion.


796: The Audiobook

Tuesday, 30 December 2008, noon–1:15 p.m., Franciscan A, Hilton San Francisco.

A special session.

Presiding: Matthew C. Rubery, University of Leeds

For copies of abstracts, visit www.personal.leeds.ac.uk/~engmr/MLA_The_Audiobook_2008.doc.