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The ACH Guide to Humanities-Computing Talks at the 1997 MLA Convention


The Association for Computers and the Humanities has compiled this list of sessions with computing-related talks at the 1997 Modern Language Association Convention (in Toronto, Ontario, 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 a few sessions are free and open to the public: Revolution or Evolution? Electronic Resources in the Humanities; Electronic Texts in the Humanities; The Refereed Electronic Journal; and Literary Theory and Children's Literature: Reflections on the Past and Predictions for the Future.

Although the 1997 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.


58: Electronic Culture I: CyberStyle

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Confederation Rooms 4, 5, and 6, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Division on Literature and Other Arts. Presiding: Timothy C. Murray, Cornell University

60: Ethnic Science Fiction

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Kenosha Room, Sheraton Centre Toronto

Program arranged by the Division on Ethnic Studies in Language and Literature. Presiding: Isabel D. Alvarez-Borland, College of the Holy Cross

94: The Muse Collaborates: Writing Communities for Learning Literature and Composition

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Tudor Rooms 8 and 9, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Conference on College Composition and Communication. Presiding: Donna Reiss, Tidewater Community College, Virginia Beach Campus, Virginia

Respondent: Arthur P. Young, Clemson University

Copies of program materials are available on the World Wide Web. (Please note that the URL for these materials that's printed in the convention program is incorrect.)


97: Revolution or Evolution? Electronic Resources in the Humanities

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 10:15 a.m. to noon, Confederation Rooms 4, 5, and 6, Royal York Hotel. Free and open to the public.

A forum. Presiding: Gail Elizabeth Hawisher, University of Illinois, Urbana

Abstracts are available on the World Wide Web.

For coordinated workshops, see meetings 308 and 343.

119: Multimedia Literature: Hypertext and Beyond

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., British Columbia Room, Royal York Hotel

A special session; session leader: Midori Y. McKeon, San Francisco State University

Respondent: Michael Joyce, Vassar College

127: Historical Annotation: A Necessary Evil?

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Tudor Rooms 8 and 9, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions. Presiding: Heather Jackson, University of Toronto, Saint George Campus

129: Exploring the Relation between Instructional Design and Technical Communication

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., New Brunswick Room, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. Presiding: Bill Karis, Clarkson University


174: Talking the Digital Talk

Sunday, 28 December 1997, noon to 1:15 p.m., Confederation Room 3, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the American Dialect Society. Presiding: Dennis Baron, University of Illinois, Urbana

175: What's New with William Morris

Sunday, 28 December 1997, noon to 1:15 p.m., New Brunswick Room, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the William Morris Society. Presiding: Mark Samuels Lasner, William Morris Society

Further information is available on the World Wide Web.


207: Computers and Theory

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 1:45 to 3:00 p.m., Toronto Room, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities. Presiding: John Lavagnino, Brown University

Further information is available on the World Wide Web.


288: Beyond "Community": New Perspectives on the Making of Knowledge

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Manitoba Room, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Division on the Teaching of Writing. Presiding: David J. Bartholomae, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh

308: Electronic Texts in the Humanities

Sunday, 28 December 1997, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Ontario Room, Royal York Hotel. Free and open to the public.

A workshop arranged in conjunction with the forum Revolution or Evolution? Electronic Resources in the Humanities (97). Presiding: H. Lewis Ulman, Ohio State University, Columbus

Abstracts are available on the World Wide Web.


334: Queerly Canadian

Monday, 29 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Tudor Rooms 8 and 9, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Canadian Literature in English. Presiding: Heather Zwicker, University of Alberta

343: The Refereed Electronic Journal

Monday, 29 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., British Columbia Room, Royal York Hotel. Free and open to the public.

A workshop arranged in conjunction with the forum Revolution or Evolution? Electronic Resources in the Humanities (97). Presiding: Paul Fortier, University of Manitoba

Abstracts are available on the World Wide Web.

347: New Compositions, New Configurations I

Monday, 29 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Toronto Room, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Council of Writing Program Administrators. Presiding: Barbara L. Cambridge, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

352: Technology in the Classroom

Monday, 29 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Huron Room, Sheraton Centre Toronto

Program arranged by the American Association of Teachers of German. Presiding: Catherine C. Fraser, Indiana University, Bloomington

James Joyce's Ulysses in Hypermedia

Monday, 29 December 1997, 9 to 10 a.m., Ontario Room, Royal York Hotel

Michael Groden, University of Western Ontario, will demonstrate the prototype of his "James Joyce's Ulysses in Hypermedia" project.


355: Electronic Culture II: A Theory Performance

Monday, 29 December 1997, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Confederation Rooms 4, 5, and 6, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Division on Literature and Other Arts. Presiding: Sharon A. Willis, University of Rochester

362: Drama as Public Fantasy II: Barely Touching

Monday, 29 December 1997, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., British Columbia Room, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Division on Drama. Presiding: David Román, University of Southern California


393: Pedagogy in the Ruins of the University

Monday, 29 December 1997, noon to 1:15 p.m., Conference Room D and E, Sheraton Centre Toronto

Program arranged by the Division on Philosophical Approaches to Literature. Presiding: Geoffrey Waite, Cornell University

428: Problems in the Romance Epic I

Monday, 29 December 1997, noon to 1:15 p.m., York Room, Sheraton Centre Toronto

Program arranged by Société Rencesvals, American-Canadian Branch. In Memoriam: Colin Smith and Ruth House Webber. Presiding: Robert Francis Cook, University of Virginia

A short business meeting will follow the session.


456: Wrestling the Word: Teaching Poetry in the Contemporary Classroom

Monday, 29 December 1997, 1:45 to 3:00 p.m., Ontario Room, Royal York Hotel

A special session; session leader: Jan VanStavern, University of California, Davis


485A: The Role of Statistics in Computer Studies in Language and Literature

Monday, 29 December 1997, 3:30 to 4:45 p.m., Manitoba Room, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Discussion Group on Computer Studies in Language and Literature. Presiding: Joseph Rudman, Carnegie-Mellon University

This session will be a workshop conducted by Joseph Rudman, who will give:

a) A working definition of statistics;

b) An overview of how statistics have been used in computer studies in language and literature (with a start-up bibliography);

c) A discussion of the value and danger of statistics in the field; and

d) An open-ended list of discussion points.

Paul Fortier of the University of Manitoba will act as respondent, expert gadfly, and expert advocate.


Cash Bar Arranged by the Brown University Women Writers Project

Monday, 29 December 1997, 5:15 to 6:30 p.m., New Brunswick Room, Royal York Hotel


534: Electronic Culture III: Cyborgs, Performance, and the Political

Monday, 29 December 1997, 7:15 to 8:30 p.m., Room 205A, Toronto Convention Centre

Program arranged by the Division on Literature and Other Arts. Presiding: Mary Russo, Hampshire College


600: Technologies of Inscription and Reproduction

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Tudor Rooms 8 and 9, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Division on the History and Theory of Rhetoric and Composition. Presiding: S. Michael Halloran, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

604: Romantic Media III: Composite Forms and Transmediations

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Room 206C, Toronto Convention Centre

Program arranged by the Division on the English Romantic Period. Presiding: James K. Chandler, University of Chicago

614: Cyborg for Hire: Postindustrial Work in Contemporary American Culture

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Tudor Room 7, Royal York Hotel

A special session; session leader: Heather J. Hicks, Villanova University

624: Literary Theory and Children's Literature: Reflections on the Past and Predictions for the Future

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., Confederation Rooms 4, 5, and 6, Royal York Hotel. Free and open to the public.

A workshop arranged in conjunction with the forum The State of Children's Books in This Millennium and the Next (54A). Presiding: Jan Susina, Illinois State University


640: Computer Conferencing in Literature and Language Classes

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Territories Room, Royal York Hotel

A special session; session leader: Grover C. Furr, Montclair State University

655: Spatial and Geometric Metaphors for Text

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Room 203B, Toronto Convention Centre

Program arranged by the Association for Computers and the Humanities. Presiding: C. M. Sperberg-McQueen, University of Illinois at Chicago

Further information is available on the World Wide Web.

656: Unfastening the Fascicles: A Roundtable Discussion

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, 10:15 to 11:30 a.m., Toronto Room, Royal York Hotel

Program arranged by the Emily Dickinson International Society. Presiding: Martha Nell Smith, University of Maryland, College Park


706: Annual Awards Ceremony Arranged by the Council of Editors of Learned Journals

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, noon to 1:15 p.m., Tudor Room 7, Royal York Hotel

Presiding: Holly A. Laird, University of Tulsa


743: Spanish Poetry, 2000: Fin de Siglo and Beyond

Tuesday, 30 December 1997, 1:45 to 3:00 p.m., Wentworth Room, Sheraton Centre Toronto

Program arranged by the Twentieth-Century Spanish Association of America. Presiding: Sharon Keefe Ugalde, Southwest Texas State University