CFP: Contribute to a Special Issue of Profession

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Dear Colleague,

As we face this incredibly charged moment on campuses, the MLA wants to put members in conversation with each other. We want to hear your strategies for how to safeguard academic freedom, as well as how to interact with each other, with our students, with administrators, and with the public in relation to the many polarizing issues we confront.

The MLA Executive Council seeks your submissions for a special issue of Profession on the challenges facing us in the current political climate. We encourage those interested in submitting an article to explore questions like:

  • How can we in our teaching and campus work engage deeply with the political and cultural complexities with which our students are wrestling?
  • How can the skills we learn in the study of language, literature, writing, and culture help us unpack and teach the nuances of divisive political questions?
  • What do we do when confronted with contradictory arguments that have compelling elements?

Submissions are due by 15 June.

We also encourage you to take advantage of the MLA’s host of resources on academic freedom, shared governance, and free speech. A recording of our webinar What You Need to Know about Educational Gag Orders is available to the public, and members can view a recording of Resisting Political Threats to Humanities Higher Education to learn more about protecting academic freedom on your campus.

Thank you for your help in supporting your fellow members.

Quick Links
To learn more about how to protect academic freedom and free speech, check out the resources listed below.

Tracking Challenges to Academic Freedom
To stay up to date on the legislative challenges to academic freedom and campus threats, follow PEN America’s map of educational gag orders and legislative index, as well as Scholars at Risk’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project. For additional context on how educational gag orders are affecting members’ work, read the Report on the Current State of Academic Freedom in US Education from the Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Rights and Responsibilities.

Sincerely,

Paula M. Krebs
MLA Executive Director