Modern Language Association of America | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | MLA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1883; 142 years ago (1883) |
| Founder | Aaron Marshall Elliott |
| Type | Learned society |
| Headquarters | New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Fields | |
President | Tina Lu |
Executive director | Paula M. Krebs |
| Website | mla |
TheModern Language Association of America, often referred to as theModern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principalprofessional association in the United States for scholars oflanguage andliterature.[1] The MLA aims to "strengthen the study and teaching of language and literature".[2] The organization includes over 20,000 members in 100 countries, primarilyacademic scholars,professors, andgraduate students who study or teach language and literature, including English, other modern languages, andcomparative literature.[2][3] Although founded in the United States, with offices in New York City, the MLA's membership, concerns, reputation, and influence are international in scope.[2]
The MLA was founded in 1883, as a discussion and advocacy group for the study of literature andmodern languages (that is, all butclassical languages, such as ancientLatin andGreek).[2] According to its profile featured by theAmerican Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), "The Modern Language Association is formed for educational, scientific, literary, and social objects and purposes, and more specifically for the promotion of the academic and scientific study of English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and other so-called modern languages and literatures."[3]
The officers of the MLA are elected by its members. Currently, the president is Tina Lu until 2026, at which point another election will be held.[4]
The MLA is governed by an Executive Council, elected periodically by its members, according to theMLA Constitution. The Executive Director isPaula Krebs.[5]
The MLA publishes severalacademic journals, includingPublications of the Modern Language Association of America, one of the most prestigious journals in literary studies, andProfession, which is now published online onMLA Commons and discusses professional issues faced by teachers of language and literature. The association also publishes theMLA Handbook, a guide that is geared toward high school and undergraduate students and has sold more than 6,500,000 copies. The MLA produces the online database,MLA International Bibliography, the standard bibliography in language and literature.[6]
Since 1884 the MLA has held a national, four-day convention. For many years it was held the last week in December. Beginning in 2011, the convention dates moved to the first Thursday following 2 January. Approximately eight to twelve thousand members attend, depending on the location, which alternates among major cities in various regions of the United States. The MLA Annual Convention is the largest and most important of the year for scholars of languages and literature. Language departments of many universities and colleges interview candidates for teaching positions at the convention, although hiring occurs all year long. The organization'sJob Information List (JIL) is available online.[7][8][9][10][11]
In addition to its job-placement activities, the convention features about 800 sessions, including presentations of papers and panel discussions on diverse topics (special sessions, forums, poetry readings, film presentations, interdisciplinary studies involving art and music, governance meetings) and social events hosted by English and language departments and allied or affiliated organizations.[2] There are also extensive book exhibits in one of the main hotel or convention center exhibition areas.
In November 2016, the association launchedHumanities Commons, an open-access, crossdisciplinary hub for anyone interested in humanities research and scholarship. Other not-for-profit organizations involved in this project includeCollege Art Association;Association for Jewish Studies; and theAssociation for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies.
The MLA's Web site features the MLA Language Map, which presents overviews and detailed data from theUnited States 2000 Census about the locations and numbers of speakers of thirty languages and seven groups of less commonly spoken languages in the United States and Canada.
The association has highlighted issues such as race, gender and class in its professional deliberations.[12] InThe New Criterion, aclassicist and politicallyconservative[13][14] magazine,Roger Kimball andHilton Kramer argued that this was part of a "rampant politicization of literary study that the MLA has aggressively supported" in American colleges and universities, including elevating popular culture to a position of parity with great works of literature as subjects for classroom study, and other "radical" postures.[15]
On January 7, 2017, the MLA rejected a proposed boycott of Israeli academic institutions in a 113–79 vote during its annual meeting in Philadelphia.[16] Activists within the association had since 2014 pushed for such a boycott because they believed Israel was guilty of human rights violations and should be subjected to a boycott similarly to how South Africa was boycotted by theAnti-Apartheid Movement. The inspiration for the boycott came from theBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which is a global movement that calls for comprehensive boycotts of Israel.[17]
The activists calling themselvesMLA Members for Justice in Palestine presented a resolution in December 2016 calling for a boycott. The call to boycott received support from scholars such asJudith Butler and novelistViet Thanh Nguyen, but also opposition from scholars such asCary Nelson and historianKenneth Waltzer as well as a group calling itselfMLA Members for Scholars Rights.[18][19] A group of Israeli scholars sent videotaped messages stating Israeli universities are multicultural and calling the BDS campaign one of harassment and slander.[20] On the other side of the debate, another group of Israeli scholars came out in support of the boycott, arguing that "the Israel-led campaign against the boycott of Israeli academic institutions rallies around the claim that if adapted it will hurt progressive Israeli scholars. Campaigners use this tactic to divert attention from the plight of the entire Palestinian population living under Israel's elaborate system of colonial repression and injustice to a manufactured victimization of Israeli academics. This is a manipulative inversion of victimhood."[18]
In a strongly worded letter, the pro-IsraeliBrandeis Center threatened to sue MLA if the resolution was adopted. In the letter addressed to the association's PresidentKwame Anthony Appiah and Executive Director Rosemary G. Feal, the center claimed that the resolution wasultra vires.[21][22] That is, that it would take the association in a direction that went beyond its original mission. Supporters of the boycott argued that it was notultra vires because the Association had in the past been engaged in human rights issues.[23]
At the 2025 annual meeting in New Orleans, the MLA executive council blocked a member vote on a resolution endorsing BDS and acknowledgingPalestinian genocide accusation andscholasticide, prompting protest and campaign for members to lapse membership in the organization. The executive council released a statement in advance stating that while they are "appalled by the continued attack on Gaza," a BDS resolution would present "legal and fiduciary" challenges.[24]
There are several regional associations that are independent of the primary MLA, and which host smaller conventions at other times of the year:
