[About a month ago Vaughn and I had the chance to attend and present at the 57th Northeast Modern Language Association Convention, held this year in Pittsburgh. So as I’ve done with almost every NeMLA conference for the last decade-plus (I wasn’t able to attend last year’s), I wanted to recap some of the stand-out moments here, leading up to this special weekend post on why this organization matters more than ever in 2026!]
I know I don’t need to convince readers of this blog that this is a fraught and fragile moment for higher education, education, and, y’know, America. So I’ll get right to three important things that an organization like NeMLA can do and be in moments like these:
- Activism: There are those who think scholarly organizations shouldn’t focus on activism; hell, there are even such organizations themselves who have made that case. I understand that perspective, but I couldn’t possibly disagree with it more. I’m not saying that every part of a NeMLA convention nor of NeMLA’s work year-round has to be focused on or even engaged with our moment or political debates or the like. But I am saying that an organization like this has both an opportunity and a responsibility to be part of those conversations and efforts, something I tried to model during my own years as NeMLA President and Past President (2015-2017) when we issued a statement on Trump’s proposed immigration policies. I look forward to more of the same from this NeMLA leadership (now including Vaughn!) here in 2026.
- Solidarity: Again, important as it is, such activism shouldn’t be and can’t be present in every part of NeMLA—but what most definitely should and can be central to all that such organizations (and their conventions) are and do is communal solidarity with every single person in and around the profession. After all, fraught and fragile moments affect us all—affect students and their families, affect teachers and scholars and their families, affect the local and regional communities that house our institutions and host our conventions, and so on. Expressing and embodying solidarity with and across all such communities fight not feel as direct as activism, but I think it’s certainly just as important, and perhaps the most meaningful thing that an organization like NeMLA can do.
- The Future: Those first two items are very much about where we are and what we need right now. But as hard as it can be these days to predict the future, much less imagine one that’s better than this present, you know this critical optimist isn’t going to give up on that latter goal. One of my favorite things about NeMLA has always been how much it emphasizes not just the presence but the contributions of grad students; one of my favorite things about how NeMLA has evolved in recent years is how fully we’ve added undergrads into that mix as well. As the Dad to two college-age sons, I know that no matter what else the future might hold, it will be defined and shaped by that younger generation. And the more an organization like NeMLA can connect to and support all those folks, the more meaningful our work will be as we all move into that uncertain, fragile, essential shared future.
Next series starts Monday,
Ben
PS. If you were at the conference, feel free to share your thoughts too!
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