The Working Group for the Revision of the MLA Divisions and Discussion Groups has completed a new draft of the proposal in response to nearly 1,000 member comments on MLA Commons. Members are invited to comment on the revised draft by 1 February 2014.
This latest draft includes brief explanatory comments and specific questions about certain groups. The working group invites further feedback, both on the Commons and at three sessions at the convention: the Open Hearing on the Future of MLA Divisions and Discussion Groups, the Open Hearing of the Delegate Assembly, and the meeting of the Delegate Assembly (limited opportunity for member comments).
I was unable to attend the Convention, but I am very interested in finding out the results of the general discussion.
Speaking as current chair of the East Asia to 1900 division, and on behalf of our entire executive committee, I would like to communicate our unanimous support for:
* the addition of a “Korean literature” forum
* the renaming of the “Japanese literature to 1900” forum to “Japanese Literature from Edo and earlier”
* the renaming of the “Japanese literature from 1900” forum to “Modern and Contemporary Japanese Literature”
* maintaining one comparative forum as “East Asia.”
Points 1 and 4 simply offer our endorsement of proposed changes.
The logic behind points 2 and 3 is that the year 1900 is a completely arbitrary temporal division that bears no relation to Japanese cultural history, whereas “Edo and earlier” and “Modern and Contemporary” is meaningful to people in the field and relatively transparent even to those marginally familiar with it.
Respectfully,
Charlotte Eubanks