For our December member spotlight, we’re highlighting the work of Joseph Ortiz, who has been a member of the MLA for twenty-four years. Learn about Joseph’s time on the MLA Publications Committee and the resource he recommends to humanities leaders:
“Serving on the MLA Publications Committee gave me enormous insight into the innovative research and teaching that is being done outside my field. Whether teaching Homer’s Odyssey or newly published texts, these scholars are pushing the boundaries of literary study and constantly finding ways to connect literature to 21st-century concerns and to the lived experiences of their students. This work has inspired and emboldened me to experiment in my own teaching and think past traditional disciplinary boundaries. Often, MLA is the only venue where this work can be shared broadly with other teachers and scholars.”
Recommended resource: “As an English department chair, I would highly recommend the ADE-ALD Summer Seminar for any chair, director, dean, or department administrator. Every workshop and talk at the seminar has given me helpful ideas about how better to do my job, and the conversations I’ve had with colleagues has provided a much-needed sense of solidarity.”