Dear Members of the Pound Listserv,
 
I'm writing to you as a member of the steering committee of the newly
formed Modernist Studies Association, which is designed to bring
together
scholars who are working on all facets of literary and cultural activity
between the later 19th- and the mid- 20th century.
 
The inaugural conference of the new association will take place October
7-19, 1999 at Penn State University (University Park). The title of the
conference, "The New Modernisms," speaks to the revitalization and the
variety of new developments in the field over the last several years.
At
our first conference, we will run sessions on topics such as the
expansion
of the modernist canon, particularly in light of recent concerns with
race, class, gender, region, and ethnicity; the "postmodern"
revaluation of modernism; the new interest in modernism, science, and
technology; the reassessment of the
socio-political contexts of modernism; issues of nationalism,
imperialism,
and colonialism; the marketing of modernism; the impact of new editorial
principles and procedures; and new approaches to the relations among the
various arts and sciences of the era.
 
You should be hearing about the conference over the next few months.
We'll
be distributing flyers over the next month or so, and the official
conference brochure, which will contain a call for papers and a
registration form, will appear in early spring.  You can also check out
our
website (still under construction) at
http://www.psu.edu/dept/english/MSA/msa.htm.  For further information,
feel free to contact me or any one of the conference planners,  Michael
Coyle ([log in to unmask]), Cassandra Laity ([log in to unmask]), Gail
McDonald ([log in to unmask]), or Sanford Schwartz ([log in to unmask]).
 
Since we are still in the process of constructing our mailing list, I
wondered if you could suggest the names of several colleagues (along
with
their institutional affiliations and e-mail addresses if you have them)
who might be interested in the organization and the conference.  I or
one
of the other members of the steering committee would be happy to contact
them.
 
Best wishes,
 
Burt Hatlen ([log in to unmask])