[KS] Korean forum / MLA (another update)

[Henry Em]

Dear colleagues,



It seems almost certain that starting in 2016 a Korean (Language,
Literature, and Culture) forum will be established in the MLA. A sufficient
number of MLA members have signed the petition.



These tasks remain: several members of the Korean forum will have to
volunteer to serve on the founding executive committee, and they have to
submit a letter of application (2 to 5 pages) over the summer.



In my first email to this list I characterized the MLA as Euro-centric, but
becoming less so. That was a simplistic characterization.



The question of what’s marginal and not so marginal (in the MLA, in the
broader academe) is actually not so straightforward. Moreover, it’s not
just a matter of assessing which fields are becoming less popular, and
which fields are becoming more vibrant. It’s also a matter of the
privileging theory over, say, the category of national literature, or even
literature itself. (The creation of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean forums
repeats an older pattern.)



But to simplify, again, I've copied below some numbers that offer a broader
snapshot of the MLA – with the assumption that these numbers tell us
something about how languages and literatures are taught and studied
(primarily in the US, even though the MLA has members in over 100
countries).



If I’m not mistaken, the MLA currently has 4,162 members. It has 88
divisions, and as of June 6, 2014, a not-so-random sample of EXISTING
DIVISIONS shows:



Twentieth-Century American Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/twentieth-century-american-literature/>

1,222 members



Women’s Studies in Language and Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/womens-studies-in-language-and-literature/>

1,182 members



Postcolonial Studies in Literature and Culture
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/postcolonial-studies-in-literature-and-culture/>

1,053 members



Ethnic Studies in Language and Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/ethnic-studies-in-language-and-literature/>

603 members



Black American Literature and Culture
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/black-american-literature-and-culture/>

526
members



Twentieth-Century Latin American Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/twentieth-century-latin-american-literature/>

489 members



Late-Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century English Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/late-nineteenth-and-early-twentieth-century-english-literature/>

479 members



Gay Studies in Language and Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/gay-studies-in-language-and-literature/>

439 members



Shakespeare <http://commons.mla.org/groups/shakespeare/>

420 members



Twentieth-Century Spanish Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/twentieth-century-spanish-literature/>

297 members



Mexican Cultural and Literary Studies
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/mexican-cultural-and-literary-studies/>

273 members



Twentieth-Century French Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/twentieth-century-french-literature/>

247 members



Chicana and Chicano Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/chicana-and-chicano-literature/>

233 members



Twentieth-Century German Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/twentieth-century-german-literature/>

213 members



American Indian Literatures
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/american-indian-literatures/>

190 members



Asian American Literature
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/asian-american-literature/>

184 members



Arabic Literature and Culture
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/arabic-literature-and-culture/>

142 members



East Asian Languages and Literatures after 1900
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/east-asian-languages-and-literatures-after-1900/>

131 members



East Asian Languages and Literatures to 1900
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/east-asian-languages-and-literatures-to-1900/>

71 members



German Literature to 1700
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/german-literature-to-1700/>

(division with fewest members -- 52 members)





-----PROSPECTIVE FORUMS-----

>From among *35 prospective forums*, membership as of June 6, 2014:



Prospective Forum: TM Literary and Cultural Theory
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/prospective-forum-tm-literary-and-cultural-theory/>

(most signatures) 89 members



Prospective Forum: LLC Korean
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/prospective-forum-llc-korean/>

40 members



Prospective Forum: LLC Japanese since 1900
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/prospective-forum-llc-japanese-since-1900/>

23 members



Prospective Forum: LLC Japanese to 1900
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/prospective-forum-llc-japanese-to-1900/>

19 members



Prospective Forum: LLC Modern and Contemporary Chinese
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/prospective-forum-llc-modern-and-contemporary-chinese/>

13 members



Prospective Forum: LLC Ming and Qing Chinese
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/prospective-forum-llc-ming-and-qing-chinese/>

10 members



Prospective Forum: LLC Pre-14th-Century Chinese
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/prospective-forum-llc-pre-14th-century-chinese/>

7 members



Prospective Forum: LSL Heritage Language Teaching and Learning
<http://commons.mla.org/groups/prospective-forum-lsl-heritage-language-teaching-and-learning/>

(fewest signatures) 5 members



Note: In the MLA Commons, members can join many forums (groups), but can
sign just five new forum petitions. All existing Divisions and Discussion
Groups are being “updated” to forums.



So, what is the significance of a Korean forum being established in the
MLA? Who can say at this point.



The Korean forum will (probably) have two guaranteed panels at the MLA
convention (starting in 2016). Before and after participating in the Korea
panels, you would be able to go to panels organized by over 100 different
forums, from Asian American Literature to Women’s and Gender Studies.



Perhaps this also can be said: in comparison to the AAS, the MLA would
provide a different kind of intellectual space, a different kind of
experience, a different kind of engagement. That is to say, I think
scholars of Korean Literature would find it advantageous to have both the
AAS and the MLA as venues.



Shifting back to larger questions, teaching in Korea I feel the "crisis of
the Humanities" so much more keenly, because there is such a clear
(commonly accepted) hierarchy of student (and parents') preferences: e.g.
the business major over the study of history or literature.



As we are all well aware, there are many worrisome trends: increasing
student debt, declining number of tenure-track positions, majority of
courses being taught by non-tenure track faculty, dismal employment
prospects for college graduates, etc.



So in the larger scheme of things the establishment of a Korean forum in
the MLA is probably not so significant. Well, I guess that might depend…
Can a panel (several panels), a paper (several papers), make an impact?



Henry

-- 
Henry Em
Associate Professor, Korean History
Yonsei University Underwood International College
Veritas Hall B, Room 425
Gwahakno 85, Songdo-Dong, Yeonsu-Gu
Incheon 406-840, Korea

Mobile: 82(country code)-*(0)10-7232-2626*

Office: 82(country code)-(0)32-363-4153
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