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PMLA is the journal
of the Modern Language Association of America. Since 1884, PMLA
has published members' essays judged to be of interest to scholars and
teachers of language and literature. Four issues each year (January, March,
May, and October) contain essays on language and literature; a Directory
issue (September) lists all members and the names and addresses of department
and program administrators; and the November issue presents the program
for the association's annual convention. Each issue of PMLA is mailed
to over thirty thousand MLA members and to over three thousand libraries
worldwide.
 Receiving
PMLA
Submitting
Manuscripts to PMLA
Advertising
in PMLA
Placing
Announcements in PMLA
Membership in the MLA includes a subscription to PMLA. Each issue of the journal is normally mailed to subscribers during the month before the month of publication. For libraries and other institutions, an annual subscription is $115. An institutional subscription including a bound volume at the end of the year is $257, domestic and foreign. Agents deduct four percent as their fee. Single copies of the current January, March, May, and October issues of PMLA can be purchased for $12 each. The September (Directory) issue is $50; the November (Program) issue is $35. To pay for an institutional subscription or order current issues, send an e-mail inquiry to cymone.quarrie@mla.org or write to MLA, Member and Customer Services, 10 Astor Place, New York, NY 10003-6981. For information about the availability of back issues, write or call Periodicals Service Company (www.periodicals.com), 11 Main Street, Germantown, NY 12526-5635 (518 537-4700). Early and current volumes can be obtained on microfilm from Bell and Howell Information and Learning (www.bellhowell.infolearning.com), 300 North Zeeb Road, PO Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 (800 521-0600).
PMLA welcomes essays of interest to those concerned with the study of language and literature. As the publication of a large and heterogeneous association, the journal is receptive to a variety of topics, whether general or specific, and to all scholarly methods and theoretical perspectives. The ideal PMLA essay exemplifies the best of its kind, whatever the kind; addresses a significant problem; draws out clearly the implications of its findings; and engages the attention of its audience through a concise, readable presentation. Manuscripts in languages other than English are accepted for review but must be accompanied by a detailed summary in English (generally of 1,000-1,500 words) and must be translated into English if they are recommended to the Editorial Board. Articles of fewer than 2,500 words or more than 9,000 words are not considered for publication. The word count includes notes but excludes works-cited lists and translations, which should accompany foreign language quotations. The MLA urges its contributors to be sensitive to the social implications of language and to seek wording free of discriminatory overtones. Only members of the association may submit articles to PMLA. For a collaboratively written essay to be eligible for submission, all coauthors must be members of the MLA. PMLA does not publish book reviews or works of fiction. Each article submitted is sent to two reviewers, usually one consultant reader and one member of the Advisory Committee. Articles recommended by these readers are then sent to the members of the Editorial Board, who meet periodically with the editor to make final decisions. Until a final decision is reached, the author's name is not made known to consultant readers, to members of the Advisory Committee and the Editorial Board, or to the editor. Because the submission of an article simultaneously to more than one refereed journal can result in duplication of the demanding task of reviewing the manuscript, it is PMLA's policy not to review articles that are under consideration by other journals. An article found to have been simultaneously submitted elsewhere will not be published in PMLA even if it has already been accepted for publication by the Editorial Board. Submissions, prepared according to the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, should be sent in duplicate and addressed to:
PMLA Modern Language Association 10 Astor Place New York, NY 10003-6981 phone: 212 614-6305 or 212 614-6313 fax: 212 533-0680 pmlasubmissions@mla.org For detailed information on the review process for submitted essays, please send an inquiry to one of the addresses given above for PMLA submissions. From time to time the Editorial Board invites essays on special topics designed to attract a wide readership. These groupings allow dialogue among essays and encourage in-depth investigation of the selected subjects. The board announces special topics in PMLA and in the MLA Newsletter well before the manuscript-submission deadlines. At least one coordinator is chosen to assist in the preparation of each special topic. Past topics include African and African American Literature, The Politics of Critical Language, Cinema, Theory of Literary History, Performance, Literature and the Idea of Europe, Literature and Censorship, Colonialism and the Postcolonial Condition, The Status of Evidence, The Teaching of Literature, Ethnicity, Ethics and Literary Study, Rereading Class, and Globalizing Literary Studies. Suggestions for future topics are always welcome. All manuscripts submitted for a special topic are subject to PMLA's
editorial
policy and format prescriptions. In submitting such manuscripts, members
should indicate the topic for which the essays are to be considered. Manuscripts
may be submitted any time before the deadline and are processed as received.
Submissions on the special topics given below are invited. The subtopics
listed are provided by way of example and suggestion only. Manuscripts
should be submitted, by the deadline indicated, to the Managing Editor,
PMLA,
Modern Language Association, 10 Astor Place, New York, NY 10003-6981.
Deadline for submissions: 20 April 2001 Coordinator: Djelal Kadir (Penn State Univ., University Park) As physical and human geography, the hemisphere that was to be appropriated and named, or misnamed, America existed well before its European encounter. It preexisted that encounter as idea, and even as fixed idea for some such as Columbus and indeed for many others since. In the course of the last five centuries America has often proved a radical and a radically changing idea, an ideational flux reflective of historical, economic, territorial, and cultural contingencies. Among the most compelling forms of discourses engaged in the pursuit of this idea, literary discourse figures most prominently. It does so in all genres and in many languages within and outside the northern and southern continents of this hemisphere. Contributors to this special topic are invited to examine the corpus of the multifarious idea that is and has been America. How has the idea of America been defined, appropriated, embodied, incorporated, and used for literary ends? Indeed, these ends, more often than not, might themselves be symptomatic of national formations and of contending processes in the history of cultural and historiographical canonizations. Diverse approaches focusing on all historical periods and the principal linguistic traditions in the Americas are encouraged. Translocal, transcultural, and comparative studies among these traditions and between the Old and New Worlds are equally welcomed.
Deadline for submissions: 15 June 2001 Coordinators: Tilottama Rajan (Univ. of Western Ontario) and Linda Woodbridge (Penn State Univ., University Park) Contributions on the imagining of history in literature and other discourses before 1900 are invited. Essays may deal with a literary genre that raises the question of how literature and history shape each other; with differing literary renderings of a key historical event; or with history as a literary trope, the truth claims of literature, and the sometimes gendered relations among history, romance, and folktale. They may also deal with actual historical writing and its shape or methodology: for instance, the shift from history as a mine of exempla to humanist history, the secularization of history, the rise of scientific history, empirical versus philosophical history. Articles need not be confined to history as a record of public events but may take up its extension into other domains as this extension stimulates reimaginings of the nature and structure of history. Topics could include the relation between history and biography; the emergence of histories of art or literature; histories of religion, philosophy, mythology; and histories or historical collections or encyclopedias of "marginal" subjects such as necromancy, folklore and fairy tales, and women rulers. Topics concerning the impact of geography and exploration on history might include natural histories; national histories; European histories of non-European cultures or the converse; the emergence of historiographical constructs that attempt to deal with different national histories within a unifying, dialogic, or dialectical paradigm (e.g., cosmopolitan history in the eighteenth century, universal or philosophical history in the nineteenth century); or the impact of these models on literature. In all these areas potential contributors should keep in mind broader historiographical issues of who lays claim to history, what constitutes history, the form taken by these histories (chronicle, narrative, encyclopedia, metahistory, etc.), and the cultural repercussions of historiographical discourse. MLA members are invited to submit to the PMLA Editorial Board proposals for translations. Articles, as well as chapters or sections of books that can function as independent units, will be considered. The originals may be in any language. Two types of proposals are welcome: (1) significant scholarship from earlier periods that has not lost its forcefulness and whose retrieval in English in PMLA would be a noteworthy event for a broad body of readers and (2) contemporary work of sufficient weight and potential influence to merit the attention of the field as a whole. A member who wishes to make a proposal should first ascertain that no previous English translation exists. The proposer should then provide the managing editor with the following materials: (1) a photocopy of the original essay, (2) an extended summary of the entire essay in English, (3) an introductory statement of approximately 1,000 words, prepared in accordance with MLA style, that will be published with the essay if the essay is accepted, (4) information on the copyright status of the original (if the translation is accepted for publication, the proposer will be responsible for obtaining permission to print it). In addition, if the proposer wishes to serve as translator of the essay or to designate a translator (who must also be an MLA member), a 1,000-word sample of the translation should be submitted; otherwise the Editorial Board will select a translator. The translated essays should normally not exceed PMLA's 9,000-word limit. The Editorial Board will approve or decline the proposals, evaluate the quality of the translations, and cooperate with the proposers and translators. MLA members are invited to submit to the PMLA Editorial Board proposals regarding little-known documentary material that merits the attention of a broad range of readers. Consideration will be given to archival data from any period and in any language that do not exceed PMLA's 9,000-word limit. A member who wishes to make a proposal should provide the managing editor with the following materials: (1) a photocopy of the document, (2) an extended summary of the document in English, (3) an introductory statement of approximately 1,000 words, prepared in accordance with MLA style, that will be published with the document if it is accepted, (4) information on the copyright status of the original (if the document is accepted for publication, the proposer will be responsible for obtaining permission to print it). In addition, if the document is not in English and if the proposer wishes to serve as translator or to designate a translator (who must also be an MLA member), the proposal should include a 1,000-word sample of the translation; otherwise the Editorial Board will select a translator of accepted non-English material. The Editorial Board will approve or decline the proposals. PMLA invites members of the association to submit letters, printed and double-spaced, that comment on articles in previous issues or on matters of general scholarly or critical interest. The editor considers eligible letters for publication in the Forum, a section of the January, March, May, and October issues. The editor reserves the right to reject or edit Forum contributions and offers the PMLA authors discussed in published letters an opportunity to reply. The journal omits titles before persons' names, discourages footnotes, and does not consider any letter of more than one thousand words. Letters should be addressed to:
Modern Language Association 10 Astor Place New York, NY 10003-6981 fax: 212 533-0680
Since 1884 PMLA, the journal of the Modern Language Association of America, has published articles of interest to scholars of language and literature. It appears in six annual issues:
Journal and Mechanical Specifications
Advertising Manager, PMLA Modern Language Association 10 Astor Place New York, NY 10003-6981 phone: 212 614-6305 fax: 917 534-2767 or 212 533-0680 annabel.schneider@mla.org 
Anyone may submit announcements for publication without charge in the following sections. PMLA reserves the right to edit or decline to publish any submission. Forthcoming Meetings and Conferences The January, March, May, and October issues of PMLA contain a list of meetings and conferences in the humanities. Each listed item gives the title, dates, and location of a meeting or conference and instructions on where to send inquiries about the event. Space does not permit the inclusion of calls for papers. Items to be placed in this section must reach the MLA office at least three and a half months before the month of publication. Listings are repeated until the date of the event has passed. Submit items to:
PMLA Modern Language Association 10 Astor Place New York, NY 10003-6981 fax: 212 533-0680 fmc@mla.org The January, March, May, September, and October issues of PMLA include a section containing calls for manuscripts for book collections and journals, announcements of scholarly prize competitions, notices about learned societies, and other news relevant to the MLA membership. Items to be placed in this section, no more than 200 words in length, must reach the MLA office at least three and a half months before the month of publication. Send submissions to:
PMLA Modern Language Association 10 Astor Place New York, NY 10003-6981 fax: 212 533-0680 pnc@mla.org A list of fellowship and grant programs appears annually in the September (Directory) issue of PMLA. For complete information about the programs, potential applicants should write to the foundations identified in the list. To submit an announcement for this section, write or call:
Modern Language Association 10 Astor Place New York, NY 10003-6981 phone: 212 614-6310 fax: 212 533-0680 or 212 477-9863 john.golbach@mla.org Items for In Memoriam, a listing that appears in the January, March, May and September issues, should be submitted to:
Modern Language Association 10 Astor Place New York, NY 10003-6981 phone: 212 614-6373 fax: 212 477-9863 patricia.hanley@mla.org
Copyright 1999 The Modern Language Association of America. All rights reserved. This page last updated 05/18/2000. Questions/comments to websupport@mla.org. |
