Loyola University Chicago

Midwest Modern Language Association

About Us

Founded in 1959, incorporated in 1971, and based at Loyola University Chicago, the Midwest Modern Language Association is a non-profit organization of teachers and scholars of literature, language, and culture. A regional affiliate of the Modern Language Association, the MMLA provides a forum for disseminating scholarship and improving teaching in the fields of literary and cultural criticism.
 
The members of the MMLA hail from many different departments, including Comparative Literature, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Linguistics.
 
The MMLA's annual November meeting builds a sense of community among many specialized fields with over 200 sessions. Some sessions coalesce around an informal convention theme, while others focus on widely-ranging topics that represent the varied interests of the association's fields.
 
Annual meetings also feature professionalizing workshops and a book exhibit that foregrounds the recent publications of its members.
 
The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association (JMMLA) publishes members' work in two issues. The Spring issue features essays on an issue chosen by a guest editor. The Fall issue features essays on the theme of the previous year’s conference or developed from papers prepared for that conference.