Ethnic Literature in America

MELUS Conference Report/Project

In weeks 11 and 12, we break from our typical classroom activities to attend and attend to the MELUS (Society for the Study of Multi-Ethnic Literature in the US) conference at MIT. This event offers an opportunity to meet and interact with exciting panelists and keynote speakers, writers and scholars in the field of ethnic literature; to research a topic of your own, on which you might draw for a final essay; and to share with the class an unusual intersection of lives inside and outside the classroom. You will also be the only undergraduate students at the conference prepared to ask questions of and engage directly with conference participants.

Week 9

1. Decide on the event, topic, and paper(s) or panel(s) that interest you most and submit your topic by Session 17. You may wish to address favorite writers we have not covered in class, explore more deeply the ones we’ve discussed, or take up topics that excite you—questions of gender, family, race, nation, language, colonialism, migration, aesthetics, or others.
2. Plan a three-part project that includes an in-class presentation with print handout (Session 20 or 21), a visit to the conference, and a follow-up reflection paper (250–500 words) due in class Session 21.

Week 10

1. Research your topic in whatever ways are most appropriate: searching scholarly databases at MIT Libraries; scanning more recent materials—reviews, interviews, or blogs; contacting a panelist or speaker for advice or an interview (see “Ideas for In-Class Presentation”).
2. Ask me to send you the abstract of any paper/panel you plan to attend. A word of caution: usually written six months before the conference takes place, these tend to be general, abstract in more ways than one. They can give you a sense, though, of the speaker’s approach, perhaps even a brief bibliography.

Weeks 11–12

1. Session 19: Read the extract from Mia Heavener’s forthcoming novel, Under Nushagak Bluff, and be prepared to ask questions and discuss. 
2. Presentations Sessions 20 and 21 (see details on reports below).
3. Week 12: attend conference, take notes, meet people, enjoy.

Guidelines for Reports

1. In-class presentations should take ten minutes.
2. Format may feature slides or other enhancements but should include a one-page print handout containing salient facts and points, focused discussion questions or topics, and a Works Cited list (may appear on the back of the sheet).
3. Think of the report as:
   1. Providing a service for all in the class, since few will be able to attend more than a fraction of all the conference offers.
   2. Allowing you (if you report beforehand) to organize your thoughts, so that you can prepare questions and engage meaningfully in the experience; and (if you report after) to collect your impressions and make sense of what you saw and heard.
   3. Giving you a way to build on what you have read and discussed in the class—to build toward interactions with scholars in the field and also a research project of your own.