Notes from the Executive Director

Notes from the Executive Director Convention 1988 In August you will receive registration material for the 1988 convention (October 20-22) in Las Cruces where we will help New Mexico State celebrate its centennial. Each annual convention is special, but this one has many interesting features. You will note that the Las Cruces Hilton has agreed to room rates of $45 for all rooms. (Use the card that comes with the registration packet.) Please also note the page announcing special airline fares through Eastern and Continental. Not only are the fares discounted but some restrictions are waived. To obtain these fares, call Buck Rogers Travel (800)451-8617. Use the RMMLA account number EZ10BP28. Make early reservations to book the most convenient flight. The convention also features a banquet address on "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" by Professor Russell Jacoby and discussion of those ideas at a plenary session Saturday noon, followed by the RMMLA business meeting at which members can voice their opinions and inquire about the status of the organization. Ten special sessions were approved by the Board, including one on Western and Southwestern Literature; two additional Technical Writing sessions; and sessions on Women Writing in Languages Other Than English; Feminist Perspectives: Foreign Language Women Writers; Class, Race, and Gender in Chicana Literature; Feminist Perspectives on Renaissance Drama; Drama; and Dieu et Eros: de Baudelaire à Pierre Emmanuel. In addition the Writing Program Administrators join RMMLA as a regular session and the Writing Center Association will be meeting with us conjointly on Friday afternoon and Saturday (program available at registration). The Las Cruces Convention will also feature a wine and cheese reception sponsored by New Mexico State University and the New Mexico Vine and Wine Society, as well as excursions to Juarez and Old Mesilla. We hope you will plan to join us. Other Notes Two sessions have been renamed at the request of the members: American Association of University Professors of Italian becomes American Association for Italian Studies, and American Indian Literature becomes Native American Literature. 115 A VAX-BITNET address has been added to the directory for a few members. Ifyou would like us to include yours, please send the information to me. This year for the first time, the Board has approved the acceptance of abstracts rather than full papers only. We are interested in your response to the policy. Please address any observations to me. In addition, the Board has stipulated that presenters should appear to read papers. We will ask section chairs to report on presenters who do not attend. At each October meeting the Board puts together a slate of candidates to replace members whose terms have been completed. In doing so, the Board must keep in mind a balance between representatives from English and Foreign Language as well as geographic, gender, and subject area balances. If you or any one you know has been active in RMMLA and would like to be nominated for consideration for a position on the Board, please forward the name and a vita to me. You might wish to ascertain that your institution will support travel to the convention and a Board meeting in April. Because there are several balances to be kept in mind, not all qualified people can be nominated. Future conventions will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada (1989), and Salt Lake City (1990). Ifyour institution is interested in hosting an RMMLA convention, I would be glad to discuss the logistics and procedures with you. Please let me know. A reminder to people who wish to submit Special Session proposals for the 1989 convention in Las Vegas: the Board will consider all Special Session proposals at the April 1989 meeting. Proposal guidelines require that the proposal reach the Executive Director by March 15 of the year for which the session is proposed. Listing of the Special Session in the call for papers does not imply approval. Proposals should include the title, a precise description and rationale, and the names of section leader and panelists, including paper titles as they should appear in the program. For further details, see the MLA guide to which we subscribe (PMLA Sept. 1987: 453 ff.). The Executive Board will attempt...