Talk:Modern Language Association

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The link to the New York Review of Books article added by an anonymous user is very interesting but, given that it the content is almost 40 years old, seems like it needs context at the very least. I would urge the anonymous user to either comment in this space or add to the article a line or two explaining the link. Chick Bowen 01:02, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The "Times New Roman" typeface is getting OLD!

How long have they required the Times New Roman typeface for college term papers now? We're already in the 21st century, so why don't we see a new, 21st-century font? [UNSIGNED AND UNDATED. PLEASE SIGN AND DATE ENTRIES IN TALK.]

[edit] What about the controversies?

I was looking for material on the controveries and criticisms of the MLA, I u/s that the group has taken a leftward bent in recent years, advocates "gender inclusive" language etc., but I see nothing of that here? Is this just hearsay? [UNSIGNED and UNDATED] [PLEASE SIGN COMMENTS]

See the 1968 (!) letter linked in external links and the 1972 article cited in further reading sections (dates of publication); the "leftward bent" occurred decades ago. By scholars of professional language and literature studies, using "'gender inclusive' language" (phrase used by unsigned commenter above) is not considered "leftward" anymore. Such usage as "he and she," "his and hers"/"she and he"/"hers and his"; or alternation between "he" and "she" etc(other examples needed, however of what the person who didn't sign the above comment meant) is generally now conventional. If one wants to know more, one can examine the MLA official webpage, read PMLA articles, and do one's own research. One does not have to depend on this Wikipedia article itself if one wants to learn more about the organization. One can just "Google" "MLA" etc. A great deal of information is accessible to any interested party. This article is still basically a stub, I think. A decade ago there was a session at the MLA proposed on the "politics" of "gender" and it is still a current topic of interest. Alternative organizations to the MLA have been established over a decade ago: e.g., the Association of Literary Scholars and Critics; see also one of its member organizations, called the National Association of Scholars. --NYScholar 19:56, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Example

How about an example citation for Wikipedia? It would especialy help with those of us who can't figure out whether Wikipedia is an encyclopedia or a web source. :) Stale Fries 23:38, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

Please see Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia. The article on the MLA is not the place for this information (nor even is the MLA style manual article), because of Wikipedia's policy to avoid self-references. -- Rbellin|Talk 05:13, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

Also, if one wants to know more information about an online source (like Wikipedia itself), one needs to do some research on one's own, such as accessing main pages (home pages, welcome pages, index pages) and reading FAQ or "About" pages if they are posted. Clearly, Wikipedia describes itself as an "online encyclopedia" that is not "peer-reviewed." Those who write articles for Wikipedia are anyone who participates in it; the "peers" are other Wikipedia editors (anyone can edit Wikipedia) and it is "open source." See Wikipedia: Main Page and other informational links throughout Wikipedia involving editing policies and practices, including Wikipedia:FAQ. --NYScholar 20:01, 23 August 2006 (UTC)