Modern Language Association Liaison Committee

The Modern Language Association (MLA) Liaison:

1.​     Maintains ongoing forum discussions with committee members about topics related to the MLA.

2.​     Serves as ABC liaison with the MLA by organizing and overseeing the ABC session/s at the MLA Convention.

3.​     Reads and reviews submissions for the single panel session allowed at the MLA Convention.

4.​     Posts papers/abstracts from the ABC session/s at the MLA Convention on the ABC and MLA websites.

5.​     Promotes the field of business communication in the MLA.

6.​     Encourages junior faculty members and students to submit proposals to present at the MLA Convention.

7.​     Requests committee members additions/drops by first logging into ABC and then completing the Committee Update Request form at: http://tinyurl.com/CommitteeUpdateRequest.

Committee Chair 2024

William Christopher Brown

Committee Members 2024

Recent Prior Chairs

Kris Pickering, Tennessee Technological University
Katherine Wills, Indiana University Purdue University Columbus
Mahli Mechenbier, Kent State University

Community Page

Members of the Modern Language Association Liaison Committee can access the committee’s forum and file library on their Community Page.

Blog Posts

CFP for the 2025 ABC MLA Panel: "Exploring AI Literacy in Business Communication"

By: William Christopher Brown | January 24

The ABC has a guaranteed panel at the MLA Convention. Submit a 300-word abstract, including references, for a 15-minute presentation to William Christopher Brown at wbrown@midland.edu by 10 March 2024.

CFP for the 2024 ABC MLA Panel: Information Literacy, Undergraduate Education, and Business/Organizational Communication

By: William Christopher Brown | January 20

This panel seeks research-oriented presentations on the role of information literacy in the teaching or practice of workplace communication, including focuses on pedagogy, organizational communication, case studies, fiction, nonfiction, film, television, etc.

CFP for the 2023 ABC MLA Panel: "Representations of Business/Professional Communication in Popular Culture"

By: William Christopher Brown | February 3

The ABC has a guaranteed panel at the MLA Convention. Submit a 300-word abstract, including references, for a 15-minute presentation to William Christopher Brown at wbrown@midland.edu by 11 March 2022.

CFP for the 2022 ABC MLA Panel: "Communicating Inclusivity and Diversity in the Workplace" (Due: 07 March 2021)

By: William Christopher Brown | February 1

The ABC has a guaranteed panel at the MLA Convention. Submit proposals to William Christopher Brown at wbrown@midland.edu by 07 March 2022.

CFP for the 2021 ABC MLA Panel: "The Rhetoric of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility"

By: William Christopher Brown | February 3

Organizations are expected to engage in sustainability efforts; thus, corporate social responsibility is integral to conveying a company's focus on sustainability. However, such efforts call into question the rhetoric of sustainability (ROS) employed in corporate literature.