Call for Roundtable to be prestented at the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA) 2026 Conference!

As humanities departments continue to struggle with enrollment numbers, and students are more and more convinced that a humanities degree has become obsolete in the job market, instructors of English literature need to reevaluate what we are doing in the classroom. Rose Horowitch’s article in The Atlantic titled“The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books” further problematizes the English classroom, as students are less likely to be able to read larger, complex texts. Whether these challenges are the result of new technology, tuition costs, job-placement fears, or trends in lower-education has yet to be fully analyzed, but English classrooms have been greatly impacted, with pre-modern literature courses facing threats of erasure, as periodization requirements are being removed by institutions at an alarming rate. What are we do to? How do we encourage undergraduate students to take a Shakespeare or Milton course, if they struggle to read challenging texts, especially as so many complain of troubling introductions to “classical” literature in high school? Professors must consider new ways of teaching that invites students into the early modern world. 

This roundtable looks to regenerate early modern literature by considering novel and creative ways of teaching difficult texts and engaging new readers. Multi-modal and inclusive pedagogy that also considers non-humanities students through scaffolding, inter-disciplinary, and comparative approaches are especially welcomed. Presenters are also encouraged to consider canonical diversification and thematic interpretations that regard contemporary student experiences, including feminist and gender studies, queer theory, race and marginalized identities, art/film/media studies, and intersectionality.

Submissions window opens June 15 and abstracts are due by September 30, 2025. To submit an abstract, see NeMLA Online Submission System at: https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/Login

Abstracts must include:

●      Title (80 characters or less)

●      Abstract (200 to 300 words)

●      Brief Bio

●      Media Needs (project/screen/laptop)

Please direct all questions to Jennifer Topale at Jennifer.topale@du.edu.