Why is close reading a particularly valuable learning strategy/professional practice at the current moment? This MLA seminar (a guaranteed session) seeks participants interested in thinking and talking through aspects of close reading with an eye towards producing pieces of public writing (e.g. an OpEd, think piece, lyric essay, call to action, etc. published in a newspaper, magazine, or periodical, in print or online). Topics for exploration may include, but are not limited to:

• close reading as pedagogical practice—its value to students or to learning, how to teach it, etc.;
• the affordances of close reading some aspect of history;
• close reading a specific text(s) and the relevance of doing so to any larger context;
• close reading and institutional efforts at curricular oversight;
• rethinking close reading as an individual, social, or cultural practice;
• close reading and mis-reading;
• the relationship between close reading in the literature classroom and any larger context;
• close reading and educational policy or reform;
• personal or memoir-style meditations on the value of close reading to you;
• close reading and book bans; 
• close reading in the age of AI;
• close reading and information literacy;
• the value of close reading to public life; 
• close reading as a source of community.

Because the goal of the seminar is ultimately for everyone to leave with a draft of a piece of public writing they can pitch for publication, preference will be given to proposals that clearly demonstrate why/that some non-specialized readership might have interest in the topic/argument/approach. It is not necessary to know what venue(s) might be the best place to pitch your piece, in order to apply. We welcome applications from those who do not already have pieces of public writing to their credit. Seminars are a new MLA session format (see https://www.mla.org/Events/MLA-Convention-Seminars for more details). Organizers will accept up to 15 participants, who will submit drafts of pieces of public writing (up to 1500 words) on their proposed topic by November 15, 2026. All participants will read each other's work, and the MLA session time will be devoted to discussing drafts, helping people refine ideas, and talking about ideal venues for pitching (where and how). Depending on how many people apply, subgroups to provide more detailed feedback on just a few other pieces may be formed. Proposals may be to write pieces about any literature or language-studies pedagogical issue, humanities-education take, or literary-historical period, including the study of literatures not in English. Please note that public writing drafts/comments will be conducted in English. Seminar participants will be selected to create a group with a diversity of perspectives in terms of breadth of topics and representation of people from different career points and types of institutions.  To submit: Proposals for 1500-word pieces of public writing should include abstract (max 300 words), short CV, and brief (max 200 words) statement of interest in the seminar format and/or in considering a public venue for your topic. Deadline for submissions: Monday, March 16, 2026. Please submit simultaneously to both seminar organizers: Andrea Kaston Tange, Macalester College (akastont@macalester.edu ) and Dana Gavin, Dutchess Community College, State U of New York (dana.gavin@sunydutchess.edu ). The session is sponsored by the MLA Office of Programs.