In recent years "undergraduate research" (a term for a number of research-related pedagogies and practices) has moved increasingly into the humanities from the academic sciences, where it has developed a well-defined set of terms and procedures over the last generation. The Arts and Humanities Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research is organizing a roundtable discussion at the American Literature Association's conference around the particular opportunities and challenges involved in adapting undergraduate research models to American literary studies. Topics may include (but are not limited to)

-- research in the undergraduate literary curriculum: models and best practices
-- students as research assistants
-- is student research "real" research?
-- the undergraduate as professional scholar
-- the challenges of student-faculty research collaborations
-- institutional and professional incentives for engaging in undergraduate research

We seek participants with experience in undergraduate research in American literary studies who will present very brief informal position papers (5-8 minutes) and engage in discussion of these and other topics. To be considered for participation, please write to John Swift, Department of English, Occidental College, at swiftj@oxy.edu, with a brief (200 words or so) proposal for your prepared remarks. The deadline for all proposals is January 4, but we welcome communications and inquiries at any time before then.

The American Literature Association's annual meeting will be held at the Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, 5/27/10-5/30/10. For further information on the conference please visit the ALA website at http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/english/ala2/.