Announcing ACLA 2026
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| Dear Members of the American Comparative Literature Association: As the Conference Committee Chair, I am pleased to announce that ACLA’s 2026 Annual Meeting will be held in person in Montreal, from February 26 to March 1, 2026. Following the 2024 Annual Meeting at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, the Secretariat and the Conference Committee received very positive feedback from ACLA members. The spacious convention center and the diverse cultural offerings of Montreal made the 2024 conference a highly stimulating and memorable experience. The Montreal community, in turn, was pleased to host our conference and eager to welcome us back. Therefore, with a view to reducing conference costs for all members and attendees, we entered discussions with the Palais des Congrès de Montréal about the possibility of returning. I would like to acknowledge ACLA’s Chief Administrative Officer, Danielle Marie, for her tireless efforts in negotiating with the Palais to secure very favorable terms for our return in 2026. Please note that the dates of the 2026 Annual Meeting are earlier than usual. This scheduling will help us avoid overlapping with major area studies and media studies conferences typically held in March. The portal for proposing a seminar for ACLA’s 2026 Annual Meeting will open on July 1, 2025. You are invited to submit a seminar proposal by August 8, 2025. A portal through which to submit paper proposals to seminar organizers will open on August 26, 2025. Each seminar meets multiple times (usually three) to allow for continuous and substantive engagement among participants. This emphasis on long-form collaboration is a hallmark of the ACLA conference. For instance, a seminar meeting over three days may include up to twelve panelists, with three to four participants presenting twenty-minute papers in each session, followed by discussion. We welcome seminars on all topics and areas within Comparative Literature, broadly construed. We especially welcome seminars in areas historically underrepresented in the humanities. The conference is open to participants from both within and beyond the Americas. While ACLA annual meetings have been held at a variety of venues, we are always looking for campus sponsorship. If your department or university is interested in hosting a future ACLA Annual Meeting (in 2027 or beyond), please get in touch with me. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the other members of the Conference Committee during the past year—Karen R. Emmerich (2024–2025 President) and Alexa Alice Joubin—for their contributions to the 2025 Annual Meeting, which concluded earlier this month. Prof. Emmerich organized the opening ceremony and keynote address in addition to delivering her own presidential address, while Prof. Joubin hosted a well-received preconference workshop on AI and pedagogy. I am also grateful to the Executive Committee and the Advisory Committee for organizing other special events. The Program Committee chaired by Jini Kim Watson reviewed countless seminar proposals. CAO Danielle Marie oversaw the building of a brand-new virtual conference platform, which ran seamlessly. Brigid Kennedy managed seminar scheduling and designed a beautiful conference program. Secretary-Treasurer Dina Al-Kassim offered invaluable advice throughout. Thank you all for making the 2025 Annual Meeting a resounding success. I look forward to working with you and with President Karyn Ball on the 2026 Annual Meeting in Montreal. Sincerely, Tze-lan Deborah Sang Conference Committee Chair, 2024–2027 Professor of Chinese Literature and Media Studies, Michigan State University E-mail: tzelan (at) msu.edu |
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