Conference Information

SAMLA 90: Fighters from the Margins: Socio-Political Activists and Their Allies
November 2–4, 2018 ◆ Sheraton Birmingham ◆ Birmingham, Alabama 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s call for activism—“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better”—still rings true today as activists and their allies continue to promote messages of social justice. Moreover, fighting from the margins as a decision to partake in civil discontent, as Chinua Achebe reminds us, is a personal call that often has an individual ethical significance: “There is a moral obligation, I think, not to ally oneself with power against the powerless.” Activists have traditionally utilized literary or artistic expressions as forms of resistance against unfair practices of the establishment, whether formal literary works (the novel or poetry of protest), concise written expressions of noncompliance (graffiti and political posters), or as musical demonstrations (songs of protest). For SAMLA 90, presenters are invited to examine ways in which high or low art forms draw from ideologies as an indispensable platform of communication to strengthen and diffuse socio-political movements. Scholars may explore multidisciplinary angles: for example, the historical development of a formal literature of protest (including specific movements’ use or preference of certain literary genres) or a look at the transformations of modern forms of protest given modern technological advances, such as digital forms of media communication.

Poster Session
Click here for more information about the SAMLA 90 Poster Session: A Visual Representation of Scholarly Work. 

Undergraduate Research Forum Session/Panel Information Form
Prospective session chairs for the SAMLA 90 Undergraduate Research Forum should click here to submit your panelists' contact information, abstracts, scheduling requests, etc.

Undergraduates interested in submitting an individual abstract to the URF should click here to submit their abstract. If accepted, individual abstracts will be used to create URF panels for SAMLA 90.

Conference Registration
Click here for more information about 2018 registration. Click here for the SAMLA 90 Conference Registration Form. 

Membership Forms
A 2018-2019 Membership is required for SAMLA 90 conference registration. New Member Application Form is available here. Member Renewal Form is available here. 

Conference Lodging
To stay on site at SAMLA 90, visit the group link below to make reservations. Participants can access the site to learn more about the event and to book, modify, or cancel a reservation from February 22, 2018 to October 7, 2018. Click here for lodging information. If and when our room block fills at the Westin, please click here to reserve a room at the Birmingham Marriott for the SAMLA conference rate.

Exhibitor Registration
Thank you for your interest in the 90th Annual Conference of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association! Click here for exhibitor registration.

Program Advertisement
Advertise in the SAMLA 90 Conference Program: full-page ads (black and white; color back cover; color front/back inside cover) as well as half- and quarter-page ads (black and white) are available for purchase. Click here for more information.