Conference Information

SAMLA 91 | Languages: Power, Identity, Relationships
November 15–17, 2019 | Westin Peachtree Plaza | Atlanta, Georgia

Those of us who make up the South Atlantic Modern Language Association are, according to our website, “dedicated to the advancement of literary and linguistic scholarship and teaching in the modern languages.” Our areas of study range from African/African American, American,  Asian/Asian American, Caribbean, English, French, German, Hispanic, Italian, Luso-Portuguese, and Slavic—to  studies in Creative Writing, Film, Gender and Sexuality, Interdisciplinarity, Pedagogy, and Rhetoric and Composition. We are undergraduate and graduate students; fulltime and part-time instructors and lecturers; assistant, associate, full, and retired professors. While we are a diverse group of individuals from all parts of the globe, there is something huge that we have in common: We are scholars who are fascinated by and passionate about languages.

We resonate with Virginia Woolf’s statement, “When I cannot see words curling like rings of smoke round me I am in darkness—I am nothing.” We nod our heads in agreement with Jacques Derrida’s edict, “What cannot be said above all must not be silenced but written.”  We shout out a hearty “Amen!” when we hear Melina Marchetta declare: “Without our language, we have lost ourselves. Who are we without our words?” And we applaud Gloria Anzaldua’s declaration: “So, if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity—I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself.”

We believe in the power of language to change lives and make our world a better place for all. We understand that our language is our identity, and we know that language is the key to building healthy, strong relationships with others near and far. 

During SAMLA 91, we will celebrate languages, the ways we use them, the ways they use us, the ways they shape our realities. Presenters are invited to speak on any aspects associated with the miracle of language.

Conference Registration
To register for SAMLA 91, please click here. Don't forget to renew or establish your membership before registering.

Call for Abstracts: A Toni Morrison Tribute
For information on SAMLA's tribute to the late Toni Morrison, please click here. 

Conference Hotel Reservation
To reserve accomodations at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in the SAMLA room block, please click here.

Poster Session
For information on the annual Poster Session and how to submit a proposal, please click here.

Exhibitor Registration
To sign up your organization to exhibit during our conference, please click here.

Session/Panel Information Forms
To submit a Session/Panel Information Form for the Undergraduate Research Forum at SAMLA 91, please click here.

Program Advertising
To reserve an advertisement spot in our conference program, please click here.

In Memoriam

Dr. Wayne Donald Kay

Executive Director and Executive Secretary, 1976-1983

Editor of the South Atlantic Review, 1978-1983

We are saddened to report that Dr. Donald Kay, former Executive Director & Secretary of SAMLA and Editor of SAR, passed away on June 22, 2019, at the age of 79. His complete obituary can be viewed here. Below is an excerpt regarding his career in academia: 

Dr. Kay began his career at The University of Alabama in 1966 where he became a Professor of English and taught for fifteen years before moving to Randolph-Macon Woman's College with his wife, Carol McGinnis Kay, when she became Dean of the College. During this time he served for a time as Richard H. Thornton Distinguished Visiting Professor of English at Lynchburg College. From 1976 to 1983, he was Executive Director of the South Atlantic Modern Language Association and Editor of the South Atlantic Review. He was the author of "Short Fiction in 'The Spectator'" published by the University of Alabama Press and editor or co-editor of two other scholarly books published by the University of Alabama Press and the University of Wisconsin Press, in addition to over two dozen articles in journals such as the Philological Quarterly.

Honorary Life Membership was awarded to Professor Kay by the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) and the Southeastern Linguistic Society (SECOL), and he was a former President of the Southeastern Chapter of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (SEASECS). After returning to South Carolina in 1987, Dr. Kay became Director of Development Research at the University of South Carolina.