“Political Issues in the Classroom (i.e. labor, education spending, war, electoral process)"

The Graduate Student Caucus is looking for papers, to be presented at the 2003 MLA conference in San Diego, that deal with political issues in the classroom and how we, as teachers, address them. We are especially interested in focusing on the following issues as they pertain to the classroom: labor, education spending/inequities, war and civil conflict, and the electoral process. Some questions arise when considering these issues, such as: how do we address them, how might we include them in our lessons and lectures, and ought we give voice to these concerns or not? As well as discussing the problems that exist, we would like this panel to be positive, informative, and maybe even mobilizing. Interesting strategies that showcase how to engage in productive dialogue about political issues, texts that foster such a dialogue, and student reactions to these issues would be especially fruitful for our panel.

Abstracts should be 250 words long (detailed suggestions and a brief outline of the topics to be covered in the presentation, rather than formal proposals will be accepted) and sent to Jean Schulte via email by March 29, 2003. Please keep in mind that all presenters must be current MLA members by April 1, 2003.