Modern Literature & Culture Research Centre & Gallery

I am pleased to announce the launch of the new website for MSA Toronto 2019, the Modernist Studies Association annual conference organized with the assistance of the MLC Research Centre and the support of Ryerson University. The Modernist Studies Association was launched in 1998, and is linked to Johns Hopkins University and the peer-reviewed academic journal, Modernism/modernity published by Johns Hopkins University Press. The conference theme for 2019 is “Upheaval and Reconstruction.”

As the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee, I am thrilled to provide leadership for this conference and work in conjunction with colleagues at Ryerson across a variety of its departments and programs, including: the Languages, Literatures, and Culture (LLC) department; the Communication and Culture program; the English department; and the Literatures of Modernity MA program. The conference also provides an occasion to collaborate with colleagues at the University of Toronto, York University, and OCAD University. Moreover, MSA 2019 Toronto is made possible through the support and dedication of my brilliant MLC team.

Overall, it is a true pleasure and privilege to be working with the Modernist Studies Association and the conference organizing committee. I would like to thank Propeller for their work on the website; Spotlight AV, who will provide the audio-visual support for the event; and my entire MLC team, who are assisting with events planning, social media, and volunteer recruitment and organization. I extend a huge thank you to all of MSA 2019 Toronto’s sponsors for their generous support, particularly Ryerson University as the lead sponsor.

This is an invaluable opportunity for Ryerson, the MLC, and the larger Toronto community to welcome new voices, fresh ideas, and evocative scholarship from around the globe, and to share in the cutting-edge scholarly conversation occurring in a city rich with diversity, culture, and modernity. This conference supports Ryerson’s mandate to city-building and experiential learning, providing hands-on opportunities for student engagement. On this note, I look forward to what is bound to be a successful MSA conference, and best of luck as you begin to prepare your proposals.

Dr. Irene Gammel
Director of the MLC Research Centre

Make sure to read the call for papers and find out how you can participate in MSA Toronto 2019.

For any further questions or queries, please e-mail us at info@msatoronto2019.org, contact us via the MSA website or e-mail Irene Gammel at gammel@ryerson.ca.

Visit the Upheaval and Reconstruction website

Recent News

Gaurangi Batish joins MLC

Gaurangi Batish joins MLC

Gaurangi aspires to articulate the centre’s core values and vision through her contributions to the centre’s social media platforms.

Caitlin O’Keeffe joins MLC

Caitlin O’Keeffe joins MLC

At the MLC, Caitlin is excited to explore modernist women artists, the modernism archive and collection of modernist ephemera.

Cigdem Asatekin MacInnis joins MLC

Cigdem Asatekin MacInnis joins MLC

Cigdem joins the MLC and will be involved in research administration, exhibitions and events.

Amina Chaudhry joins MLC

Amina Chaudhry joins MLC

Amina assists Dr. Irene Gammel with her course ENG 710 Special Topics in Canadian Literature: Contemporary Life Writing.

The Great War in Literature and Visual Culture

MLC Themes

The Great War in Literature and Visual Culture

Amid the unprecedented social change of World War I, women renegotiated their identities by dramatically changing the way they engaged with the arts. But how did they do so? And how did everyday citizens engage with the war?

Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven

MLC Themes

Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven

Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, considered by many to be the mother of Dada, was a daringly innovative poet and an early creator of junk sculpture. “The Baroness” was best known for her sexually charged, often controversial performances.

Modernism in the World

MLC Themes

Modernism in the World

Recent research has departed from the Euro-centric and national view of Modernism to include approaches and methods studying Modernism across national boundaries and across different art forms to include fashion, dance, performance, technology, and visual culture.

Lucy Maud Montgomery

MLC Themes

Lucy Maud Montgomery

L.M. Montgomery is perhaps Canada's most important literary export. She was prolific writer of over 500 short stories and poems, and twenty novels, including the beloved Anne of Green Gables.

Canadian Modernism

MLC Themes

Canadian Modernism

The works of numerous Canadian authors who lived during the modernist era may well constitute the most central and experimental articulation of Canadian modernism in prose, allowing authors to stage cross-cultural, controversial, and even conflicted identities.

Modernist Biography and Life Writing

MLC Themes

Modernist Biography and Life Writing

Life writing, including autobiographical accounts, diaries, letters and testimonials written or told by women and men whose political, literary or philosophical purposes are central to their lives, has become a standard tool for communication and the dissemination of information.