Modern Literature & Culture Research Centre & Gallery

A quilt with a pattern on it

1.

World War II Quilt Exhibition

This November, our Threads of History exhibition showcased 20 powerful World War II quilts from the MLC Archives at Toronto City Hall Rotunda, offering a unique perspective on wartime art and storytelling.

2.

Irene Gammel Receives Obama Fellowship

Irene Gammel was awarded the prestigious Obama Fellowship by the Obama Institute this summer, engaging in public events and strengthening MLC’s international connections in the field of modern literature and culture.

Irene Gammel looking at books with three young women
A person writing on a paper

3.

Writing COVID-19 Lives

We launched a call for papers for Writing COVID-19 Lives, an essay collection for Routledge exploring the pandemic through the lens of life writing and personal narratives.

4.

Heritage Minute on Mary Riter Hamilton

MLC research inspired a new Heritage Minute on Mary Riter Hamilton, Canada’s first female battlefield artist. The feature, starring Megan Follows, is now available online.

A person holding a book and a rifle
A statue of a dragon on a street

5.

Publishing on Heritage Projects

2024 saw the continued success of the team’s collaborative studies such as “Rediscovering West Chinatown,” and Enduring Ornaments.

6.

Annual Impact Report 2024

Our Literature in Times of Crisis report captures the academic year’s key achievements, highlighting MLC’s role in engaging with urgent social and cultural issues.

A close up of a quilt
Photos of new MLC team members

7.

Welcoming New Voices

We were thrilled to welcome Cigdem MacInnis, alongside Payton Knox, Julia Perus, Gaurangi Batish, and Cat Chirvase to the MLC team.

8.

Contours of Creativity Course

Our new Contours of Creativity course united critical analysis with creative practice, inspiring students to approach literature and art through hands-on perspectives. See also our focus on Creativity and the Everyday.

A person in a blue coat standing in front of a large projector screen
A person wearing a mask and gloves

9.

Set to Launch in 2025

As part of our SSHRC-funded Telling COVID-19 Stories project, we advanced the Pandemic Stories database — online resource documenting creative responses to COVID-19, launching in 2025.

10.

Stay Connected with MLC

Follow us on X/Twitter at @MLC_Research and sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about our latest research and events.

 

To become involved, contact me at gammel@torontomu.ca.

Twitter @MLC_Research         Facebook @MLCRC        Instagram  @mlc_research

Recent News

MLC Research Centre’s TOP 10 OF 2024

MLC Research Centre’s TOP 10 OF 2024

Irene Gammel, Director, is pleased to present the top accomplishments of the MLC Research Centre in 2024.

Saluting Mary Riter Hamilton: A Personal Reflection on the New Heritage Minute

Saluting Mary Riter Hamilton: A Personal Reflection on ...

Historica Canada has released a new Heritage Minute, featuring Mary Riter Hamilton, Canada’s first woman battlefield artist.

Attention Students — Call for Student Volunteer Docents

Attention Students — Call for Student Volunteer ...

Become a docent at the MLCRC exhibition Threads of History: Repatriating World War II Quilts at Toronto City Hall.

Payton Knox joins MLC

Payton Knox joins MLC

Payton is involved in providing grading support for the course ENG 240: Contours of Creativity.

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.