Sujata, thank you for these crucial and forthright questions!   Here are my answers or comments, since I know I won’t be at MLA.  🙂

Re: “the Folio’s a metaphor for the larger issue — something that institutions used to value and consider integral to a liberal arts education is no longer seen as necessary.” Yes, and didn’t John Guillory make t…[Read more]

I don’t know what it means, in general, for literary studies–or scholars–if Shakespeare can be “deprioritized,” sold at market by an institution of higher education. Which is to say that Mills College’s decision may not have wide applicability.  As I am sure we all know, many– most?–women’s colleges became co-ed around 1970, as many elite…[Read more]

Hi Sujata!  A good idea to use the Commons, but I find–and have always found–the site frustrating to use. Why isn’t there just one way to log in, for instance?  And just now I clicked on your posted set of abstracts for 2022 and was told by the site that I should try deleting cookies. Which I did.  Returned to the site and received the same me…[Read more]

Hi Sujata!  A good idea to use the Commons, but I find–and have always found–the site frustrating to use. Why isn’t there just one way to log in, for instance?  And just now I clicked on your posted set of abstracts for 2022 and was told by the site that I should try deleting cookies. Which I did.  Returned to the site and received the same me…[Read more]