Crowds of sad people wander around the MLA. They’d love to visit the talks and the book fair but they can’t. They are the graduate students and the adjuncts who couldn’t afford to pay the enormous registration fee. They don’t have the magical conference badge and they are too honest to make one in Word (which would be extremely easy to do.)
It’s a mystery why there is such an effort to exclude them from the book fair. What’s the worst they can do? Look at books? Oh, the evildoers!
Next year I’m hoping to see my book at the exhibit, and I’d prefer for as much people as possible to see it.
It would be great if instead of discussing Israel for 3 days we’d pass a resolution allowing our colleagues without badges to look at the darn books and listen to talks.
Clarissa's Blog 
American academia is based on the premise of “What is mine is mine and if I share it then it becomes less mine.” My undergraduate advisor correctly noted that academia was the only sector of US society that remained mired in European feudalism seemingly immune from the capitalist transformation that surrounded it.
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What can be more capitalist that selling access to a book exhibit or a conference talk?
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Actually selling the books rather than the access. Right now the access is priced so that only members of the title holding nobility can afford them. It is price that way as a form of social exclusion despite the fact it clearly loses money.
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They don’t sell the books at the exhibit, actually. The books are to look at in order to find out what’s been published. I tried buying a book but they preferred to give it out for free.
If the access were based on holding tenure or on academic rank, that would be feudal. But this is strictly money-based.
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How much was the MLA registration fee?
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Together with the membership it was over $250.
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“…over $250.”
I think the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings registration (in January) is about the same, but if I recall correctly it is waived for grad students on the Employment Register.
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At the Ivies job-seeking graduate students get paid the expenses of 1 MLA. But that’s the Ivies.
My university is obviously not reimbursing me for a dime of this trip. Nor of the conference I’m speaking at in March. Obviously.
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It actually costs grad students and adjuncts $23 to become members and $65 to attend the convention. It’s still a chunk of change if you’re broke– but far more affordable than what they charge full-time faculty.
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“What can be more capitalist that selling access to a book exhibit or a conference talk?”
Exactly. They don’t want to sell access because that would blur the line between the second class citizens (graduate students and adjuncts) and the first class citizens (registered members).
What might work, are badges that are meant to look demeaning. As long as the dividing line between the right and wrong people can be maintained they’ll be happy.
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They mailed out programs instead of giving them at the conference. I didn’t bring mine because it’s big and heavy. But I couldn’t get a copy at the conference because they sell them for $25. I’m convinced that the practice of sending out programs was introduced on purpose. Most people will decide not to clutter their luggage with them and will be forced to pay extra money to get them. And it’s the same with badges. If you didn’t get yours in the mail, you have to pay for a copy. It’s a nice scam right there.
No other conference I’ve been to does this shit. And I’ve been to many different kinds.
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Maybe I’m an idiot but I didn’t return to the book fair after I saw that my friend who is an adjunct is excluded because she didn’t pay. It robbed me of all the joy of being there.
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“I didn’t return to the book fair after I saw that my friend who is an adjunct is excluded because she didn’t pay. It robbed me of all the joy of being there”
Now if you were social and could tell enough people in the MLA that, then maybe their shame modules would activate and the policy would change…… nyah, it wouldn’t.
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I’m saying it on the blog. There are quite a few readers here who are MLA members. Of course, the Grand poobahs of the MLA are not reading.
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The MLA has to keep the money rolling in to pay for their headquarters in Manhattan and the six figure salaries of the people who run it. You can’t keep that up with reasonable fees and giving stuff away for free.
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Exactly.
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