The American Literature Association ( ALA ) is "a coalition of societies devoted to the study of American authors". It has some 110 affiliated societies, mostly concerned with the work of a particular author (e.g. the Emily Dickinson International Society or the Thoreau Society ), some thematic such as the Society of Early Americanists . It was founded in 1989.
4-470: It holds an annual conference, alternating between east coast and west coast venues, attracting about 850 delegates. Some societies choose to have one of their own main meetings as part of the ALA conference, and many sessions of the conference are sponsored by member societies. There are no plenary sessions at the conference, but seven or eight simultaneous events in each time slot. The ALA has an executive board and
8-401: A "Council of American Authors Societies", which represents the member organizations. The executive director is Alfred Bendixen , who has held this post since the association's beginnings in 1989. This article about a United States arts organization is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alfred Bendixen Alfred Bendixen is the founder and Executive Director of
12-687: The American Literature Association and a lecturer in the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University . Bendixen gained a Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina in 1979, with a thesis on "Americans in Europe before 1865 : a study of the travel book". He held posts at Barnard College (1979-1988) and California State University, Los Angeles (1988-2005) before moving to Texas A&M University , where he served as
16-622: The Associate Department Head of English (2007-2009) and a Professor of English (2006 - 2013). He now serves as a lecturer in the Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University, having previously been a lecturer in English at the same university. His research has centered on the recovery of 19th century literature and neglected genres, including the ghost story, detective fiction, science fiction, and travel writing. This biography of an American English academic
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