Sookyoung Lee

Candidate statement

Associate Professor of English, St. Lawrence University
I am running for the position of the Vice Program Chair of the Modernist Studies Association. As a member of the organizing committee of the MSA’s Special Interest Group on Modernism and the Environment, I help put together book discussions throughout the year and the roundtable and the workshop at the annual conference. The tasks involved in this role, including researching scholars’ works with collaborative endeavors in mind and recruiting scholars across a diversity of professional ranks and affiliations, provide a strong foundation for the Vice Program Chair’s work of coordinating and planning the program.

My consistent engagement with the MSA community through attending and presenting work at the past three conferences, alongside my regular presentations at international associations for studies in modernism (SEM and MSIA), speaks to my familiarity with the field and the conference structure. The global and interdisciplinary perspective of my scholarship will be
valuable for the review, assessment, and appropriate placement of submissions. My experience as a manuscript reviewer for the Edinburgh University Press directly translates to this work as well.

Finally, my communication skills, particularly the generalist and public-facing orientation developed through my professional services on a university grant steering committee, will contribute to the effective composition and publicizing of the conference program. Thank you for your consideration.