Jennifer Mitchell

Candidate statement

When asked about my research, I usually talk about the intersection of (mostly) modernist literature and sexology and I (likely) mention masochism. And yet, somehow over the last few years I began to think about my scholarship in modernism as deeply embedded in and connected to collaboration. My commitment to collaborative work is, in many ways, why I’m running for second vice president of MSA. I think best when I think with other people and I work best when I work with other people. As part of the MSA board, I look forward to continuing efforts to diversify the association and its conference; to rethinking the structural status quo in favor of new possibilities; to reimagining MSA’s role in professionalization and development both within the academy and outside of it; and to facilitating and sustaining difficult but necessary conversations about precarity and labor, about accessibility and equity, and about mentorship and support. Again, this is not something I plan to undertake alone, but instead by working with the board, the members of the association more broadly, and the affiliated organizations and other localized collectives that have done incredible work, especially during this year’s “Between the Acts” virtual conference.