Erica Gene Delsandro

Candidate statement

My collaborative work both within and outside of MSA is teaching me how to imagine beyond the outdated and unproductive hierarchies that continue to support and maintain the profession. Through my involvement in both the International Virginia Woolf Society (IVWS) and Feminist inter/Modernist Studies (FiMA), I have been attempting to develop more collaborative approaches to and structures for our professional labors, and I am eager to bring my newly gained perspectives to the organization and execution of MSA’s yearly conference. I believe the conference, as a form, offers us yet unrealized affordances. As the Program Chair, I will be eager to build upon what has been effective for MSA while innovating toward greater access, inclusion, and equity. In coordination with conference organizers and with attention to regional possibilities: I will prioritize access for graduate students, contingent/underfunded faculty, and alt-ac colleagues; I will advocate for the centering of under-represented scholars within the
conference structure and program; and I will lead with a commitment to community and coalition building. In other words, I look forward to thinking generously about how to best serve all of our members, fostering an annual professional event that is socially welcoming, intellectually challenging, and culturally attentive.