Editor's Introduction: The CEA Conference in San Antonio: A Pivot Point

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• Editor's IntroductionThe CEA Conference in San Antonio: A Pivot Point
• Jeraldine R. Kraver

The CEA Conference in San Antonio: A Pivot Point

To those of us of a certain age, the definition of pivot immediately conjures the sport of basketball and the act of rotating on one's stationary foot. More recently, though, the word has been used to describe the ability of an organization or institution to reimagine itself—to adapt to the changing nature of, well . . . everything. The term came into vogue especially during the COVID pandemic, when "pivoting" and being "nimble" were essential to remaining viable. Scott Galloway, New York University professor and co-host of the podcast Pivot, describes the concept as "a strategic change in business model, direction, or target market." Reflecting not only on the CEA Conference in San Antonio but also on the association during the past few years, Galloway's definition of pivot might be just the right term to describe where the CEA stands as an organization: we are pivoting.

The CEA and its journal, The CEA Critic, turned 85 this year. The conference in San Antonio marked the 52nd time we have gathered as an organization separate from MLA (even after splintering from the MLA in 1938, CEA members continued to meet alongside the MLA in those early years). Our evolution mirrors the evolution of both our profession and our discipline, whether in the good ways or the less-good ones. For example, papers presented at the annual conference and articles published in The CEA Critic reflect the expansion of topics, modes, and genres that compose the study of English. Similarly, as evidence that the CEA acknowledges the changing nature of employment in the humanities, the Karen Lentz Madison Award for Scholarship recognizes the work of adjunct or contingent faculty. (And you can read this year's award-winning essay by Eric Larson in this issue.)

Changing with the Times

As a community of teacher-scholars, the CEA looks to adapt to the shifts that characterize the profession. As I write, the humanities are at risk across the nation. Our colleagues in Morgantown are facing massive program cuts, and one has the sinking feeling that West Virginia University might just be the canary in the coal mine. Meanwhile, programs such as ChatGPT and Google Bard are inspiring headlines announcing the death of the college essay. Course syllabi now include statements about using AI alongside the traditional warnings about plagiarism and academic integrity. Of course, it doesn't stop there. Among The Edvocate's list of the 20 biggest [End Page vii] challenges facing higher education are matters about ensuring diversity and inclusion (#4), addressing student mental health (#5), modernizing curriculum (#15), and improving public perception (#20). Even addressing climate change made the list (#10). So, where does that leave us? Answers seem fuzzy to me, but I do know that we as a CEA community can attend to some of higher education's challenges by encouraging discussions at our conference panels, promoting scholarly engagement in the pages of The CEA Critic, and fostering a welcoming spirit across our association.

Many of the challenges in The Edvocate's list were the focus of papers delivered in San Antonio and captured on the pages of this proceedings. To diversity and inclusion, Daniel Collins and Meghan Gilbert ask, "Built, as it is, on racist structures, is the university doomed to replicate them? What does change look like in such an institution, and how can we work toward it?" To modernizing curriculum, Christina Bucher's essay on teaching queer history through literature at a "small conservative, Southern liberal arts college" reminds us of both the need for and the challenges of modernizing curriculum to reflect the diversity and lived experiences of our students. To climate change, you'll find David Gall-Maynard's paper on the discourse of environmental crisis. At the same time—and what I especially love about CEA conferences—is the mix of current issues and traditional topics, often with a contemporary spin, that make up the annual conference program. On the one hand, there's Jaclyn Fowler's study of the "Irish-ness" of Yeats' often-anthologized "Lake...