Interest Groups

What is an Interest Group?

Interest Groups are grassroots initiatives that arise as ASLE members wish to organize. These groups can form around any topic of interest be it disciplinary (e.g., Ecomedia Studies), geographic (e.g., Southwest Literature), institutional (e.g., Undergraduate or 2-year colleges) etc. Interest groups serve to encourage networking and fellowship, as well as to provide support for pedagogy, scholarship, and mentoring within these particular areas.

How do Interest Groups form?

Any group wishing to be an Interest Group should:

  • Form organically in the organization.
  • Submit a description, including the group’s rationale and purpose, an agenda with plans and goals, and contact information for a designated member of the interest group. This information should be submitted to the Professional Liaison Coordinator (see our Leadership & Staff page for current contact information).

What privileges will this designation provide?

Interest Group privileges include the following:

  • Guaranteed one panel acceptance at the conference. Panels must still be submitted through regular process, and identified as sponsored by an approved ASLE Interest Group. More than one panel proposal per IG can be submitted, but only one is guaranteed.
  • Publishing articles online in ASLE News.
  • Being listed on the ASLE Interest Group Page, which enables links to other Interest Group pages.
  • Sponsoring meetings, receptions, and panels at the Biennial Conference, subject to existing policies and procedures.
  • Applying to host an off-year symposium, subject to existing policies and procedures.

These privileges do not include:

  • Receiving funds from the organization.
  • The ability to collect membership dues.
  • Guaranteed slots on ASLE boards, committees, and/or task forces.
  • The ability to select conference plenary speakers.
Current ASLE Interest Groups

You can also post and correspond with these groups in the ASLE Member Community, just go to the “Chatter” tab and then look for “Groups” by the names below, and join the one(s) you would like to be a part of.

Asian Ecocriticism
Contacts: Kiu-wai Chu and Emily Zong
Visit their Facebook Page

Creative Caucus
Contact: Janine DeBaise
Visit their Facebook Page

Ecocritical Visual Culture
Contacts: Emily Gephardt and Maura Coughlin
Visit their Facebook Page

Ecocriticism and Narrative Theory
Contact: Erin James
Visit their Facebook Page

Ecocriticism of the Americas
Contact: Charlotte Rogers

Ecology and Religion 
Contact: Jeremy Elliott

Ecomedia Studies
Contacts: Michelle Yates (myates@colum.edu) and Sara Crosby (crosby.91@osu.edu)
Visit their Facebook Page
Visit the Ecomedia Studies blog

Energy Humanities
Contacts: Jacob Goessling and Jordan Kinder

Environmental Rhetoric and Writing
Contacts: Paul Formisano and Michaelann Nelson

Indigenous Ecocriticism
Contacts: Abigail Perez Aguilera and Kyle Bladow