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Penn State's English department has been instrumental in shaping innovative approaches to modernist studies. Established in 1998 by Penn State professors Sanford Schwartz and Mark Morrisson alongside colleagues from other universities, the Modernist Studies Association originated here. The inaugural MSA conference, titled The New Modernisms, took place at Penn State in October 1999 and garnered attention as the cover story in the Chronicle of Higher Education's "New Life for Modernism." The English department maintains active involvement in the MSA, with Morrisson recently being elected as 2nd Vice President (set to become president in 2011). Dedicated to advancing global Modernist Studies, our department comprises dynamic scholars whose work spans diverse disciplines and global perspectives. Our research connects with multiple critical domains—including British and American literatures, Hemispheric Studies, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, Cultural Studies, Print Culture, Film Studies, Visual Culture Studies, Post-Colonial Studies, Gender/Sexuality Studies, Critical Race Studies, and Disability Studies. Through both collaborative and individual projects, we explore various literary and cultural aspects of modernism, from salon cultures and urban exploration to nature writing, surrealism's intersection with crime, Caribbean influences on U.S. imperialism, avant-garde publications, manifestos, and scientific culture. Additionally, we focus on producing authoritative editions of celebrated modernist writers like Ernest Hemingway, Marianne Moore, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.