ST. LOUIS - The Council of Editors of Learned Journals awarded Leviathan Volume 25, Number 3, “Melville in Public” as the best special issue at the 2025 Modern Language Association (MLA) convention earlier this year. The issue was edited by Brian Yothers, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of English at Saint Louis University.

The issue of Leviathan: A Journal of Melville Studies, a journal for which Yothers is the editor, came out in the fall of 2023. Jennifer Greiman served as co-editor of the special edition, which features articles, reviews and creative writing on various facets of the work of American novelist and poet Herman Melville.

“We used this issue to connect Melville’s whale to environmental history, racial justice, westward expansion and gender,” Yothers said. “The issue captures the spirit of public humanities with different kinds of pieces. It’s really affirming to receive this honor for this issue.”

Public Humanities

Yothers serves on the advisory board of Public Humanities, a major new international journal that launched in November from Cambridge University Press—a flagship venture in the humanities. Yothers said he was invited to join the board prior to its launch.

“Public Humanities is an attempt to talk about the humanities and disciplines that can seem far removed from today’s conversations and make them more present and available to today’s audiences,” Yothers said. “It’s an open-access journal and our goals is to publish pieces that are accessible for those who are curious and interested in historical and literary questions”

Yothers added that the goal is to reach a wide audience without sacrificing the complexity of the topics.

“We want to address texts that are hundreds of years old in a way that speaks to the present times,” he said. “It’s a mighty project.” 

Yothers, who has edited Leviathan for the last five years and was associate editor for the previous six years, and was also co-editor of Journeys: The International Journal of Travel and Travel Writing for 14 years,  said it is a remarkable experience to be part of the formation of a new journal.

“When you become the editor of a journal, you have discretion, but you also have a responsibility to the history and the procedures that predated you,” he said. “Now I am a part of establishing traditions and getting the opportunity to offer strategic direction.”

Yothers said he sees his work with Public Humanities and other journals he has worked on as an extension of his teaching at SLU.

“I get the chance to clarify and strengthen the work of the submitted authors,” he said. “It is the benefit of an academic career that you can exercise different mental muscles by playing different roles at different times.”

He is also the editor of the Camden House Press series Literary Criticism in Perspective, a co-editor of the Melville Electronic Library and an associate editor of Melville’s Marginalia Online.

About the Modern Language Association of America

The Modern Language Association of America and its over 20,000 members in 100 countries work to strengthen the study and teaching of languages and literature. Founded in 1883, the MLA provides opportunities for its members to share their scholarly findings and teaching experiences with colleagues and to discuss trends in the academy. The MLA sustains one of the finest publication programs in the humanities, producing a variety of publications for language and literature professionals and for the general public. The association publishes the MLA International Bibliography, the only comprehensive bibliography in language and literature, available online. The MLA Annual Convention features 750 scholarly and professional development sessions. More information on MLA programs is available at www.mla.org.