The Committee on Scholarly Editions has its origins in the Center for Editions of American Authors (CEAA). The CEAA was a committee of the Modern Language Association (MLA) during the 1960s and 1970s that advised in the editing of texts by writers in the United States and sponsored conferences that brought together editors to plan editions of the works of authors such as Emerson, Howells, Melville, and Thoreau. During its tenure, the CEAA was given funds by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for disbursement to editorial projects. In September 1978, when the CEAA ceased to be a grant-making body funded by the NEH, the CEAA became the MLA Committee on Scholarly Editions (CSE). The CSE advises editors on editorial principles and grants a seal of approval to editions it has inspected and found to fulfill its standards.
