Helps external reviewers of academic departments draw on the experience of those who have learned by trial and error. Outlines the steps taken by an external reviewer. Considers the particular task for an external reviewer and presents some notes on self-preservation for the external reviewer. Discusses the external reviewer's responsibility of…

Presents seven practical and two abstract problems encountered when composition was removed from an English department by the dean during the spring of 1998. Lists four main reasons for moving composition out of English including: organization; quality; lack of commitment; and pedagogy. (SG)

Advocates the use of word processing equipment to assume routine English department typing chores such as preparing faculty vitae, responding to job applicants, and preparing scholarly articles. (DF)

Describes several aspects of English faculty seminars at Gustavus Adolphus College, including a description of scheduling procedures; advantages gained for both the department and college; the range of presentations encouraged; and problems solved in order to sustain the seminars. (MM)

Argues that curricular revision (in the direction implied by widespread adoption of terms such as "canon" and "theory") has been accomplished with little overhauling, in large part by adding non-White, nonmale, nonclassical writers to traditional courses. Argues that reading new works is not the same as arriving at new…

Outlines current critiques of U.S. higher education. Describes the activities and findings of the Illinois state task force on assessment of language arts in the 1980s. Describes how Illinois State University's English department defined the goals of English majors and dramatically altered the curriculum. (HB)

Argues that adherence to rigid disciplinary boundaries of English studies will lead scholars to miss important occasions to advance their work and effect change. Attempts to redefine the integrity of English studies--to move it from an authorial and structural referential to an ethos committed to knowing, learning, and studying other forms of…

Focuses on the cultural geography encountered by those being interviewed at the Modern Language Association (MLA) convention. Notes that interviews are conducted in hotel suites, hotel rooms, and in the interview area. Suggests that the drawbacks of the interview area are outweighed by the essential fairness and equal opportunity this setting…

Attempts to identify what makes a recommendation letter effective (and what does not). Presents several guidelines for different conditions and circumstances under which recommendations are frequently written. Concludes by suggesting not to write a letter if the writer cannot put him/herself in the place of the candidate, because the writer's…

Offers some general principles for college faculty search committee members to follow. Analyzes the search process and discusses advertising and initial screening, preparing applications, setting up Modern Language Association (MLA) interviews, interviewing on campus, and negotiating an offer. (SG)

Intends for this statement to embody reasonable norms for ethical conduct in teaching, research, and related public service activities in the modern languages and literatures. Lists seven governing premises of the statement. Examines ethical conduct in academic relationships, discussing obligations to students, colleagues, staff members, the…

Suggests that working beyond the academy should be understood not as an abandonment of the academic job market, a response to failure, or a curse: instead, it should be understood as a new avenue for intellectual work, one that neither graduate-school programs nor the Modern Language Association would be wise to ignore. (RS)

Discusses the obligations of spending donor money at the university level: stewardship, donors' expectations, how to get maximum benefit from the money, and best projects to support. (PA)

Offers some perspectives drawn from a recent experience in making a transition from faculty to dean in the hope it will be of some help to other chairs considering crossing the "great divide." Discusses the decision, the preparation, the application, the search itself, the "rules of the road," and the results. (SG)

Argues that English departments may have to eschew parochialism and in the very same move find a shared purpose not by looking to a national disciplinary mission or identity but rather by developing a very pragmatic, opportunistic sense of what a given set of faculty members in a given set of circumstances can accomplish in its local situation.…