Reviews the history of a college English department from the 1960s through the mid-1980s. (MM)

Compares a teacher's proposed improvements in the English curriculum written in 1912 with current ideas. (JL)

Considers the emergence of English as a separate high school subject beginning late in the 19th century. Describes the influence of the Committee of Ten, whose objective was to assure that students were prepared for college. (HB)

Traces the history of the English elective curriculum from its roots in the 1890s to its flowering in the 1960s. (DD)

Details the curricular reforms of the post-Sputnik era in American high schools, especially the national stampede to an elective curriculum in English instruction. Covers criticism of the movement and the profession's struggle to define English studies. Provides pros and cons of an elective curriculum. (HB)

Discusses useful ideas about the teaching of writing found in the "Institutes of Oratory" by Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (A.D. 95) which emphasizes the interrelationship of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Counters 12 current fallacies that militate against reviving such a plan. (NH)

Describes and analyzes the composition textbooks, or first books of compositions, all written between 1838 and 1855, which were all markedly different from the best-known writing texts of the period. Provides a broader account of how writing was taught in the mid-nineteenth century in America. (HB)

Discusses the life and work of Marian Wharton, a socialist and feminist who helped shape the English curriculum at the People's College in Fort Scott, Kansas. Develops a rich, historical-situated conception of how the rhetorical activities of women and other marginalized people are a complex interweaving of alliance and antagonism, of free choice…

This compilation of materials from the SLATE (Support for the Learning and Teaching of English) Steering Committee of the National Council of Teachers of English reflects the ongoing concerns and discussions that SLATE has held about the free exchange of thoughts and ideas throughout its history. The collection contains "starter sheets"…

This wide-ranging analysis of doctoral education in English Studies challenges readers to reconsider their assumptions about how English Ph.D. programs came to be, what purposes they serve, and what they might become--what they ought to become--in the 21st century. Section I traces the first century of English doctoral education in the American…

Describes the controversy over the role of literature in the school curriculum which followed the publication of "An Experience Curriculum in English" in 1935. (DD)

Notes that rhetoric has declined from an esteemed academic field to one taught by underpaid, overworked instructors. Traces the decline to larger college populations and the treatment of composition instruction as an apprenticeship to the teaching of literature. Argues that the condition will persist as long as colleges promote literature while…

Considers the importance of writing workshops, especially those carried on outside of traditional academic environments. Argues for the value and widespread nature of these workshops. Claims that scholars have neglected the "extracurriculum" of composition as carried out in contexts other than the academy. (HB)

Argues that, although Matthew Arnold was instrumental in launching English literature in Britain as a proper school subject, he purposively limited the extent of literature's educational value. (MG)

Reviews the 25-year history of regional conferences on the teaching of English at two-year colleges. Identifies the role of the National Council of Teachers of English and the Conference on College Composition and Communication in the evolution of the conferences. Highlights hazards posed by tuition increases, reduced government funding, and…