Ever since the publish-or-perish era began sometime ago, academics in the humanities have experienced a widening gap between their two primary obligations, teaching and research. Bad enough for tenure-track junior faculty, the tension between the demands of writing, delivering, and publishing papers is even worse for graduate students because of…

When budget cuts affected the English department at the University of Georgia in 1991, the writing program was never cut sharply but did suffer in three important ways: class sizes in the freshman program went up, the department replaced full-time with part-time faculty, and a new assistant professor of rhetoric was not hired. Now most freshman…

The situation of the lecturers in the English Department at the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) is relevant to discussions of the conference on College Composition and Communication's Statement of Principles and Standards for the Postsecondary Teaching of Writing. A "second-tier" solution was implemented in 1981, and in 1993 the…

University English departments are failing because of unclear goals concerning writing programs, an entrenchment of literature in the departments, and the hiring of untrained writing teachers. Many writing positions are nontenure track, require instructors to teach four sections of freshman composition, or require a Ph.D. in some aspect of…

Examines reasons for university English departments' ignorance and apathy towards two-year college English departments, and ways two-year college teachers can attack them through faculty exchanges and graduate coursework. (RAE)

Presents eight "sophistical" principles for English department heads, using the historical characters of Protagoras and Gorgias as a framework for discussion. (MM)

In a response to the Minnesota Conference on the Future of Doctoral Study in English, argues that English departments should not become service departments for other academic departments. Urges the replacement of adjunct faculty members with tenure-earning assistant professor lines and claims that recognition through publication serves the…

Summarizes issues raised in speeches and group discussions at the Minnesota Conference on the Future of Doctoral Study in English and makes personal observations about the conference in general. (MM)

Argues against the present divisions of English and American literature and for the designation of literature in English, not out of a formalistic concern with language alone, but out of a consciousness of the social and political role of language and of the worldwide social and political role of English today. (NKA)

Offers pointers for establishing a college-sponsored essay contest for public school students in grades five through twelve and enumerates the benefits of such a program. (NKA)

Describes dividing up the responsibilities of the department chairperson among senior members of the department, then reconsiders the profession and the state of the humanities. Discusses views advocating "excellence," cultural literacy, great books, and a core curriculum in the humanities. Identifies political tasks and continued…

Directs attention to crucial issues facing English teaching in Canada, among them teacher qualifications, the return to basics movement, and unqualified, tenured teachers who are reassigned to teach English from other subject areas. (CRH)

Describes the change in Duke's English department and departments in general by using historical examples that reflect then current attitudes towards the humanities and scholarship. (CRH)

Describes the course offerings of the English department at a university in Texas that reflect the multicultural heritage of the region. (AEA)

Argues for a renewed integration of the humanities to ensure that the white-collar working class will be literate in the broadest sense of the word. (AEA)