Contains recommendations for teaching English to adult education students in higher education. Argues that the advent of increased numbers of adult learners demands a readjustment of attitudes and strategies in teaching English, including a recognition of the pragmatic, consumer-oriented, and highly motivated nature of adult students. (DF)

Reports on a survey that sought data on three major kinds of variables with respect to English department heads: those contributing to administrative workload, those tending to reduce it or compensate in kind, and those compensating monetarily. (Author/GT)

Describes how the English Department at Loyola University of Chicago, adopted assessment measures beneficial to the department's program and acceptable to administrators, faculty, and students. (TB)

Examines the reason for the tight job market for full-time positions in English departments, suggesting that the blame lies with the departments themselves in that they hire part-time or adjunct faculty to do most of the teaching. (TB)

Describes "academentia," the delusion that disciplines are intellectually powerful as a result of their specialization. Prescribes "neighborliness"--intellectual and practical work done from the perspective of critical consciousness--as the antidote to academentia. Suggests that writing projects have great potential as…

Describes the distinction between the National Endowment for the Arts, which funds artists, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which funds those who talk about art. Examines the similar distinction in alliances between writers and scholars in English departments, focusing on their effects on writing programs. (MM)

Maintains that the humanities get "screwed" in the academy because they are feminized. Explores this process of "feminization," focusing on college English departments. Offers a different view of the relationship between "soft" humanities and "hard" disciplines, reconceived from a feminist perspective. (SR)

Argues that literary history and estimations of literary value are inseparable and that their connection has import for debate on the contents of the literary canon. Suggests possible requirements for developing a feminist theory and practice of evaluation. (SR)

Explains the dynamics of the interaction between the English department and Freshman Writing at the University of Southern California (USC). Asserts that the ideal relationship between Freshman Writing and the English department would be an academic partnership that acknowledges their differing priorities but accommodates these differences by…

Discusses the separation of the Freshman Writing and English department at the University of Southern California (USC). Advocates reengaging the English department with first-year students and with writing. Suggests a move from amicable separation toward reunion, but a reunion defined as reengagement, not remarriage. (PRA)

Discusses how to seek resources within the home institutions--from deans, vice presidents, provosts, and the like. Suggests that department chairs draw up an inventory of the department's strengths and weaknesses. Suggests that, when asking for more resources, department chairs offer administrators something instead of just asking for more. (PRA)

Considers the importance of "teaching the past" in the English classroom, including older texts. Disagrees with the notion that teaching the past is in trouble. Discusses recent trends in literary studies, especially cultural studies, and their possible effect on teaching the past. Gives advice for making older texts appealing in the…

Describes how chairs of English departments can help their departments prosper in economic hard times. (SR)

Investigates how advertised university faculty positions in English were filled. Examines types of advertising and types of positions, as well as numbers of applicants. Finds consistency between the positions advertised and the positions filled. (PRA)

Outlines the benefits of the creative writing segment of English departments. Shows how learning to read carefully enriches the ability to write well. Argues for the value of creative writing for English departments. (HB)