A symposium in the November 2006 issue of "College English" addresses the question, "What should college English be?" In this article, the author presents his answer to this question--it should be a functional approach to English studies. By English studies he means everything that is done in English departments. Most English departments teach…

Argues that modern cultural and literary forces have altered the direction of literary criticism. Suggests that structuralist criticism has given way to poststructuralism. Asserts that poststructuralism represses differences between apparently separate things while holding that words assume meaning through the operation of language. Critiques…