Basic writing, which developed as a field within the larger discipline of rhetoric and composition, has a tumultuous past and an uncertain future. What began as an academic response to a perceived literacy crisis with the rise of open admissions in the late 1960s has continued to grow and reinvent its structures, theories, and practices as new…

In this article Sutherland surveys over the period of the last 40 years (the length of an average full academic career) the changes which have occurred to the departmental structures and procedures in the teaching of and research into English Literature in British universities. He perceives a marginalization of the English department in the…

This dissertation examines how nomenclature and the act of naming shapes disciplinary identities for scholars and teachers of rhetoric and composition. The discipline is named differently by many of its members, sometimes called "composition studies," "writing studies," "composition and rhetoric," "rhetorical…

In the last 15 years, writing center scholars have increasingly called for more evidence to validate writing centers' practices. Work by Paula Gillespie (2002), Neal Lerner (2009), and Isabelle Thompson et al. (2009) underscore this need. Missing from these discussions, however, is a thorough understanding of the past and current research…

Despite many ELT experts' opinions that while teaching a foreign language one should not use the mother tongue in the classroom, new researches show that sparing use of the mother tongue can be effective for the L2 learners. It is true that the 6- year compulsory English education of the school graduates of Saudi Arabia is not quite up to the…

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…

A study of the average salaries earned by professors of English in 1981-82 indicated that full professors averaged $35,390, associate professors $25,015, and assistant professors $19,683. (AEA)

Indicates that stipends for teaching assistants (TAs) are larger now than they have been and that the number of TAs is still considerable. (AEA)

A study of average salaries of professors in 51 English departments indicated that full professors averaged $30,906; associate professors $21,263; and assistant professors $16,9l7. Differences within ranks corresponded to private v public institutional status and to departmental quality rating. (DF)

Presents data compiled from a survey of 21 colleges and universities identified as having developed professional part-time faculty policies. (AEA)

Studies informally the writing centers at three Cleveland area universities. Concludes that writing centers should not be promoted as remedial centers, that attendance should be voluntary, and that there should be at least a small professional staff. Argues that the "damaged path" between the English department and the writing center can…

Discusses how professional conversation should focus on the intersection of teaching and text. Notes that exemplary practices can be found in two-year college English programs, and university research programs should find ways to study and critique that practice. Suggests that graduate programs in English should explicitly acknowledge that a…

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)

Discusses how the author learned to make a research assistant (RA) a part of the administrative package. Shares her ambition to make available good teaching editions of out-of-print novels by Victorian women writers. Suggests coediting new editions of a literary text with RAs and/or post-doctorate students. (SG)

Gathers systematic national data in the English curriculum through surveys sent out by the Modern Language Association (MLA) to a stratified random sample of English programs. Summarizes two major sets of findings: those relating to courses offered during the 1989-91 period and those relating to the English major. (RS)