This paper reports on a desktop review study of undergraduate and postgraduate English studies (both English literature and English language) module offerings (n = 48) of 24 English departments at 17 South African higher education institutions (HEIs) conducted in 2017. The review focused on the presence and purpose of the term, decolonisation, in…

Suggests that working beyond the academy should be understood not as an abandonment of the academic job market, a response to failure, or a curse: instead, it should be understood as a new avenue for intellectual work, one that neither graduate-school programs nor the Modern Language Association would be wise to ignore. (RS)

Calls for college English faculty to embrace the challenge of a diversity that includes nonelite institutions. Suggests that graduate students in English who find themselves in nonelite undergraduate institutions teaching mostly nonmajors will have to learn a second language: the language of accommodation. (RS)

Suggests that the technical and professional writing concentration in the English department at Eastern Michigan University serves as an example of the way Master of Arts (MA) programs often reflect the economy of a particular region. Discusses the MA program at Eastern Michigan University. (RS)

Uses a baseball metaphor to advise students who want to pursue a doctoral degree--in many ways the Master's program at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, is like a triple-A minor league farm club, preparing players for the big leagues of the doctoral institutions. (RS)

Suggests that English departments have seen their power to shape the identity of their members diminish. Argues that an important part of the preparation of future professors takes place in a master-apprentice setting strengthened by an economic atmosphere that encourages students fearful of getting jobs to identify with those faculty members…

Notes that four computers and writing specialists and one librarian who had found work in a variety of nontraditional, nonteaching positions were asked to meet at LinguaMOO and talk about their careers. Contains a version of that conversation as edited for print purposes, and the annotations and responses made after the fact by the participants.…

In a response to the Minnesota Conference on the Future of Doctoral Study in English, discusses how to guide English graduate students through both their graduate study and their professional careers. Emphasizes the need to reinforce the connection between graduate and undergraduate study. (MM)

Provides a detailed course description for English 812, one of the nine rhetoric and advanced writing courses offered in the Graduate College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University. Offers also a critical statement about teaching the course. (PA)

Answers two questions regarding preparing English teachers for two-year colleges: whether a PhD is appropriate for teaching in a two-year college (yes and no); and what graduate departments can do to help their students find work (candidates for two-year college teaching jobs need teaching experience beyond traditional freshman composition…

Discusses numerous solutions to enlarging the pool of interested and qualified undergraduate students of color, attracting and retaining graduate students of color and helping them in the job search, and increasing the numbers of faculty members of color. Notes that these include funding, mentoring, and coverage and validation of interdisciplinary…

Uses the term "shape shifting" to describe a set of evolving, institutionalized practices that are open to both dark and benign interpretations. Discusses ways to foster diversity. Presents a practical guide on how graduate programs can be more proactive in preparing students for positions that demand a diversity of specialization and skills. (SG)

The PhD dissertation is the ultimate educational product. It reflects the training of its author and the technical, analytical, and writing skills he or she developed in a doctoral program. Successful completion of the dissertation and the award of the PhD certify that the degree recipient can do independent scholarly work. That much is generally…

In a response to the Minnesota Conference on the Future of Doctoral Study in English, argues that English departments can define future study in English by focusing on the trivium: grammar, rhetoric, and logic. Claims that, taken together, the three disciplines are potentially concerned with all issues involved in how we use words to make, do, and…

In a response to the Minnesota Conference on the Future of Doctoral Study in English, asserts that the English faculty in two-year colleges should not be omitted from discussions of graduate study in English. Offers several recommendations for graduate education in English, particularly in relation to the implications for instructors in two-year…