The search for a common model of instruction in first-year composition began in the 1960s when composition first began to separate from literature in college English departments. Because writing is essentially a methods course with no standard curriculum as one might find in physics or economics, common model has been elusive. A sign that…

When professors in positions that offer no chance of earning tenure begin to stack the faculty, campus dynamics start to change. Growing numbers of adjuncts make themselves more visible. They push for roles in governance, better pay and working conditions, and recognition for work well done. And they do so at institutions where tenured faculty,…

Throughout much of the 20th century, English departments were the crown jewels of the humanities. Exposure to great literature was often considered essential for students expected to assume lead roles in business, law, government, and society. Today, English departments have lost their position at the center of the American university. Enrollments…

Although much attention has been paid to issues of contingent faculty in the university (American Association of University Professors [AAUP] position statements) and, more specifically, in composition studies (Schell; Bousquet, Scott, and Parascondola; Miller), the matter of contingent faculty in technical and professional communication (TPC)…

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…

Changing a curriculum is already stressful enough without finding new ways to create anxiety, discontent, and rancor. To provide a truly integrated liberal education, the author contends that educators must not only change their curricula--the courses they offer--but they must change what they do in the classroom, the kinds of papers and…

This article explores the question of where literary study happens through reflection on two case studies. The article examines projects within two UK English departments, which were designed to allow students of literature to engage with local communities as part of their studies. The implications of this work are considered for curriculum…

This essay argues that a trend in histories of literary and writing studies is to bifurcate the origins of the fields and so engage in those modernist narrative fallacies described by Jean-Francois Lyotard. Such works limit our understanding of past practices and the longstanding connections between disciplinarity and labor. (Contains 2 notes.)

Reading through news-media clippings about James Wood, one might reasonably conclude that "pre-eminent critic" is his official job title. In fact, Wood is a staff writer for "The New Yorker" and a professor of the practice of literary criticism at Harvard University. But at a time when there is much hand-wringing about the death of the…

Heuristics are deeply-held, tacit knowledge structures connected to our feelings. A heuristic study explores a phenomenon crucial to the researcher's self-discovery (Moustakas, 1990). Like me, many undergraduate composition instructors feel both fear and hope at the crossroads of composition and technology. Technology and composition shape one…

Many teachers have known of (or been members of) departments in which all of the potentially successful chairs--after having proven themselves by running subunits or graduate programs--have decided to devote themselves solely to research or teaching, and to leave department administration to whoever is willing to do it or whoever can be talked…

Originally published in a 1984 issue of "College English," Stephen North's article "The Idea of a Writing Center" has over the years been much cited in writing center scholarship. Even so, this scholarship as a whole did not proceed to gain much presence in "CE" and other broadly-oriented composition journals. Reconsidering North's piece, the…

2009 is the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Naturally, historians are thrilled. But what about their discipline? Why and how might Lincoln matter to English studies? In this article, the authors reflect on Lincoln and his influence on English studies. They argue that Lincoln has played or can play an important role in the college English…

This collection of essays, "Literary Study, Measurement, and the Sublime: Disciplinary Assessment," edited by Donna Heiland and Laura J. Rosenthal, represents an important new venture in the Foundation's communication program. The book is the product of many authors, including the editors, both of whom have written essays for it. But it…

This paper addresses the observations of two administrators in a university English department in Tokyo, Japan concerning the university's online class evaluation system. The evaluation system has students answer questions concerning their performance and their instructors performance after each class. It also allows students to leave feedback for…