Discusses the role of an English department chair within the modern university. Presents 10 useful lessons for a chairperson who is trying to make a department's case to the administration. Concludes that talking successfully to administrators requires avoiding a "them-versus-us" mentality and being willing to think collectively and creatively…

The accomplishments of Janet Emig constitute perhaps the most influential contribution to the study of how humans compose discourse and how teachers should help them. Her background prepared her for her initial goal of becoming a medical doctor, but she determined to study literature because of its enduring interest to her. As a graduate student…

Presents eight "sophistical" principles for English department heads, using the historical characters of Protagoras and Gorgias as a framework for discussion. (MM)

Describes how English department chairs might successfully order and structure their departments. Analyzes two central characteristics of English departments as political entities: purpose and values. Lists several observations about departmental organization. (HB)

Defends the exclusion of Shakespeare course requirements for the English Department at Indiana University by explaining that "Shakespeare can take care of himself"--students will sign up for as many Shakespeare classes as offered. Presents opposing obstacles and objectives to this curricular decision. (SC)

Considers the direction of literature curricula and asks why the study of literature and language is an essential part of culture. Explains the curriculum's educational value and intellectual purposes to those who allocate resources. Raises fundamental questions about the political and spiritual aspects of teaching literature. (SC)

At present, the composition program at San Diego State is located in two departments. The Academic Skills Center offers pre-baccalaureate courses for basic writers and developmental ESL writers. The Department of English and Comparative Literature offers most of the required general education two-semester sequence, advanced composition courses,…

As English departments face the 90s and beyond, the pressure will only rise to define and justify the role of the English professor in the academy. Three current debates suggest the indeterminate future of English departments, which now represent a multi-faceted discipline. First, the canon debate must be resolved; second, the teaching role of the…

Composition researchers are poised to offer new answers to the three questions which are at the heart of ideological definition: what exists; what is good; and what is possible? Researchers must consider the impact of computer-assisted composition programs (often called "style checkers") as well as the basic word processor. Style…

Argues that the integration of computers into English departments will have an immediate and significant impact on the social systems and communications within those academic communities. Suggests ways of responsibly distributing and using computer resources. (MM)

For one educator, an assistant professor of English with a specialization in writing, the short but dramatic move "up the block" from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) to DePaul University eight miles north occasioned an adjustment to a radically different institutional personality and student body, despite similar street…

Describes faculty recruitment from the perspectives of a department chair and a college dean. Argues that administration and faculty must imagine ways in both recruitment and curriculum whereby interdepartmental alliances that foster interdisciplinary work can be forged. (MM)

Presents five articles (by administrators, faculty, graduate students, and writing center personnel) written in response to the "Progress Report from the CCCC Committee on Professional Standards" as well as the "Statement of Principles and Standards for the Postsecondary Teaching of Writing." (SR)

Describes how the English department at Western Washington University set out to revise the English curriculum as a participant in the MLA-FIPSE English Programs Curriculum Review Project. Shows how the faculty redesigned the curriculum, and asks tough questions concerning the best way to undertake such changes. (HB)

Administering a writing program has never been easy, and the issue of political correctness has added a new dimension to this difficult task. At the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), a controversy began when a cluster of statues, presented to the school by the graduating class, was attacked as being sexist and racist. According to the…