Film is not often taught for itself and by itself; it is too often viewed as the handmaiden of literature. More often than not it is taught in English departments because: (1) like novels, poems, plays and philosophical arguments, it is a humanistic text; (2) film writers and directors have historically turned to literary texts as their source…

Many English handbooks and "grammars" fail to offer sound advice to writers about matters of exactness in diction and precision in sentence structure. A gap between linguists and English teachers, the literary bias of most graduate departments of English, and a national obsession with the all-powerful capabilities of common sense, have…

Within the academy the commonly held definition of plagiarism--using another's words, ideas, or stylistic individuality without attribution--is widespread, appearing on most English course syllabi. Judicial guidelines are followed: neither stealing nor ignorance of the law is to be sanctioned. Furthermore, penalties for students can be severe: a…

A survey of English majors at the University of Southern Maine concerning the subject of curricular reform allowed a professor involved in the planning of the project to compile several "dos" and "don'ts" in an appendix titled "A Few Basic Principles of Questionnaire Design." These guidelines, however, require some…

This article discusses six approaches that English departments might use before censorship problems arise. Two reactions to the article are also included. (RC)

Between budget cutbacks, fewer students, and more competing majors, English departments and faculty are in serious danger. (JH)

Considered the problems of teaching literature versus social attitudes ingrained against learning about literature. (RK)

In "Management and the Activity Trap," George S. Odiorne points out that many organizations become so enmeshed in activity that they lose sight of their goals and the activity becomes an end in itself. This paper applies Odiorne's description of the activity trap to modern English departments. It points to examples that indicate that English…

An internship program developed in the English department at the University of Maryland provides English majors with the opportunity to sharpen their abilities and to gain preprofessional experience, while employers gain the chance to discover the talents and skills of English majors. Students in the program earn four credits for the semester…

Presents the results of a survey conducted to determine the teacher workload in institutions of higher education, concluding that over one-third of the English teachers teach too many students or too many courses or both. (RB)

This paper discusses the roles and responsibilities of the linguist in the English department and also the roles and responsibilities of the English department in relation to the linguist. Discussed are such topics as the exclusivity of some English departments, linguists. grievances against some English departments, linguists' expectations for…

This book contains reports concerning the English curriculum from more than 20 colleges and universities, including Ball State University, Carleton College, University of Chicago, Cornell University, University of Florida, Ohio State University, Rollins College, University of San Francisco, Washington University, and Yale University. Each…

The functioning of the college English department during a period of rapid societal change is important. English programs can and have been interrupted by student activists. Such crises in formal education are small in comparison with the overriding issues of whether or not man can survive as a species past the turn of the next century and of what…