College English, Vol. 69, No. 2, November 2006

Table of Contents

• From the Editor

  John Schilb

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

• Why College English?

  Shirley Wilson Logan

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The undergraduate English curriculum should move well beyond study of the traditional Eurocentric literary canon. It should help students participate in society by teaching them how to communicate across various languages, discourses, and media.

  Keywords: College

• Should College English Be Close Reading?

  Don Bialostosky

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Although “close reading” remains a worthwhile goal for undergraduate English courses, the term has actually been defined in numerous ways, which need to be compared and assessed. Unfortunately, the version of it spread by the New Critics has intimidated students, making them feel unable to decipher a literary text’s real meaning. They need to see how literature relates to discourses with which they are already familiar.

  Keywords: College

• Across the Great Divide: Anxieties of Acculturation in College English

  Miles McCrimmon

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: English faculty in community colleges feel pressured to make their composition courses acceptable for transfer to four-year schools. In particular, many of them feel obligated to emphasize academic research and argument at the expense of literature. But community college students will benefit from first-year courses that address a wide range of discourse by integrating literary study with writing instruction.

  Keywords: College

• Networks and New Media

  Jeff Rice

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: College English departments must turn their attention to the extensive role that, for good or ill, electronic networks are playing in the circulation and very definition of writing. In part, this development involves constant fluctuation and growth of data, so that texts hardly remain fixed.

  Keywords: College

• Preparing Undergraduates for Careers: An Argument for the Intership Practicum

  Jennifer Bay

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Traditionally, college English departments have resisted granting undergraduate internships a central place in their curricula. Many of these departments do little more than allow students to pursue internships as loosely supervised independent studies. An internship practicum course such as Purdue University’s, however, enables students to reflect together on their internships, thereby helping them understand, critique, and act upon the institutional cultures they have momentarily joined.

  Keywords: College

• Student Investment in Political Topics

  William H. Thelin

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Students in college writing courses need to understand world issues, including the oppressive effects of the global economy. But their teachers need to give them a sense of agency and authority, rather than simply telling them what political positions to take. One example of a writing assignment that might engage as well as inform students involves analyzing Parade magazine’s annual list of the world’s worst dictators.

  Keywords: College

• What Should College English Be . . . Doing?

  Thomas Miller

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Traditional priorities of English as a discipline are now significantly at odds with the material circumstances of college English departments. To address these realities, college English needs to become literacy studies rather than literary studies.

  Keywords: College

• TEXTS OF OUR INSTITUTIONAL LIVES: "Don't You Mean 'Slaves,' Not 'Servants'?: Literary and Institutional Texts for an Interdisciplinary Classroom

  Susanna Ashton

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: The author describes an undergraduate course she taught on “Representations of Slavery.” In particular, she explains how the course involved studying an historic site on her university’s campus: the former slave plantation of leading segregationist John C. Calhoun. She also analyzes how her school represents the site on its Web pages.

  Keywords: College

• REVIEW: Multiculturalism in College English Departments

  Jaime Armin Mejia

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Reviewed is Making Multiculturalism: Boundaries and Meaning in U.S. English Departments by Bethany Bryson.

  Keywords: College

• ANNOUNCEMENTS AND CALLS FOR PAPERS

  • Show Abstract
  • Hide Abstract

  Abstract: Abstract for this article is currently not available.

  Keywords: College

* Journal articles are provided in PDF format and can be opened using the free Adobe® Reader® program or a comparable viewer. Click here to download and install the most recent version of Adobe Reader.