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Permalink Reply by Kate S. on February 17, 2010 at 1:50pm

Nice discussion topic, Suma. Having just graduated with a degree in English Language & Literature and a degree in Writing & Rhetoric, I'm particularly interested in this. The essay Marjorie Perloff wrote when she was inducted as President of the MLA a couple years back definitely speaks to this, and frames it in the larger conversation of interdisciplinary studies. Many have claimed that because these other, perhaps seemingly more appealing, departments (such as business, engineering, pharmacy or medicine, etc.) are more open to the idea of interdisciplinary study, they attract more students. For example, many PR classes overlap as Marketing or Com credits -- the lines between these departments are much blurrier and, counter-intuitively, this blurriness yields a more concrete, theoretical result (or, the second reason why some have claimed these departments harve more appeal): Defined job opportunities.

Marketing companies welcome resumes with marketing degrees; from personal experience, I can say PR firms search out PR majors -- English does not present such clear-cut, defined opportunities. Of course, this isn't to say -- as we all know here on She Writes -- that English majors have any fewer skills or job opportunities. However, for students looking for careers post-school, this aspect of the English department may be scary.

From personal experience, I can say I did end up favoring my Rhetoric major over my English degree. The Rhetoric major was more skills-based (travel writing courses, business writing courses, creative courses, scientific and technical writing classes) and I liked this aspect. Of course, theory was also a major part of the major and I loved this, too. Finally, there was a collaborative, work-together vibe in the Rhetoric department that, in my experience, English departments can sometimes fall behind in. Group projects, mass student editing sessions, etc. really opened up my experience to other people and I liked this most of all.

In the end, I believe English departments do stand a chance. Those of us who love literary theory, who love criticism and the study of fiction, nonfiction and scholarship will always gravitate to these departments (and the more power to us!). The realities facing students today are similar to those ten years ago, and English departments have still survived (note: I'm bypassing the discussion of funding for English v. other departments, because that's a novel waiting to happen). I believe sites like She Writes help them stand a chance.

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Permalink Reply by Suma Narayan on February 17, 2010 at 8:45pm

Dear Kate,
Thank you for a very comprehensive,thought-provoking reply.The reason why I wanted to know what people thought about this subject is because we are having a seminar on the issue at The American Centre.We will be discussing some of the theories put forward by William M.Chace,author and teacher at Berkeley,Stanford,Wesleyan and Emory,and president of the last two.A couple of my colleagues are slated to present papers on it.
Just out of curiosity,when you mention 'a novel waiting to happen',do you mean you are writing one ?If you are,Brilliant! and Congratulations in advance.If your novel is written with half the felicity and verve with which you replied to the discussion topic,I am sure we shall have a best seller on our hands.
All the best,and May the Force be With You!

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Permalink Reply by Kate S. on February 18, 2010 at 8:42am

Thank you, Suma! Also, I located the information on Perloff's 2006 "It Must Change," if you'd like to take a look before your presentation:

Author: Marjorie Perloff
Source: PMLA, Volume 122, Number 3, May 2007, pp. 652–662 (11)

Good luck with your presentation, and please let us all know how it goes! If I can be of any further assistance or thought-provoking capacity, please feel free to message me and let me know.

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Permalink Reply by Suma Narayan on February 18, 2010 at 9:51am

Great!You know something?The world needs people like you.Thank you and God bless.

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Permalink Reply by Gillian Ramos on October 20, 2010 at 7:53pm

I think where English departments can fall flat is the overwhelming array of options. As Kate* says, there is something for everyone, but unless there are clearly defined concentration "tracks," be it literary criticism, cultural studies, all forms and purposes of writing, etc., it can be very difficult to come out with a coherent set of skills.

Looking back at my own course list, I took a mix of all of the above categories, but how does that help me professionally? So far, I've found that it hasn't. Current economy aside, it is so difficult to market an English degree to a corporate hiring officer. Like Kate, I find myself relying on my second major, Political Science, more than anything. Not that that approach has been any more successful, for very similar reasons -the department offered so much variety, it encourages students to jump at every fascinating class, rather than developing a comprehensive, long-term, marketable academic plan.

However, I also agree with Kate in that all is not lost in the English department. Part of last week's Creative Time summit addressed the intersection of art and activism, and the general outcome of that particular discussion was that people with backgrounds in the humanities, the creative thinkers, are going to be the social problem solvers of the future. The creative community is already known for advocacy on social issues, but it is precisely that expressive talent and creative thinking that could spill over into the policy sphere.

English departments can survive on their own, appealing to certain students - the writers, the critics, the future English teachers. As part of an interdisciplinary approach, English can help create a new generation of creative problem solvers and advocates. It'll require cooperation from other departments, but I think that will only help all of the departments in the end, in the model of Rousseau's theory of the sum being greater than the parts.

* - In the interest of full disclosure, we graduated together but never had a class together.

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