Engaging With Work In English Studies

This edited book focuses on practices of work in late modern society, taking an ‘issue-based’ and interdisciplinary approach to English Studies which acknowledges the impact of globalization on the position of English in the daily existence of millions of people around the world. Envisioning English as “a diverse yet unified subject” where the study of literature, language, and education can be pursued thematically, it constitutes part of an ongoing transformation and revitalization of English Studies. It will be of interest to readers with backgrounds in linguistics, literature and education, as well as fields normally seen as lying ‘beyond’ English Studies such as psychology, sociology, philosophy, urban studies, political science and childhood studies.

English Studies Online: Programs, Practices, Possibilities represents a collection of essays by established teacher-scholars across English Studies who offer critical commentary on how they have worked to create and sustain high-impact online programs (majors, minors, certificates) and courses in the field. Ultimately, these chapters explore the programs and classroom practices that can help faculty across English Studies to think carefully and critically about the changes that online education affords us, the rich possibilities such courses and programs bring, and some potential problems they can introduce into our department and college ecologies. By highlighting both innovative pedagogies and hybrid methods, the authors in our collection demonstrate how we might engage these changes more productively. Divided into three interrelated conversations — practices, programs, and possibilities — the essays in this collection demonstrate some of the innovative pedagogical work going on in English departments around the United States in order to highlight how both hybrid and fully online programs in English Studies can help us to more meaningfully and purposefully enact the values of a liberal arts education. This collection serves as both a cautionary history of teaching practices and programs that have developed in English Studies and a space to support faculty and administrators in making the case for why and how humanities disciplines can be important contributors to digital teaching and learning. Contributors include Joanne Addison, William P. Banks, Lisa Beckelhimer, Dev K. Bose, Elizabeth Burrows, Amy Cicchino, Erin A. Frost, Heidi Skurat Harris, John Havard, Marcela Hebbard, Stephanie Hedge, Ashley J. Holmes, George Jensen, Karen Kuralt, Michele Griegel-McCord, Samantha McNeilly, Lilian Mina, Catrina Mitchum, Janine Morris, Michael Neal, Cynthia Nitz Ris, Rochelle Rodrigo, Cecilia Shelton, Susan Spangler, Katelyn Stark, Eric Sterling, and Richard C. Taylor.

Service learning can help students develop a sense of civic responsibility and commitment, often while addressing pressing community needs. One goal of literary studies is to understand the ethical dimensions of the world, and thus service learning, by broadening the environments students consider, is well suited to the literature classroom. Whether through a public literacy project that demonstrates the relevance of literary study or community-based research that brings literary theory to life, student collaboration with community partners brings social awareness to the study of literary texts and helps students and teachers engage literature in new ways. In their introduction, the volume editors trace the history of service learning in the United States, including the debate about literature's role, and outline the best practices of the pedagogy. The essays that follow cover American, English, and world literature; creative nonfiction and memoir; literature-based writing; and cross-disciplinary studies. Contributors describe a wide variety of service-learning projects, including a course on the Harlem Renaissance in which students lead a community writing workshop, an English capstone seminar in which seniors design programs for public libraries, and a creative nonfiction course in which first-year students work with elderly community members to craft life narratives. The volume closes with a list of resources for practitioners and researchers in the field.

Doing a Research Project in English Studies is the essential guide to undertaking research and developing academic English literacy skills for students new to research. With a particular focus on the needs of students in contexts where English is used as a foreign or an additional language, this accessible textbook takes the reader through the research process in five main sections: getting started (arriving at a topic, interacting with a supervisor); finding bibliographic resources; collecting data; developing academic writing skills; preparing for the oral defence. Each chapter contains exercises; the answer key facilitates independent study throughout. Extracts from published research articles provide invaluable illustration of the features of academic writing. This is a must-have resource for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students embarking on a research project in English studies.

With a revised Introduction and with all chapters revised to bring them completely up-to date, this new edition remains the leading guide to research methods for final-year undergraduates, postgraduates taking Masters degrees and PhDs students of 19th- an

Editors Laurie Grobman and Joyce Kinkead offer a groundbreaking collection of essays that aims to mobilize the profession of English studies to further participate in undergraduate research, which in the past had been reserved for scientific fields. Why shouldn't undergraduates in English studies have the same opportunities as those in the sciences to benefit from undertaking real research that can inform and have an impact on practitioners in the discipline? They should and can, according to editors Laurie Grobman and Joyce Kinkead, who have produced this collection to showcase the first steps being made to integrate undergraduate research into English studies and, even more important, to point the way toward greater involvement. Undergraduate Research in English Studies is a groundbreaking collection that aims to mobilize the profession of English studies to further participate in undergraduate research, an educational movement and comprehensive curricular innovation that is "the pedagogy for the twenty-first century," according to the Joint Statement of Principles composed by the Council on Undergraduate Research and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research. Students engaged in genuine research gain an insider's understanding of field-specific debates, develop relevant skills and insights for future careers and graduate study, and contribute their voices to creating knowledge through the research process. Some contributors discuss the importance of mentoring, how to conduct research responsibly, and avenues for disseminating research and scholarship locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally. Others provide case studies of undergraduate research in literature and in composition and rhetoric. The volume combines theory and practice, and lays the groundwork for further practice and inquiry, sending forth a call to broaden undergraduate research possibilities in all areas of English.

Futures for English Studies brings together chapters by leading writers across the curriculum area of English to investigate how the component parts of English (literature, language, and creative writing) are located institutionally in higher education and to explore the interdisciplinary prospects of a subject which spans the humanities and social sciences. Through explorations of changing foci in a variety of contexts, the book examines the value and purpose of teaching and researching English language, literature and creative writing in the twenty-first century, both within Anglophone countries and the wider world. The contributors, all practicing educators and researchers in the field, bring a wide range of perspectives to the theme of the development of the discipline, and illustrate that the strengths of English Studies as an academic subject lie not only in its traditional breadth and depth, but also in a readiness to adapt, experiment, and engage with other subjects.

From literary studies to digital humanities, Introducing English Studies is a complete introduction to the many fields and sub-disciplines of English studies for majors starting out in the subject for the first time. The book covers topics including: · history of English language and linguistics · literature and literary criticism · cinema and new media Studies · composition and rhetoric · creative and professional writing · critical theory · digital humanities The book is organized around the central questions of the field and includes case studies demonstrating how assignments might be approached, as well as annotated guides to further reading to support more in-depth study. A glossary of key critical terms helps readers locate essential definitions quickly when studying and writing and revising essays. A supporting companion website also offers sample assignments and activities, examples of student writing, career guidance and weblinks.

In this important book, acclaimed author Mark Edmundson reconceives the value and promise of reading. He enjoins educators to stop offering up literature as facile entertainment and instead teach students to read in a way that can change their lives for the better. At once controversial and inspiring, this is a groundbreaking book written with the elegance and power to change the way we teach and read. Why Read was a PSLA Young Adult Top 40 non-fiction title 2004