English Studies On This Side

An exploration of how philology contributed to the study of English language and literature in the nineteenth century.

English is now a global phenomenon no longer defined by fixed territorial, cultural and social functions. The Routledge Companion to English Studies provides an authoritative overview of the subject area. Taking into account the changing conceptualisations of English, this Companion considers both historical trajectories and contemporary perspectives whilst also showcasing the state-of-the-art contributions made by the established scholars of the field. The Routledge Companion to English Studies: provides a set of broad perspectives on English as a subject of study and research highlights the importance of the link between English and other languages within the concepts of multilingualism and polylingualism investigates the use of language in communication through the medium of digital technology covering key issues such as Digital Literacies, Multimodal Literacies and Games and Broadcast Language explores the role of English in education taking account of social, ethnographic and global perspectives on pedagogical issues. This collection of thirty-four newly commissioned articles provides a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the dynamic and diverse field of English Studies and will be an invaluable text for advanced students and researchers in this area.

The English Studies Book is uniquely designed to support students and teachers working across the full range of language, literature and culture. Combining the functions of study guide, critical dictionary and text anthology, it has rapidly established itself as a core text on a wide variety of degree programmes nationally and internationally. Revised and updated throughout, features of the second edition include: * a new prologue addressing changes and challenges in English Studies * substantial entries on over 100 key critical and theoretical terms, from 'absence' and 'author' to 'text' and 'versification' - with new entries on 'creative writing', 'travel writing' and 'translation' * practical introductions to all the major theoretical approaches, with new sections on aesthetics, ethics, ecology and sexuality * a rich anthology of literary and related texts from Anglo-Saxon to Afro-Caribbean, with fresh selections representing the sonnet, haiku, slave narratives and science fiction, and with additional texts by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charles Darwin, Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Amy Tan and others * handy frameworks and checklists for close reading, research, essay writing and other textual activities, including use of the Internet.

This study collects together many of the original texts from the long-running debate which surrounded the rise of English as an academic subject. Most of the texts were ephemeral and have been long out of print, but they are essential to an understanding of how English studies developed. They show how English was influenced by pre-existing subjects like rhetoric and classics, and how it assumed different faces in different academic institutions. Each text is given an introduction which sets it in context and highlights themes. A general introduction to the book sketches the history of English studies in the nineteenth century. London was central to the early history, with University College, King’s College and Queen’s College all looming large. Oxford figured later in the century, and became the centre of a truly national debate over the future of the subject. Schools played a part, especially grammar schools catering for middle-class pupils who were commonly identified as the main market for English.

Transforming English Studies provides a uniquely interdisciplinary view of English studies’ “crises”—both real and imagined--and works toward resolving the legitimate pathologies that threaten the sustainability of the discipline.

The phrase 'English studies/culture studies' denotes a shift from the New Critical concept of the text and the reader--separable from each other and from their culture--to an affirmation that texts, writers, readers, and culture are intertwined. Teachers working within culture studies accept that they are working with multiple, expanding canons and with students who are increasingly aware of diverse ethnic heritages. Marxism, feminism, and cultural critique are major influences: so are ethnic studies programs and the British cultural studies movement.