Abstract:
This dissertation presents a detailed look at English Departments and English
Studies at various institutions of Higher Education across the U.S. and situates
Rhetoric-Composition in these contexts. The project centered on three research
questions: 1. What are the various structures of English Departments in U.S. Higher
Education, and what English Studies’ disciplines are housed inside and outside these
structures? 2. Do these current structures suggest trends and/or areas of reform in U.S.
English Departments of Higher Education? 3. What can Rhetoric-Composition as a
discipline and Writing Programs often housed in English Departments learn from these
current trends? To answer these questions a sequential multi-modal project was
designed that began with a website analysis of a national sampling of 283 English
departments in U.S. institutions of Higher Education. Subsequently, a survey was sent
to the department chairs of the same sampling. The results showed a continued
complexity and uncertainty as to what should exist and who decides what exists within
the walls of an English department. The data shows a need to address the complexity
and variation of English departments in relation to university types; the need for
awareness that the role Rhetoric-Composition scholars can vary greatly which requires
a knowledge of the complexity of English Studies and English department dynamics for
Rhetoric-Composition scholars; and the continued specialization in English Studies as
well as writing studies will further fracture the field of Rhetoric-Composition and requires
future scholars in Rhetoric-Composition to appreciate a situated narrative within English
Studies and not just departments/institutions.
