Politics and Value in English Studies A Discipline in Crisis [Paperback]

This 1993 book examines the impact of the 'theory industry' on English studies, and its implications for the future.The current debate about the nature of English studies has questioned the status of English as a discipline. Josephine Guy and Ian Small set this so-called 'crisis in English' within the larger context of disciplinary knowledge. They examine the teaching of English and literary studies in the United States and Britain, and argue that the attempt by some radical critics to politicize the discipline has profound consequences for the nature of English studies. In the process they demystify issues and arguments which have often been obscured by jargon and polemic.The current debate about the nature of English studies has questioned the status of English as a discipline. Josephine Guy and Ian Small set this so-called 'crisis in English' within the larger context of disciplinary knowledge. They examine the teaching of English and literary studies in the United States and Britain, and argue that the attempt by some radical critics to politicize the discipline has profound consequences for the nature of English studies. In the process they demystify issues and arguments which have often been obscured by jargon and polemic.The current debate about the nature of English studies has questioned the status of English as a discipline. Josephine Guy and Ian Small set this so-called crisis in English within the larger context of disciplinary knowledge. They examine the teaching of English and literary studies in the United States and Britain, and argue that the attempt by some radical critics to politicize the discipline has profound consequences for the nature of English studies. In the process they demystify issues and arguments that have often been obscured by jargon and polemic.1. Preliminaries; 2. The nature of disciplinary knowledge; 3. Authority and value; 4. Value in literary history; 5. Value in text-editing; 6. The discipline of English. Josephine GulC%