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English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline(s) by Bruce McComiskey. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2006.339 pp.
English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline(s) offers a focused discussion on the intersection of defining and communicating within English studies. Editor Bruce McComiskey has compiled essays on linguistics and discourse analysis, rhetoric and composition, creative writing, literature and literary criticism, critical theory and cultural studies, and English education to frame a discussion of how "all of the disciplines comprised by English studies can speak to one another with less descent into divisiveness and greater reference to common purpose" (26).
The goals of the book are (1) to educate English studies practitioners (students, teachers, and administrators) about the intricacies of the composite discipline; (2) to open up the possibility for identification among English studies practitioners; and (3) to create a new attitude toward English studies (49). McComiskey argues that while, historically, specialization has advanced our knowledge of the various disciplines within English studies, it has also caused several interrelated problems, including use of the coverage model (where students have to demonstrate familiarity with the whole spectrum of literature), incoherency with the department, devaluation of lower-division courses, and privileging of upperdivision courses (32). As a solution, McComiskey calls for the integration of the disciplines (40), as do contributors to the book.
In Chapter 1, Ellen Barton examines the discourse of medicine, specifically between the physician and patient in diagnosing cancer. She argues that linguistics has the potential to complicate...