Media Views: March 2008 Archives
In his recent article appearing in The Nation, Associate Professor of English at Yale University, William Deresiewicz, argues that the field of (English) literary studies -- and English Departments themselves -- is "slowly dying," "losing its will to live" as fewer students study or major in English literature. He also points to the profession's lack of an emerging theoretical school in nearly 20 years as well as a dwindling job market.Despite a poor job market, Deresiewicz notes that the number of "'service'" positions - Rhetoric & Composition, Creative Writing, Technical Writing, and Communications - seem to dominate the Modern Language Association Job Information List.
Are English Departments becoming too oriented to the teaching of writing as opposed to the teaching of literature?
In her recent Vanity Fair article, New York Times television critic, Alessandra Stanley highlights the new generation of (television) comediennes, such as Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Sarah Silverman, who not only "act, perform stand-up, write, and direct," but also "[dish] out the jokes with a side of sexy," noting that Fey is an example of one who "cultivates a 'sexy librarian' look" on her hit program, 30 Rock with her "foxy glasses and decolletage." While I find this highly amusing, I would encourage those trying to emulate the 'sexy librarian look' to look no further than my fellow colleague in Libraryland, The Well Dressed Librarian for advice and tips. :-)
With the state primary just over a month away, I was becoming curious as to how the current Democratic presidential primary contenders would woo the great state of Pennsylvania. Clinton, it seems, has decided to (publicly) reclaim her Pennsylvania roots. A recent New York Times article and video highlight Clinton's connections to the Keystone state.
In his recent Los Angeles Times article, Joseph Tartakovsky ruminates on the striking, if not amusing, connection between great writers and alcohol, asking "is there really a muse in the bottle?" 
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