<p class="quote"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 21px;">During the last four decades, a well-publicized shift in what undergraduate students prefer to study has taken place in American higher education. The number of young men and women majoring in English has dropped dramatically; the same is true of philosophy, foreign languages, art history, and kindred fields, including history. As someone who has taught in four university English departments over the last 40 years, I am dismayed by this shift, as are my colleagues here and there across the land. And because it is probably irreversible, it is important to attempt to sort out the reasons&#8212;the many reasons&#8212;for what has happened.</span></p> William M. Chace | The American Scholar english majors, lit degree, william m chace, american scholar, higher education, most common major the-feed 2 2009-10-19T17:00:29-04:00 <p>The fall of the English department.</p> 9 6197 rarely-is-the-question-asked-is-our-children-learning 2009-10-19T17:00:37-04:00 true false false false false 2009-10-19T17:00:38-04:00 http://www.theamericanscholar.org/the-decline-of-the-english-department/#more-5303 84 0