ceiling medallions
a taste for language literacy class and english studies
this is a book about the american dream as it has become embodied in the university in general and in the english department in particular writes james ray watkins at the start of a taste for language literacy class and english studies . in it watkins argues that contemporary economic and political challenges require a clear understanding of the identity of english studies making elementary questions about literacy language literature education and class once again imperative . a personal history of university level english studies in the twentieth century a taste for language combines biography autobiography and critical analysis to explore the central role of freshman english and literary studies in the creation and maintenance of the middle class . it tells a multi generational story of the author and his father intertwined with close reading of texts and historical analysis . the story moves from depression era mississippi where the authors father was born to a contemporary english department where the author now teaches.watkins looks at not only textbooks scholars and the academy but also at families and other social institutions . a rich combination of biography autobiography and critical analysis a taste for language questions what purpose an education in english language and literature serves in the lives of the educated in a class based society and whether english studies has become wholly irrelevant in the twenty first century .