The European History of English Studies

Is 'English' a genuine academic discipline? What does it include? Why? Today it is represented at most universities in Europe, and in a greatvariety of shapes. This variety cannot simply be explained by the different purposes English serves in different educational contexts. Even more so, it is due to the institutional history of the discipline. 

The history of 'English' is relatively short and of great complexity. It is a history full of ideological and political conflict, both nationally and internationally. This collection gives a survey of English as an academic discipline in Europe. It offers essays on the history of English studies in various countries, deals with issues cutting across national borders and, in the final essay, highlights common features. Much work remains to be done.

This volume marks an important step towards a European history of English studies, by sketching a framework, by offering examples, by creating a context for further work, and by discussing the problems of writing the history of a discipline crucial to the humanities.

Volume I is still available: European English Studies: Contributions towards the History of a Discipline. Ed. by Balz Engler and Renate Haas. Leicester: The English Association, for ESSE, 2000.

Table of contents of Volume I

Table of contents of Volume II

Ordering information

This is the Homepage of the EHES project.

What you may want to find out about. Click here for a questionnaire.

Where you can find material. Click here for a bibliography.

Contact us for more information:

Balz Engler, Englisches Seminar der Universität, Nadelberg 6, CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland

Renate Haas, Englisches Seminar, Universität Kiel, Leibnizstr. 10, D-24118 Kiel, Germany