The “Decline” of the English Major at American Universities and Its Implications for English Programs in China

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2025.06.002

Abstract

Abstract:

Following over half a century of expansion, the English major in American universities has exhibited increasing signs of “decline” since the 1970s, precipitated primarily by plummeting student enrollment. This contraction catalyzed a transformative phase of disciplinary diversification, marked by the proliferation of specialized academic tracks and fundamental reconceptualization of the field’s epistemological boundaries. By examining the trajectory of the English major, this study interrogates the endogenous and exogenous factors driving its perceived decline. Built on this analysis, the paper makes recommendations for revitalizing China’s English programs: fostering curricular pluralism through interdisciplinary hybridization, architecting epistemically sovereign pedagogical paradigms, and nurturing discipline-specific institutional ethos.

Key words: English major, American universities, Chinese universities, program transformation

CLC Number:

H319

JIANG Yajun, SHI Linfei. The “Decline” of the English Major at American Universities and Its Implications for English Programs in China[J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2025, 25(6): 10-19.

References 28

[1]	Association of Departments of English. 2018. A changing major: The report of the 2016—2017 ADE Ad Hoc Committee on the English Major[R]. New York: Association of Departments of English.
[2]	Berry, E. 1966. The careers of English majors[R]. Champaign: National Council of Teachers of English.
[3]	Bestor, D. K. 1977. Aside from Teaching English, What in the World Can You Do?[M]. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
[4]	Chace, W. M. 2009. The decline of the English department:How it happened and what could be done to reverse it[J/OL]. The American Scholar. [2024-10-29]. https://theamericanscholar.org/the-decline-of-the-english-department.
[5]	Delbanco, A. 1999. The decline and fall of literature[N/OL]. The New York Review. [2025-01-11]. https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1999/11/04/the-decline-and-fall-of-literature.
[6]	Graff, G. 1987. Professing Literature: An Institutional History[M]. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
[7]	Heller, N. 2023. The end of the English Major[J/OL]. The New Yorker. [2024-12-25]. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/06/the-end-of-the-english-major.
[8]	Heyda, J. 1999. Fighting over freshman English: CCCC’s early years and the turf wars of the 1950s[J]. College Composition and Communication 50(4):663-681.
[9]	Kinnaird, J. 1974. Review of the anatomy of college English[J]. The Journal of Higher Education 45(1):79-80. doi: 10.1080/00221546.1974.11776926 URL
[10]	Klinkenborg, V. 2013. The decline and fall of the English major[N/OL]. The New York Times. [2024-11-25]. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/23/opinion/sunday/the-decline-and-fall-of-the-english-major.html.
[11]	Kolodny, A. 2005. The situation of the humanities: How English departments (and their chairs) can survive into the twenty-first century?[J] ADE Bulletin 137:10-17.
[12]	Lloyd-Jones, R. & A. A. Lunsford. 1989. The English coalition conference: Democracy through language[R]. New York & Champaign: National Council of Teachers of English & Modern Language Association.
[13]	Lyon, C. E. 1915. The English-public-speaking situation[J]. Quarterly Journal of Speech 1(1):44-50. doi: 10.1080/00335631509360457 URL
[14]	Marckwardt, A. H. 1967. From the basic issues conference to the dartmouth seminar: Perspectives on the teaching of English[J]. PMLA 82(4):8-13.
[15]	Mayers, T. 2005. (Re)Writing Craft: Composition, Creative Writing, and the Future of English Studies[M]. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
[16]	Miller, T. P. 2011. The Evolution of College English: Literacy Studies from the Puritans to the Postmoderns[M]. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
[17]	Miller, T. P. & B. Jackson. 2007. What are English majors for?[J]. College Composition and Communication 58(4):682-708. doi: 10.58680/ccc20075927 URL
[18]	Minnich, H. C. 1924. History of normal schools in America (iii)[J]. Journal of Education 99(17):453-454.
[19]	Mundell, G. H. 1978. Exoteric linguistics and the English department[J]. College English 40(3):274-282. doi: 10.58680/ce197816104 URL
[20]	Orange, L. 1972. English: The Pre-Professional Major[M]. New York: Modern Language Association.
[21]	Parker, W. R. 1967. Where do English departments come from?[J]. College English 28(5):339-351. doi: 10.58680/ce196722437 URL
[22]	Scholes, R. 1998. The Rise and Fall of English: Reconstructing English as a Discipline[M]. New Haven: Yale University Press.
[29]	胡文仲. 2014. 试论我国英语专业人才的培养:回顾与展望[J]. 外语教学与研究(1):111-117.
[30]	姜亚军. 2025. 外语专业改革需要颠覆性思维[J]. 外国语文(4):18-20.
[31]	金利民. 2010. 注重人文内涵的英语专业课程体系改革[J]. 外语教学与研究(3):176-183.
[32]	石琳霏、姜亚军. 2020. 中国英语教育四十年反思及其新文科背景下英语专业建设的启示[J]. 外语教学(6):61-66.
[33]	杨枫. 2025. 外语专业分类卓越[J]. 外国语文(4):20-22.
[34]	张绍杰. 2010. 面向多元社会需求和多元目标取向,培养“厚基础、强能力、高素质”的外语人才[J]. 中国外语(3):5-9.
[23]	Squire, J. R. 1964. The profession faces the future[J]. College English 26(1):38-39.
[24]	Tuman, M. 1986. From Astor Place to Kenyon Road: The NCTE and the origins of English studies[J]. College English 48(4):339-349. doi: 10.58680/ce198611604 URL
[25]	Wilcox, T. W. 1970. A comprehensive survey of undergraduate programs in English in the United States[R]. Storrs:University of Connecticut.
[26]	Woolbert, C. H. 1916. The organization of departments of speech science in universities[J]. The Quarterly Journal of Public Speaking 2(1):64-77.
[27]	戴炜栋. 2009. 我国外语专业教育60年:回顾与展望[J]. 中国外语(5):10-15.
[28]	董洪川. 2025. 时代呼唤更好的外语教育[J]. 外国语文(4):22-24.