New Criticism and Value in Taiwanese College English

The first part of this article identifies major problems facing college English in Taiwan, including declining enrollment, reduced funding, and widespread contingent hiring, linking them to similar problems associated with the humanities crisis in the United States. The second examines selected writing on these problems in the United States, including writing on pedagogy associated with the New Criticism, which until the 1990s was the main approach to literary studies in Taiwan. The third reflects on how commentary on English in the United States might apply in the Taiwanese context, with focus on the material value of an English degree and the potential expansion of the degree beyond the isolated major.