University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of English | University of Illinois Archives

In 1867, the University announced instruction in English Language and Literature in the Department of General Science and Literature.¹ In 1868, the Department of English Language and Literature began instruction which has continued to the present.² A School of English and Modern Languages was included under the College of Literature and Science in 1871,³  but a Department of English Language and Literature was listed through 1874-75 for those wishing to concentrate in that area.⁴ In 1891, the College of Literature became a separate entity, including within it the School of English and Modern Languages.⁵ In 1906-07, the department acquired courses in Rhetoric and Public Speaking.⁶ From 1916 to 1919, it taught courses in Celtic literature and civilization.⁷ In 1917 the English department added courses in Journalism,⁸ and in 1918 courses in Scandinavian language and literature.⁹ Journalism was separated in 1927,¹⁰ and Scandinavian courses were dropped in 1939.¹¹ Speech (formerly Public Speaking¹²) was separated from the English department in 1947.¹³ Business English was introduced as a special group of courses within the department of English in 1948,¹⁴ becoming known as Business and Technical Writing in 1966.¹⁵ English for Foreign Students was similarly introduced in 1946,¹⁶ to become English as a Second Language in 1965.¹⁷ Other English courses have been offered from 1948 under the headings of Rhetoric and Composition, English Literature, and American Literature,¹⁸ though, as of 1972, the last two headings have been omitted.¹⁹

This unit covers:

--Illinois State-wide Curriculum Study Center for the Preparation of Secondary School English Teachers (ISCPET): Established in 1967 as an intercollegiate project financed by the United States Office of Education.²⁰

1. Catalogs and Registers, 1867, p. 6.

2. Ibid., 1868-69, p. 8.

3. Ibid., 1871-72, p. 25.

4. Ibid., 1874-75, p. 46.

5. Ibid., 1891-92, p. 111.

6. Ibid., 1906-07, p. 280-82.

7. Ibid., 1916-17, p. 309; 1919-20, p. 311.

8. Ibid., 1917-18, p. 299.

9. Ibid., 1918-19, p. 297, 305-06.

10. Board of Trustees Transactions, 34th Report, July 14, 1927, p. 416.

11. Catalogs and Registers, 1939-40, p. 254; English Department, Course Enrollment Statistical Reports, 1938-39, 1939-40.

12. Board of Trustees Transactions, 37th Report, index, p. 691.

13. Ibid., 44th Report, March 27, 1947, p. 310.

14. Time Table, first semester, 1948-49, p. 67.

15. Catalogs and Registers, 1966-67, p. 79.

16. Ibid., 1954-55, p. 322.

17. Ibid., 1965-66, p. 74.

18. Time Table, first semester, 1948-49, p. 67.

19. Catalogs and Registers, 1972-74, p. 150.

20. Board of Trustees Transactions, 44th Report, June 20, 1967, p. 566. Record Group 15