There was a time when a master’s degree in English was not just to fulfil the need for a degree, but for one’s own liberal education. Students of English literature read the classics of British, Greek and Latin literature and later even read American Literature and Commonwealth Literature. We quoted Shakespeare and we acted in his plays.
Rewards of a rigorous course
The MA English graduate had to teach English at university whether s/he liked it or not. We were the authorities of the language. Hence, we spoke dogmatically. We did not know the rules as such, for we had acquired or imbibed the language through our vast reading and writing. If we knew it for ourselves, we did not know how to pass it on.
But admittedly, we did three years of intense study and topped it off with another two years of more intensive study. Some of us did a paper in TESOL too, as, ‘times they were a-changing’.
Full report here Deccan Herald
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