Richard Somerset – Introduction: English Studies in the disciplinary constitution of the Humanities

Disciplinary Construction: Theoretical Background from a Social Sciences Perspective

Philip Riley – Splitting and Lumping: Perspectives on the study of disciplinary formation.

Disciplinary Origins: Networks of Meaning and Influence

Richard Somerset – Culture, knowledge and liberality: the demise of a unified educational ideal?
Matthew Smith – 'Beaming "English" at the oppressed layers'? Henry Morley and his role in establishing English as a discipline;
Angela Dunstan – Victorian experiments in reading scientifically.

Disciplinary Alternatives: English Studies in Multicultural National Contexts

Riaan Oppelt – English Studies in South Africa: Growth and Challenges;
Martina Ghosh-Schellhorn – 'Their Nights and Days were Eloquent…': English Studies in India;
Lee A. Flamand – Screening Campus Identity Politics: Cultural Studies, Dear White People, and the American University.

Disciplinary Identity: The Challenges of The 'Cultural Studies' Paradigm

Simon Tabet – Les origines du courant postmoderne dans les sciences humaines ;
Thomas Constantinesco - The Ghost of Literature: The return of the text in American Literary Studies;
Richard Somerset – Can pluralistic interdisciplinarity save the Humanities? A personal reflection on cultural history and textuality.

Notes on contributors

Acknowledgements