1992
The E 306 controversy continues in the popular press, as the consensus syllabus is taught on campus. Two more faculty leave UT as a result of the controversy: James Duban, an opponent of “Writing about Difference” and Linda Brodkey, its chief architect. As the E 306 controversy peters out, the Bean Report recommendation that the university create an autonomous Division of Rhetoric and Composition begins to dominate conversations in the English Department. On his last day as UT President (Sept. 1) William Cunningham creates a Division of Rhetoric and Composition, charging interim Dean Robert King with the task of investigating its feasibility and implementing its creation. In the fall, many faculty debate the new division and the president’s ability to create such an autonomous unit without faculty approval. Only one faculty member in the English Department unqualifiedly supports the decision to create a new Division of Rhetoric and Composition. An internal English Department committee is formed and charged with developing a plan for the new unit. They debate its governance, its relationship to the English graduate program, and its feasibility. The College of Liberal Arts also appoints a committee to discuss the new division’s formation. Interim Dean Robert King indicates that he will create the Division of Rhetoric and Composition, despite objections from faculty within and without the English Department.
