In this brief essay, Richard Ohmann reflects on his time editing College English and on the various roles played and agency acquired by an editor of a flagship journal. Ohmann’s essay responds, in part, to the March 2013 CE symposium, “What Is College English?”

When it first appeared in 1976, this groundbreaking exploration of the influences of capitalism on the profession of English touched a nerve among educators and inspired Library Journal to declare, This book should be read by all thoughtful Americans. Now, 20 years later, in a substantial new introduction that recontextualizes the book, Richard Ohmann addresses the critical furor over its initial publication, evaluates his own arguments in the aftermath of the Cold War, and locates the profession of English in the thick of the hotly contested culture wars. A remarkably prescient book whose claims have withstood two decades of fierce debate, English in America is widely considered to be as relevant today as ever. Wise, witty, and urbane, it has much to teach all students of English.

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