Undergraduate Research in English Studies

Book excerpt: Editors Laurie Grobman and Joyce Kinkead offer a groundbreaking collection of essays that aims to mobilize the profession of English studies to further participate in undergraduate research, which in the past had been reserved for scientific fields. Why shouldn't undergraduates in English studies have the same opportunities as those in the sciences to benefit from undertaking real research that can inform and have an impact on practitioners in the discipline? They should and can, according to editors Laurie Grobman and Joyce Kinkead, who have produced this collection to showcase the first steps being made to integrate undergraduate research into English studies and, even more important, to point the way toward greater involvement. Undergraduate Research in English Studies is a groundbreaking collection that aims to mobilize the profession of English studies to further participate in undergraduate research, an educational movement and comprehensive curricular innovation that is "the pedagogy for the twenty-first century," according to the Joint Statement of Principles composed by the Council on Undergraduate Research and the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research. Students engaged in genuine research gain an insider's understanding of field-specific debates, develop relevant skills and insights for future careers and graduate study, and contribute their voices to creating knowledge through the research process. Some contributors discuss the importance of mentoring, how to conduct research responsibly, and avenues for disseminating research and scholarship locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally. Others provide case studies of undergraduate research in literature and in composition and rhetoric. The volume combines theory and practice, and lays the groundwork for further practice and inquiry, sending forth a call to broaden undergraduate research possibilities in all areas of English.