The article is divided into three parts. Part 1, Entering Laputa in the Winter of Our Discontent, deals with general presuppositions, including those on intellectuals in Post-Fordism and as members of de facto English Departments. Part 2, Visiting the Word-Machine, deals with some aporias of literary and English studies. Part 3, How to Leave Laputa, asks what might be some components of our agenda today. It includes a plea for English studies as an independent, international field of inquiry and teaching, and discusses some possible orientations for teachers and scholars.