This paper suggests that the usefulness of current discussion of the Oral Communication Across the Curriculum (OCAC) issues and programs is limited by a lack of historical and conceptual grounding. The history of the OCAC movement is summarized and then four perspectives are suggested as ways to better understand the past, present, and future of OCAC: (1) orality and literacy; (2) historical perspective; (3) diffusion and networking; and (4) political perspective. The integration of these perspectives into the discussion of OCAC would better clarify the problematic issues associated with OCAC and guide individual programs and the field on how OCAC might function as a positive aspect of the field without undermining the credibility of communication as a field of study. (Contains 36 references.) (Author)