The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of globalization upon the college-level instruction of English/American literature in Taiwan. The examination will be centered upon the subject of Englishness as demonstrated in the courses of English/American Literature taught in Taiwan. By focusing on the term "Englishness," the paper broadly discusses the institutionalization of the term, addressing its acquired implications, and delineates its constructive and transformative possibilities and problematics. The paper consists of three parts: (1) English studies and the impact of globalization: definition, phenomenon, influence on English education; (2) Englishness: then and now, evolution, definition, perceptions; and (3) A curriculum design of American literature instruction at NKNU: language & culture. A specific concern of this research is to show how the global awareness informs an innovative mode which has reflected or constructed the changing structure, identities and social relations. Results show that in a classroom project called "American Literature: To Think and Act Locally," the learners are able to formulate independent thinking and fulfill a mission with their own knowledge base grounded a comparatively cross-cultural awareness. Non-native English educators need to adopt a "culture package" in the teaching of English/American Literature and stress the importance for training of critical and local thinking and acting.