Field Work & Separation Anxiety

We didn't talk about it in class, but I found myself really interested in the relationship between a field of study and a discipline.

It occurs to me, after doing some reading on etymologies and industry interpretations of the concepts that one facilitates the other. That is, a discipline is a particular subset of study and practice within a field that (and this is interesting in the context of our conversation re: theory and practice) typically develops alongside or in conjunction with a "system of profession." (Wikipedia)

"System of profession," here, seems pertinent. It seems, to me, at least, that in order for a discipline to evolve, it usually needs to have some ties to practical application. Does this mean that disciplines can't fully develop in a kind of practical vacuum? Is a discipline of "pure theory" even possible?

I've sensed a different, but similar, concern bubbling beneath the surface of almost all of the readings so far. English, as a department as well as a subject, has spent most of its existence an amorphous state. I think we all recognize that at this point. Unlike other studies (especially those outside the humanities) I feel those who fall under the English umbrella are constantly at risk of some slow but deliberate change which, over time, my completely alter or do-away with their particular disciplines. I mean, is it likely that literary theory is just going to disappear over the course of 50 years? Probably not. But historically speaking, English seems frighteningly unstable.

This begs the question of what happens to a discipline once it has been separated from its field. We've talked a lot about how Composition and Rhetoric have bounced around looking for a home during the time that English studies were going through their adolescence (listening the The Smiths, smoking clove cigarettes, and just trying to fit in). Looking at the history from afar, the ultimate marriage of the two truly seems serendipitous (or at least a kind of phenomenon of aligning elements). But what would happen, theoretically, if we were to separate the two once again. Would Comp. Rhet. cease to be a discipline and instead become a field with its own set of established disciplines?

The horrible answer I keep coming back to: English studies would whiter up and die, but not until I lost all of my funding. I keep hearing over and over how FYC is the only thing keeping English departments alive and viable. But is this actually the case? Does anyone know of an example of a college or university completely compartmentalizing Composition? Can we think of any other hypothetical scenarios where two largely different disciplines aren't competing to define one field, and everyone gets to keep their jobs?