STUDENT HAS WIDE CHOICE OF COURSES IN HISTORY AND LIT

Integrating two subjects which deal with entirely different disciplines, the field of History and Literature, stocked with some of the finest tutors in the College, offers the best general study of civilization of any field of concentration. With no specific set of courses in its curriculum, it enables the concentrators to take a wide variety of subjects.

However, a number of hurdles confront the History and Lit concentrator.

There is a three-hour Bible and Shakespeare examination in the Spring of the Sophomore year; in the beginning of the Junior year two thirty-minute orals on either Anicent or Modern authors and historians depending upon the special field studied. For honors candidates, the end of the Junior year presents a four hour qualifying exam. Once a student has waded his way through these trials, the first two of which are nothing more than chores, he writes a thesis on a special branch in the field and takes an examination on the material covered by the thesis at the end of the Senior year.

Easier Requirements

The war has eased a few of the requirements in the field. Whereas concentrators up to this year were asked to take eight courses in the field, entering Freshmen need but six, although eight is, of course, highly recommended. Also, a reading knowledge of either French and German, rather than both, as was previously stipulated, will admit a student into one of the cross section fields: the Renaissance, the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, or Nineteenth century. Ancient and Modern Authors exams may be tied in more with the tutorial than heretofore, but this decision still rests with the department.

Within History and Literature are special fields, most popular of which have been America, England, and the Nineteenth century. A small field such as the Seventeenth or Eighteenth century has its advantages, however, in that a smaller amount of material can be better digested.

Since the field has no designated courses, the burden of the work of correlation is laid on the tutors, who are more than equal to their task. Most highly recommended by concentrators this year are Professor Matthiessen in the Renaissance and America, Miller in America, Finley in the Classics, and Owen, Rice, Barbour and Lewis in their fields.

Usually the concentrator is expected to divide his work about evenly between courses in history and in literature. A split of four courses in one department and two in another is about the biggest deviation permitted. History and Literature concentration is not restricted to courses in these fields alone. If a course in the history of philosophy, political theory, science or the fine arts has its subject-matter within the chronoligical and geographical limits of a man's special field, it may be counted for concentration credit.

Since the course tends to discuss the trends and history of ideas, survey courses such as History I and English I, as well as background courses in Philosophy, Music, Fine Arts, and Sociology, prove a great help, although not required.

Most people give higher praise to the History courses than to the English, although American literature courses were lauded by many. In the field of England, the History courses are very comprehensive, and the English courses adequate, if not inspirational. Other fields are more or less on the downgrade, with a tendency for more and more men to enter the larger divisions, but a good tutor can overcome a good many handicaps for a man interested in the less popular special fields.

All in all, History and Literature is neither the straight political study which History tends to be, nor the purely literary matter which is English's reputation, but an integrated view of society, a liaison of two fields, efficiently handled, and an escape from the trend toward over-concentration.

Individual courses in the field are discussed in the articles devoted to English. History, and the various modern languages.