CATALOGUE REVISION

With each successive publication of the official announcement of courses of instruction offered by the faculty of arts and sciences is one impressed with the readily apparent lack of logic and systematic compilation that characterizes its pages. Tradition and the addition of new courses each year are probably responsible for this confused and illogical arrangement, but it is time that sweeping changes be made if the announcement is to be a useful and intelligible guide for students.

When there are courses like English 28 and 79 which are duplicates, but which are taught with different objects in view, the one for concentrators in English and the other for purposes of distribution, the catalogue should make such distinction apparent. The courses in English are now arranged chronologically, but the sequence in course numbers follow no logical arrangement. The same chronological order could be retained but a great real of confusion would be avoided if all the literature courses were numbered from 20 to 40 and all the composition courses from 10 to 20. The same logic could be aptly applied to history courses, numbering all American history courses from 10 to 20 and all European history courses from 20 to 40. Applying the same system to courses in other divisions would also help to make more intelligible what is now a confused jumble of meaningless numbers. It is rather stupid, for example, to list Mathematics 1a before Mathematics 2, which is a prerequisite for the former. Would it not be more reasonable to exchange these course numbers? Another improvement that would greatly aid the student in selecting courses would be the addition of more detailed information concerning courses in the divisional pamphlets, a practice followed by the departments of Fine Arts and Ancient Language.

If the announcement, then, is to present a clear and understandable guide to students, it might well institute these reforms. For too long a time has this consideration been neglected, and treated as though unimportant and unnecessary. Illogical and confused tradition must give way to the dictates of reason and order.