Missing Link

English One coupled with Jaeger's "Man and Society in Greek Thought" points inescapably to the need for a broad approach to Romance Literature through a course aimed specifically at non-concentrators. This need has long been conspicuous to the humanities student unacquainted with French or Spanish but nonetheless anxious for a glimpse at Latin culture.

Although the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures garners the imposing total of 120 concentrators, the number of undergraduates outside the Department who enter the basic literature offerings--French 6, Spanish 4, Portuguese 2, or Italian 4--has consistently remained negligible. The chief function of the Department must rest of course with satisfying the demands of the specialists. But especially at an hour pervaded by the spirit of the General Education proposals a man should not find this field closed to him simply because he lacks the language requirement.

A course in "The Development of Romance Culture" could cover a topical range from national heroic poetry such as La Chanson de Roland and the Cid through Dante and Victor Huge to realism, naturalism, dadaism--even existentialism. One member of the Department's staff envisions "high selectivity" and a departure from the customary survey course pattern stressing detailed names of books and authors. "From the specialist's point of view it would all be superfluous," he ventures, but who cares.

Even the concentrator in Romance Languages and Literatures would nevertheless profit from this sort of curricular innovation. Instead of becoming familiar solely with the background of his own special field within the Department he would gain a wide departmental outlook. Similarly the concentrator in other literatures such as English or Slavic might stand to acquire a valuable additional perspective on his own area of study.

Only the shortage of competent assistant professors in the Department delays the institution of an obviously-needed change. Young instructors, who might appear logical to man this sort of course, will hesitate to accept an assignment which they might savor but which they could certainly not utilize in terms of their academic world. Meanwhile the monumental Gide must find a casual comparative niche with Hardy and Conrad in English 62 rather than emerge in the context of his own culture.