Staffing Weaknesses Threaten Lit Program

A faculty review of the undergraduate Literature Concentration released this week warns that administrative "weaknesses" could undermine the "considerable success" of the five-year-old program.

The seven-page evaluation, completed by a panel of three professors, states that the concentration has been largely successful in providing its students with a satisfying and coherent course of study. It says, however, that Literature's reliance on non-tenured instructors and faculty members drawn from related disciplines may threaten that success in years to come.

In addition, the report says the concentration has shown a tendency to emphasize literary theory at the expense of literary history. This shortcoming has left some students with the feeling "that they do not have a command of a specific `body of knowledge,'" the report says.

According to Fields of Concentration, a University guide, the concentration aims to promote "the study of literature as a discipline transcending the boundaries of a single culture or language."

Literature Chairman and Reisinger Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature Jurij Striedter says in a letter circulated with the report that by restricting its review of Literature to tutorials and courses offered under the auspices of the concentration, the review committee failed to consider the influence of one half of Literature instruction.

"The report concentrates exclusively on thetutorials and the courses offered by members ofthe [committee of professors who oversee theprogram]. They are, indeed, the `core' of theprogram. Nevertheless, in the curriculum of eachstudent, they form only one half the Concentrationrequirements," Striedter says.

Students in Literature fulfill many of theirconcentrations with courses offered by departmentssuch as English and Romance Languages andLiterature.

Striedter was not a member of the panel whichreviewed the concentration. The members of thepanel were Jurzykowski Professor of PolishLanguage and Literature Stanislaw Baranczak, EliotProfessor of Greek Literature Albert Henrichs, andProfessor of German and Comparative LiteratureJudith Ryan.

`Considerable Success'

The report ascribes much of the concentration's"considerable success" as well as its "veryenthusiastic" reception by the concentration'sinstructors and 68 students to what it calls the"individual nature" of some of the Literaturetutorials.

But the report cautions that the program "couldcollapse at any moment" if nothing is done toensure greater continuity of teaching in theprogram, which depends heavily on untenuredinstructors.

"The concentration is so heavily dependent onthe sophomore tutorial staff--all of themuntenured--that continuity is severelythreatened," the report says. Rotating membershipon the faculty committee which directs Literatureis also cited as a threat to continuity.

The University's departments, which offertenured professorships and instruction on both theundergraduate and graduate level, have more formaladministrative structures than areas such asLiterature. Literature, Social Studies and severalother special concentrations draw instructors fromrelated disciplines and are directed by facultycommittees with rotating memberships.

Recommendations

The report recommends that the concentration,which currently has only one assistant professor,pick up another to help with teaching and that itmake sure the current core of advanced coursescontinue to be offered as instructors move in andout of Literature.

The Faculty's steering committee voted toaccept the report on Wednesday, and Dean of theFaculty A. Michael Spence now will determine howto proceed with the report's recommendations,Faculty Secretary John R. Marquand said