OVERSPECIALIZATION

Specialization, it has been truly stated, is an ear-mark of contemporary civilization. So powerful has its influence been that it has effected radical changes in college education. The old Harvard tradition of a "broad, general education" has been almost completely discarded as "out of date." Six courses in one field of concentration is the absolute minimum. Tending as it does to make a student somewhat of an authority in one branch of learning, such concentration, for those who desire it, is of inestimable value.

However, there is room for a type of general concentration which would include two or more of the present "fields." The experiment of combining History and Literature is a proved success, with many more students clamoring to be admitted than is possible under the present limitations. Hundreds of students would like so to arrange their curriculum that two or three fields would assume equal importance. For these students, most of whom steadfastedly maintain this belief throughout college, diversification of studies would vastly increase the utility of college life. Particularly for members of this group, specialization in one field is no guarantee that they will want or be able to continue in the same lines of endeavour after graduation.

Even the most ardent partisans of concentration admit that college cannot and should not be a vocational school. While specialization in one field is desirable for those who have dominant interests, it is folly to assume that all students are naturally specialists. The combination of History and Literature is a happy augury. To satisfy an increasingly vocal demand, more generalized and inclusive fields in the humanities and in science should be provided.