Dept. to Ease Hist. and Lit. Requirements

The History and Literature Department will ease up on some of its long established requirements and change its main emphasis to "cultural history," Walter J. Bate '39, chairman of the committee on History and Literature, revealed yesterday.

Elimination of theses for non-honors students and a reduction in honors theses to 10,000 words are the main modifications.

Bate said that the stress on "cultural history" is an attempt to give the field more focus and to prevent possible duplication by the History and English departments.

The new policy has caused modification of the tutorial arrangements in the sophomore and the first half of the junior years. In group discussions at the end of the three terms specific subjects were considered in one of the fields.

Revised Assignments

Speeches by Edmund Burke this year replaced a work of modern literature in the first term of the sophomore year. The department now believes elementary humanities courses required under the general education program can replace the study of Shakespeare and the Bible in the second term of the sophomore year, Bate said. Assignments with both literary and historical applications will replace these works and the specialized contrast between one ancient and one modern historical study in the junior year.

Also as part of the revised program seniors this year will take oral exams on general aspects of history and literature instead of an exam divided between the two subjects.

The language requirement and most other aspects of the department remain unchanged.