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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 4, No. 9. July 30, 1941

Specialisation

Specialisation.

As far as advanced classes are concerned, the most noteworthy feature is that long-needed reform—the reduction by about one-half of the excessive amount of Anglo-Saxon studied at Stage II. A choice is allowed at Stage III. of either a predominantly literary or linguistic course, to replace the present syllabus, only one third of which is literary. Under the new scheme a student may take honours in two language and five literary papers (instead of four language and free literary) to permit specialisation, an essential concession at the Honours stage.

And after long years, they're going. Yes, Those "set books" which always seemed suspended in a [unclear: vacuum]. They were never related to the rest of literature studies in class, and the emphasis placed on them was seldom justified. Instead they will be replaced by classical critical works related to the period of literature being studied.

These are far-reaching and enlightened reforms. The provision of a more general course at Stage I, the shifting of the emphasis from language to literature at the advanced stages, and the abolition of the old "set books" eliminate the main grievances against the old syllabus. We hope that the example of the English departments in the [unclear: four] colleges may serve as an example to the rest of the Arts faculty in need of reform to set its own house in order.

J.