Freshman Concentration Guide

With this issue, the CRIMSON concludes its annual series of articles analyzing fields of concentration, which it hopes can be of some assistance to freshmen who have not yet decided in what department to concentrate, or do not know what to expect in the fields they have chosen.

Romance Languages . . .

For the student who wants to see Europe in his junior year, concentration in Romance Languages is his best bet--his only bet in fact, except for the Department of Germanic Languages. Starting this year, the Romance Language Department is sending third-year students to the University of Paris to study with full credit.

Romance Language concentrators may take the same courses as French students at the Sorbonne, but are given different examinations at the end of the year. The students, who travel with a co-ed organization called the American Study Group, may take courses in Fine Arts and Philosophy as well as in French Literature. The only hitch is that they must be on the Dean's List at the end of their sophomore year.

Program Still Experimental

The program for study abroad is now in a three-year experimental stage, and conceivably will be extended to other departments at the end of this period.

Another change in the French Department next year is the appointment of Herbert Dieckmann as associate professor of French Literature. Dieckmann, whose specialty is 18th century French literature, attracted notice recently as the result of his discovery of several unknown Diderot manuscripts in a French Chateau. He will fill the vacancy left by Jean-Joseph Seznee, professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, who resigned as chairman of the department to accept a professorship at Oxford University.

Emphasis on Literature

Emphasis in the Department of Romance Languages rests on literature rather than on proficiency in speaking the language. "The department is not a Berlitz school," explained LeRoy C. Breunig, assistant professor of Romance Languages and Literatures.

Students must perfect themselves in one language for both concentration and honors, although honors candidates must have a reading knowledge of another Romance Language. From one-third to one-half of the men concentrating in the field go out for honors.

The department has set no specific limit on the number of men who can be admitted next year, but has made an attempt to discourage all students who are not primarily interested in the culture of the country in whose language they wish to concentrate.

Semitic Languages . . .

Students who have a genuine interest in the culture and history of the Near East, and who are intrigued by the possibility of concentrating in a department in which the number of faculty members is nearly equal to the number of concentrators, should consider enrolling in the Department of Semitic Languages and History.

Because the field is such a technical one, not more than two or three undergraduates choose to concentrate in the department There are only two faculty members of the undergraduate branch of the department, so concentrators are assured of receiving top-level personal attention.

Professor Harry A. Wolfson and Dr. Robert H. Pfeiffer give all the undergraduate courses in the department, from Semitic Aa (beginning Hebrew) to Semitic 125 (Research in Semitic Languages). Both men are competent scholars and understanding teachers.

Slavic Languages . . .

The Slavic Department was completely reorganized this year, and now has much variety as any department in the College. One can take courses in anything from Comparative Slavic Linguistics and Beginning Ukranian to Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, each taught by outstanding specialists.

Professor Roman Jakobson, who came from Columbia this year, is one of the world's leading philgists, and has command of most languages spoken between the Elbe and the Yangtze. His wife, Dr. Svatava Pirkova-Jakobson, teaches Czech.

Concentrators Need Russian

The courses in literature generally do not require a knowledge of Russian, but for concentrators and others knowing the language it is recommended that the reading be done in the original. Professor Michael Karpovich, who gave up History 1 this year to concentrate on his new duties as head of the Slavic Department, gives the general survey courses.

The requirements for majoring in Slavic are about the same as for most fields: General examinations in the senior year, group tutorial for juniors and seniors out for Honors, and a thesis in the senior year. Six courses are required for concentration, eight for Honors, but two of these may be in related fields and two will almost always be the first year intensive Russian course.

Social Relations

Since its inception in 1946, the Social Relations Department has acquired more stereotypes than any other infant of comparable age. Its detractors call it everything from an esoteric clique to a white-shoe meeting place, and its concentrators do indeed range to these extremes.

There are four sub-fields within the department: Social Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Sociology, and Social Anthropology, each of which was an independent department before 1946. The concentrator specializes in one of these four, but usually takes at least one half-course in each of the others to prepare for the general exams.

Many Related Courses

Though concentrators are only required to take four Soc. Rel. and two related courses, most take at least five within the field to satisfy various requirements. The related courses may be drawn indiscriminately from Anthropology, Biology, Economics, Government, History, Philosophy, and Psychology, provided at least one is not elementary.

Tutorial is available only on a group basis for juniors and sophomores, and individually for seniors honors candidates: Any sophomore can get bi-weekly group tutorial for one term; juniors in Group IV or higher can get weekly sessions in both terms. Seniors may take Soc. Rel. 99 for credit to get special assistance on their theses.

Clinical Psychology draws the most specialists, Sociology and Social Psychology are about equal, and Social Anthropology is the smallest field. About ten to fifteen percent of concentrators go on to graduate work in Soc. Rel., which is an essential prerequisite to obtaining a good position in any of the four fields.

It takes a brave man to enter Social Relations these days. He must be able to find his way around in almost amorphous field, and endure the constant jeers of his friends. But if he sticks it out, he will find that he is well-prepared for practically anything he may want to do after graduation.