History Dept. Abolishes Generals in Junior Year

The History Department has abolished junior generals for its Honors candidates. Robert L. Wolff '36, chairman of the Department, said yesterday that the examination has been eliminated because it "duplicated much of the material on course examinations." He added that the change will reduce the burden placed on the department's staff by the large increase in students taking tutorial this year.

The exam was Part II of the Department's three-part general examination, which was given to students in tutorial at the end of the sophomore, junior, and senior years. It required two essays, one of which had to deal with a period of history before 1600.

Students not in the tutorial program will still have to take the exam at the end of the senior year along with Part III.

"There was a general feeling among seniors and other faculty members," Wolff said, "that the exam was unsatisfactory. It was an extra burden on them and on the students, and didn't add very much to a man's preparation."

Devising questions for the examination has been a perennial problem, according to Bernard Ballyn, head tutor. "It was very difficult to find questions which asked more than those in the final exams to the required courses," he explained.

The increase in the number of seniors writing theses provided an immediate impetus for the Department's action, Wolff noted. Because of a Faculty ruling at spring the Department will have to read 50 or 60 extra theses written by students in groups IV and V. Previously, these students would not have been showed to submit them.

The sophomore and senior Generals are unchanged at present. However, Wolff said the Department might possible broaden them to include some material formerly in Part II.

Work in History 98, the junior tutorial, probably will be unaffected by the change Wolff declared. It should remain "free-wheeling" and reflect the needs of the individual student, he said.