Number of Concentrators: 2.
1951 Commencement Honors: None.
Chairman Robert H. Pfeiffer admits that his department will appeal to only a small specialized group: future Near Eastern scholars, future rabbis, future ministers, future philologists, and future historians of religion. If you are not definitely interested in one of these professions, stay away from this field. The requirements are difficult and its dollar-appeal is just about non-existant.
Concentrators will need a knowledge of Greek, Latin, German, French, and two Semitic languages by the time they are finished. Consolation is available in the fact that Pfeiffer and Harry A. Wolfson, Littauer Professor of Semitic Literature, are probably the country's top teachers, in this field.
Slavic Languages
Number of Concentrators: 21.
1951 Commencement Honors: cum, 10.
Though a difficult course. Slavic Languages can be one of the most rewarding. A student who has command of a language besides a fundamental knowledge of English grammar will find Russian a challenging but not impossible language. A year of intensive Russian is required in the department.
The name of the field is rather misleading, for though it includes Russian, Czech, Polish, Ukranian and Serbo Croation, most undergraduate work is concentrated in Russian language and literature.
Slavic Languages is not too popular as a field of concentration, having only 21 students, but there are 363 students enrolled in courses taught by this department. Many of the literature courses are taught in English and require no previous knowledge of a Slavic tongue.
Many of the classes are conducted in small groups and supply tutorial-like teaching to the students. Because of the small instructor to concentrator ratio (13 staff members to 21 concentrators) the instructors are able to give almost individual assistance. But the department has two men who handle tutorial for honor candidates.
Aside from the close contact with instructors, the greatest point in the department's favor is the excellence of its personel, and Michael Karpovich, Head of the Slavic Language Department, is the foremost Russian historian in the country.