"I think there's a lot of support among membersof the department for an introductory course thatmaps out basics," Masten says.
Even though Masten is a "cultural studies"scholar rather than a supporter of the canon, heagrees that the traditionalist 10b providesstudents with a necessary grounding.
Porter University Professor Helen H. Vendler,who taught the class before Damrosch, is one ofthe course's strongest supporters.
"You would like it when people got out of anEnglish major that they would not embarrass you,"Vendler says.
The class' focus is already so broad thatincluding more writers for the sake of diversityis impossible, she says.
"We have already squeezed the early centuries,"Vendler says. "We only read major writers."
But while there is faculty support for English10b, disputes over the canon still lurk beneaththe surface consensus.
Damrosch admits that finding faculty to teachthe course is not easy. He himself offered to leadit when the department was having trouble findingsomeone to replace Vendler as the class' head.
And while the department publishes acomprehensive bibliography of all the texts andcriticism English concentrators need to know fortheir general exam, the list has not been updatedsince 1983.
According to faculty members, the departmenthas simply been unwilling to confront thedifficult and divisive problem of updating itsofficial canon.
Masten points out that 10b is scarcely the onlyoffering English provides for its students. Thesurvey is supplemented by a thematic sophomoretutorial.
"Nobody thinks that [the surveys] are all wedo," Masten says. "You're building a critique ofthe canon [in the tutorial] if you feel trapped."
And some students say they do get that"trapped" feeling.
"I do think that it's a Eurocentricrequirement--it's annoying," says Amy E. Cooper'96, an English concentrator currently takingEnglish 10b. "British literature is probably thefoundation, but I don't understand why that's moreimportant than American or South Africanliterature."
But most students say they like the traditionalfocus.
"The main point is to give us a feel of whatwas going on," Katrina Szish '95 says. "To me asan English major, it's very essential that I readthese works."
"10a and 10b appear to be fairly fairrepresentations," Rebecca R. Kirshner '96 says.
And, like most traditional surveys, it drawsconcentrators from other departments looking forgeneral knowledge.
"I assume Professor Damrosch is selectingcertain pieces for purpose," say Eric J. Pan '94,an economics concentrator who is taking English10b. "I trust his judgment."