Bercovitch said he waited on canceling the class in the hopes that his throat condition would improve, and apologized for the delay. Instead of teaching "Myth," which had an enrollment of about 300 when it was last offered in 1995-96, Bercovitch will be teaching several smaller courses that will not strain his throat.

Lewis said that Starr Professor of Classical, Modern Jewish and Hebrew Literature James L. Kugel, who usually teaches "Bible," will also be teaching two small classes. "Bible" drew nearly 900 students when it was last offered in spring 1999, making it one of the largest Core classes.

Kugel could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Some students yesterday said they were unaware of the cancellations, while others said they learned of the changes through an e-mail message sent by John O'Keefe, Dunster House's senior tutor.

Several seniors who said they had planned to take one of the courses said they were disappointed.

Eugene T. Kim '01 said the cancellation of "Bible" was particularly disappointing because he had planned to take the course his senior year, after he had met his pre-med requirements.

"I'm a senior so it was my last chance to take it," Kim said. "I'm Catholic, and I wanted to take it because it's important for me to understand the different dimensions of the Bible."