Ann Rigney, Utrecht University

18 July 2010

President David Naylor
University of Toronto
Simcoe Hall, Room 2006
27 King’s College Circle
Toronto, Ontario,
CANADA M5S 1A1



Dear President Naylor,

As a graduate of the Centre for Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto (PhD, 1987), I was deeply disturbed to hear of the proposed disestablishment of the Centre. I knew it directly as an inspiring, world-class institution in the 1980s and my awareness of its uniqueness and importance has, if anything, grown with time as I have been able to compare it with other similar programmes and institutions. The centre, founded by the internationally renowned Northrop Frye, has been a shining light in the field of Comparative Literature and within the broader field of the Humanities over the last four decades, and it continues to be a beacon programme at the present time with a leading role in the field of comparative literary studies (witness the fact that no fewer than two of its members have been one-time presidents of the Modern Language Association). Through its summer schools, visiting professorships and the contribution of many eminent staff members, it has offered a platform for critical reflection on cultural change and cultural diversity that is unparalleled. In the course of decades, the Centre has continued to accommodate students like myself from a wide range of linguistic and cultural backgrounds from all corners of the world, offering them a rigorous and multidisciplinary training in literary and cultural criticism that (in my case, and that of many of my peers) has been a password to academic success.

Unlike some similar programmes elsewhere, moreover, the Centre has managed to adapt and change with the times, expanding its horizons into new linguistic areas so that cultural comparison as well as the study of cultural differences on a global scale has continued to be fostered in ways that play into contemporary realities. Evolving over the years, the Centre has thus played a vital role in promoting cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural exchange that adds a completely new and vitally reflective dimension to Humanities research and graduate teaching that cannot be achieved without a strong identity as a Centre and as a degree-awarding body. In short: the Centre is one of the jewels in the crown of the University of Toronto and a key aspect of its international reputation in the field of Humanities.

I have always been proud to be a graduate of the University of Toronto, and of the Centre for Comparative Literature in particular. If the University is truly committed to excellence, as I know it has been in the past, then it should seriously reconsider this ill-advised recommendation to disestablish the Centre for Comparative Literature.

Sincerely,



Professor Ann Rigney
Chair of Comparative Literature
Member Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences

www.Rigney.nl