Barbara Foley, Rutgers University

Dear President Naylor:

It has come to my attention that the University of Toronto is seriously considering eliminating its Centre for Comparative Literature. I am in an English department; but I have been aware for many years that Comparative Literature is crucial to the life of the humanities. Not only has Comparative Literature, as its name indicates, enabled scholars to transcend the provincialism inevitably associated with single-language literary study. In addition, CL has been the home of critical theory for some three decades now: and critical theory is at the heart of most of the major advances, over the past three decades, in both literary and more broadly cultural study.

In June 2010, at the annual meeting of the Marxist Literary Group, I recently met--or reencountered--a number of the members of the U of T's Comparative Literature program: Eric Cazdyn, Ryan Culpepper, Rebecca Cornay. At different stages in their careers, all are outstanding scholars. Your university is well served by having them on its campus. I urge you to take whatever steps you can to preserve--indeed, build--the department to which they give honor.

Very truly yours,


Barbara Foley
Professor II
English and American Studies
Rutgers University-Newark Campus