Victor Li, University of Toronto

Dear President Naylor,

I am writing to inform you of my disbelief and dismay on hearing that the Faculty of Arts and Science is proposing to dismantle what is acknowledged, nationally and internationally, as one of the crown jewels of the humanities at the University of Toronto--the Centre for Comparative Literature.

I am also completely amazed and dumbfounded by the logic offered in support of this disappointing proposal. It has been suggested that the Centre's very success in promulgating the study of literary theory and comparative studies is also the primary pedagogical reason for its disestablishment. It appears as though success is being rewarded with demotion and marginalization. As any knowledgeable scholar in the field will attest, comparative literature has not become redundant because literary theory and the comparative approach have been absorbed by other disciplines in the humanities. In fact, as the abundance of published books and lively debates in cutting-edge humanities journals clearly indicate, comparative literature remains a highly important and relevant area of academic enquiry in this age of globalization and cultural diversity.

As a recently appointed member of the Centre, I am proud to be associated with the important work carried out by faculty and students and with the new and exciting directions mapped out by the Centre's new director, Professor Neil ten Kortenaar--directions that will position the Centre at the heart of the most significant enterprise in the humanities today, namely, the study of comparativity itself in a world that can no longer afford to be "centric" in any way, "Euro-" or otherwise.

It would indeed be a great pity and an even greater wasted opportunity should the Centre, its illustrious history, and its exciting future be discarded for the short-sighted budgetary savings envisaged by the Strategic Planning Committee. The University may save about a million dollars in the short run, but it stands to lose what is irreplaceable and priceless. I urge you in the name of academic integrity and progress to reconsider this ill-conceived proposal to dismantle the University of Toronto's Centre for Comparative Literature.

Yours sincerely,

Victor Li
Co-editor, The University of Toronto Quarterly
Associate Professor
Department of English and Centre for Comparative Literature
University of Toronto