Re: Proposed Closure of the Comparative Literature Program at the University of Toronto
August 25th, 2010
To: President David Naylor, University of Toronto
Provost Cheryl Misak, University of Toronto
Dean Meric Gertler, University of Toronto
From: Dr. María José Giménez Micó, President of the Canadian Association of Hispanists, Executive Board and Members of the CAH
I am writing on behalf of the Canadian Association of Hispanists (an academic organization that belongs to the Canadian Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences, whose members consist of more than 250 professors, students and writers) to express our astonishment at the news of your intention to close the internationally and nationally recognized Centre for Comparative Literature, founded by the eminent scholar, Dr. Northrop Frye in 1969.
Faculty members associated with the Centre have established world-renowned reputations in the study of literature and literary theory, and have been recognized for their contributions to the intellectual and cultural life of Canada and the global community in a very wide variety of disciplines.
The Centre for Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto has been the foundation of Comparative Literature studies in Canada. Many members of the Canadian Association of Hispanists benefited from the instruction received during their years of studies there.
The Centre has been a carrefour of cultural interactions, and has helped to build interdisciplinary connexions. Its disappearance would jeopardize many of the relationships established throughout the years between departments and faculty members working on common research projects.
In light of what threatens to be the withdrawal of an essential program in the studies of literature and literary theory in Canada, the members of the Canadian Association of Hispanists would like to add their voice to the many organizations who have expressed the need for a Centre of such calibre and ask that the University administration reconsider its proposal for closure.
Sincerely,
María José Giménez Micó, Ph.D.
President of the Canadian Association of Hispanists
. . .
See the PDF at http://fis.ucalgary.ca/ACH/ACH_to_U_of_T_CL.pdf
