I think we’re seeing the effects of faculty of the stripe of the Group of 88 at Duke. English majors at Duke don’t have to take a course in Shakespeare anymore. In fact, only 15 of 70 universities and colleges surveyed by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni require English majors to study the Bard. (Click here for PDF of the report.)
If there is a touchstone for the modern English language, it is Shakespeare. He set standards for drama, poetry and word usage that still apply today. No Shakespeare play can be read for more than a few stanzas without a familiar quotation standing out, making the reader say, “Oh, that’s where that comes from!” Shakespeare bridges the gap between middle English and modern English, and studying his plays reveals how our language made that transition. How can you call yourself an English major without studying him?
Ah, but, you are not thinking like a post-modern person. The canon of dead white males represents oppression, hegemony, racism and imperialism, or something. Anyway, it’s a bad thing these days.
This isn’t a new thing, I guess. Even the reporter who wrote the story about the report misquoted the Bard when she said not having to learn Shakespeare was “the unkindest cut of all.” In actuality, what Shakespeare wrote was “the most unkindest cut of all.” That was perfectly good grammar in Shakespeare’s day, which a person would know if they, like, actually studied him.
