[MJemison]

Out of curiosity, I searched the list. Out of a total of 88 signers, 11 of them are from the English Department. When Duke got the tobacco money, they went overboard with political correctness, trying to be like the Ivy League. Now we see the results. Not one of those professors gives a damn about literature. It's all about race, gender, postcolonial theory, and feminism.

What on earth is Romance Studies? (Do I want to know!?!) and why do they need so many Romance Studies professors?

[Cicero]

Romance languages and literatures. French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Or at least it used to be language and literature, but now it’s probably the same as English: gender, postcolonial theory, and the latest swish theories.

http://www.romancestudies.aas.duke.edu/

They used to do stuff like Petrarch, Dante, Racine, Cervantes, and Lope de Vega. Now they probably do postcolonial literature and revolution.

[El Gran Salseron]

"What on earth is Romance Studies? (Do I want to know!?!) and why do they need so many Romance Studies professors?"

Just a guess. The course should probably be named "Lesbian Romance Studies."

[TC Rider]

What on earth is Romance Studies? (Do I want to know!?!) and why do they need so many Romance Studies professors?

Do you have any idea how many Romance novels are pubished every year? (Over 2,200 in 2004)

It's a growth market.