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I'm sure Catherine Belsey does not admire the Cabaret figure who sings The Future Belongs to Me ("Why I...", THES, July 18). He wants Anschluss, not truth and reconciliation.

The issue in English studies is not about high or low culture; it is intellectual panorama versus focus. Belsey wants to study everything: many students want to study English. And English does words - one reason we remain valued amid growing illiteracy. Let's not overstretch the branch we're all sitting on.

Dennis Brown
FEA emeritus professor
Hertfordshire