Dear friends and colleagues,

The Faculty Board of the Humanities at Göteborg University has approved
measures taken by the Dean of the Faculty concerning the subject of
Comparative Indo-European Linguistics and Sanskrit implying that the
subject will be discontinued as of 1.1.2001.
Measures have been taken to the effect that:
the localities occupied by the subject will shortly be vacated,
the research library will be broken up,
the home page of the subject has been closed as of 1.10.2000.
the financial resources of the subject have been transferred to the faculty,
the students will not be able to pass exams from 1.1.2001,
candidates for the doctorate will not be admitted,
no teacher will be appointed.

No beginners have been allowed to register after 1.1. 1999 in spite of the
fact that Professor Folke Josephson has been teaching the students
registered before that date according to a contract with the faculty valid
for the years 1999 and 2000, which is still valid.
During that period and at the present date ten students are active on the
higher levels of undergraduate study and and a thesis for the doctorate
(Tocharian) has been completed.

Unless the Faculty Board will be convinced to inhibit these measures the
only chair of Indo-European Studies in Sweden will thus disappear and the
students prevented to reach their scientific goals. (The chair of
Indo-European linguistics in Oslo is also endangered.)

Scholars of Indo-European and adjacent fields who may wish to communicate
with the Faculty Board may address their letters (not fax or e-mail) to:
Humanistiska fakultetsnämnden
Box 200
S-405 30 Göteborg
Sweden

With best regards,

Folke
Josephson

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