Fun question, and one that has been commented on. Nonetheless, I thought I'd drop my two cents
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The crux of Professor Wigmore's statement comes at the very end, "Therefore, it is the literature department's...courses.' There is a major assumption here, and it is about the literature department's responsibility. Professor Chan has it that this responsibility is only limited to "true" works of literature. Wigmore feel that any text amenable to analysis falls under the department's purview. So his assumption is that responsibility is not limited to just "true" literary works, which matches up nicely with (E).
Part of what made this question tricky are the other answer choices, which I've dealt with one at a time below
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Professor Chan: The literature department’s undergraduate courses should cover only true literary works, and not such frivolous material as advertisements.
Professor Wigmore: Advertisements might or might not be true literary works but they do have a powerfully detrimental effect on society—largely because people cannot discern their real messages. The literature department’s courses give students the critical skills to analyze and understand texts. Therefore, it is the literature department’s responsibility to include the study of advertisements in its undergraduate courses.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which Professor Wigmore’s argument depends?(A) Texts that are true literary works never have a detrimental effect on society.We are focused on texts that are not true literary works, i.e., advertisements.
(B) Courses offered by the literature department cannot include both true literary works and material such as advertisement.This point doesn't address Wigmore's conclusion. This answer choice would refer to an assumption of Professor Chan.
(C) Students who take courses in the literature department do not get from those courses other skills besides those needed to analyze and understand texts.The point of the argument is what to do with the analytical skills: analyze "true" literature or analyze anything textual.
(D) Forms of advertising that convey their message entirely through visual images do not have a detrimental effect on society.While Wigmore is focused on advertising, he is not focusing on the visual component.
(E) The literature department’s responsibility is not limited to teaching students how to analyze true literary works.The Answer. _________________