Module description
This module interrogates the historical, social, cultural, material, and economic parameters that have come to shape the canon. Beginning with a theoretical overview of the constructions of the canon, the module will follow a broadly historical chronology, and will consider established definitions of the canon, as well as key debates and excerpts from key texts which counter these definitions. Central to the module will be the following questions: what are the advantages and disadvantages of the canon as an organisational principle? How has it developed? In what way does it aid or hinder our reading of literary texts included or excluded from it? In what ways does the canon satisfy the different or even divergent interests of authors, publishers and readers? To what extent is it defined by historical circumstances and political stances? Is a redefined canon possible or desirable, especially in an age of global literature?
The Canon is designed to complement the level 5 core modules offered by Comparative Literature which have a similar cross-period and theoretical focus, and which require students to consider the culture of books and their production, alongside their historical reception and critical interpretation.
Assessment details
1 x 3 hour unseen written examination (100%); coursework reassessment in exam period 3
Educational aims & objectives
The module aims to explore the ideas and motivations that lie behind the formation of canons. Students will develop their analytical and critical skills as they examine and evaluate key debates surrounding the construction of the canon from antiquity to the present day.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students will be able to demonstrate intellectual, transferable and practical skills appropriate to a Level 5 module and in particular will be able to:
- Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the historical, social, cultural, material, and economic parameters that have shaped the canon.
- Identify, analyse, and communicate key concepts and theories that underpin ideas of canonicity.
- Effectively analyse and evaluate theoretical texts that focus on canon-formation.
- Develop independent reflections on canonical works which are informed by the analysis of concepts at an abstract level.
Teaching pattern
one-hour lecture and one-hour seminar weekly
Suggested reading list
The following books provide a good introduction to some of the themes of this module:
- Harold Bloom, The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages. New York: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1994.
- Italo Calvino, Why Read the Classics?, tr. Martin McLaughlin. London: Jonathan Cape, 1999.
- Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Loose Canons: Notes on the Culture Wars. New York & Oxford: OUP, 1992.
- Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own. London: Penguin, 2020.
Students may wish to buy their own copies of the primary texts, but this will not be mandatory, as all texts studied are available from the library.