Western canon

The Western canon is a canon of books and art (and specifically one with very loose boundaries) that has allegedly been highly influential in shaping Western culture. The selection of a canon is important to the theory of educational perennialism.

Debate

There has been an ongoing, intensely political debate over the nature and status of the canon since at least the 1960s. In the USA, in particular, it has been attacked as a compendium of books written mainly by "dead white European males", that thus do not represent the viewpoints of many others in contemporary societies around the world. Others, notably Allan Bloom in his 1987 book The Closing of the American Mind, have fought back vigorously. Authors such as Yale Professor of Humanities Harold Bloom (no relation) have also spoken strongly in favor of the canon, and in general the canon remains as a represented idea in most institutions, though its implications continue to be debated heavily.

Related Topics:
1960s - USA - Allan Bloom - 1987 - Yale - Harold Bloom

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Defenders maintain that those who undermine the canon do so out of primarily political interests, and that the measure of quality represented by the works of the canon is of an aesthetic rather than political nature. Thus, any political objections aimed at the canon are ultimately irrelevant.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the main objections to a canon of literature is the question of authority—who should enjoy the power to determine what works are worth reading and teaching?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~