The Literary Canon: A New Approach to Teaching and Analysis
Major
English – Literature
Submission Type
Oral Presentation
Area of Study or Work
English-Literature
Expected Graduation Date
2023
Location
CNS E103 1.3 Literary Diversity and Dualities
Start Date
4-15-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
4-15-2023 10:00 AM
Abstract
The topic of literary canon formation has become widely debated in recent years. Literary canon has influenced the development of school curricula worldwide. Still, some are not convinced that canon formation has been based on the literary merits of the works included, but rather on Eurocentric ideals upheld by colonialism. In the United States, most public school curricula feature the same texts, republishing them over decades and leaving little room for diverse literature. However, I believe that fundamental issues associated with canon are not just relegated to canon’s exclusionary nature, but in the way the texts are taught. In my own high school, literature was not taught with an intersectional lens that would have allowed us to interrogate problematic issues surrounding race, gender, and class. Teaching students in high school how to read literature critically is crucial because many do not have the opportunity to pursue higher education after high school, leaving them without the ability to critically analyze literature on top of losing out on valuable lessons they could have learned in class. It is difficult to change an entire country’s public school curriculum, but it is much easier to re-learn how to teach those texts in a way that exposes and addresses issues with them. For this essay, I have chosen Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck to demonstrate how the teaching of a text can drastically influence the lessons gleaned from it. Steinbeck’s novel contains problematic elements that are worthy of criticism, but the novel also explores crucial issues such as class and intergenerational wealth that are prevalent to this day. Of Mice and Men provides an excellent case study to examine how literature taught in public school curricula can remain in the literary canon and be addressed appropriately, encouraging students to seek diversity and inclusion within their own lives.
The Literary Canon: A New Approach to Teaching and Analysis
CNS E103 1.3 Literary Diversity and Dualities
The topic of literary canon formation has become widely debated in recent years. Literary canon has influenced the development of school curricula worldwide. Still, some are not convinced that canon formation has been based on the literary merits of the works included, but rather on Eurocentric ideals upheld by colonialism. In the United States, most public school curricula feature the same texts, republishing them over decades and leaving little room for diverse literature. However, I believe that fundamental issues associated with canon are not just relegated to canon’s exclusionary nature, but in the way the texts are taught. In my own high school, literature was not taught with an intersectional lens that would have allowed us to interrogate problematic issues surrounding race, gender, and class. Teaching students in high school how to read literature critically is crucial because many do not have the opportunity to pursue higher education after high school, leaving them without the ability to critically analyze literature on top of losing out on valuable lessons they could have learned in class. It is difficult to change an entire country’s public school curriculum, but it is much easier to re-learn how to teach those texts in a way that exposes and addresses issues with them. For this essay, I have chosen Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck to demonstrate how the teaching of a text can drastically influence the lessons gleaned from it. Steinbeck’s novel contains problematic elements that are worthy of criticism, but the novel also explores crucial issues such as class and intergenerational wealth that are prevalent to this day. Of Mice and Men provides an excellent case study to examine how literature taught in public school curricula can remain in the literary canon and be addressed appropriately, encouraging students to seek diversity and inclusion within their own lives.