The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature. Each lecture covers one or more thematically related books. Even if you were exposed to classic literature in school, unless you’re a scholar you probably aren’t reading 500-year-old books on a regular basis. The book’s subtitle, New Adventures in the Western Classical Tradition, makes its soft boundaries clear. If you wish to understand your world, you must read the books written by the men who shaped it. But these works are very challenging. A short summary of this paper. The Western Literary Canon in Context course comprises 36 lectures. None are black. Why We Read The Western Canon According to Ivan Von Noshrilgram Sr By Alistair A. Vogan An excerpt from the work By Degrees The Gentlest Asinine Expression “Books. Why? We are just the natives, English our second language. 23rd ed., 1990. All the rest of the books on this list are here because they are great books. The concept of Great Books has become the storm center of a politically correct whirlwind. I already read the Epic of Gilgamesh so I'm currently reading the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume. Even if you were exposed to classic literature in school, unless you’re a scholar you probably aren’t reading 500-year-old books on a regular basis. But my guest today argues that the Great Books of the Western Canon still have a lot to teach us. Want to Read. To summarise multiple websites, the literary canon, or more tellingly, the Western literary canon, is defined as the works of literature which. As part of my teaching load, I participated in a team-taught course devoted to the Western canon. "All that the Western Canon can bring one is the proper use of one's solitude," Bloom tells us, "that solitude whose final form is one's confrontation with one's own mortality" (p. 28). 50 Greatest Books - Mostly Western classics, but includes a few Eastern ones ( The Qur'an, Mahabharata, and Murasaki's Tale of Genji ), as transcribed on LibraryThing. Reading deeply in the Canon will not make one a better or a worse person, a more useful or more harmful citizen. Shakespeare, of course, is seen by many as the greatest writer in the English language and central to the Western canon. The Western Literary Canon is still essential for required reading in school because of how it has pervaded all aspects of our culture. I take this as his acknowledgment that his book does not include the major works from China, Japan, etc. Quality over quantity always. The gunners of the Western canon have always declared that there is no requirement to read the Other, since there is no equivalence. This is an excerpt from the IPA’s publication The 100 Great Books of Liberty on The Western Canon: The Books and Schools of the Ages by Harold Bloom. With regard to books, what makes a book "classic" has concerned various authors, from Mark Twain to Italo Calvino, and questions such as "Why Read the Classics? Report abuse This is the West. In his book The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages, Bloom creates a list of writers whom he deems to be the most important literary figures of the western world. Each week in Bookends, two writers take on questions about the world of books. I archived the interview so that I … write to win Decolonising creative writing: It’s about not conforming to techniques of the western canon The universal rules of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ writing are turning out to be colonial relics. Who’s Afraid of the Western Canon? This interview originally appeared in HomeArts magazine, but their web site disappeared some years ago. Good Reading: A Guide for Serious Readers. In fiction and literature, the canon is the collection of works considered representative of a period or genre. in Books, Education, Literature | January 28th, 2014 44 Comments. So why read the Western Canon? In a previous post, I discussed my plan to read the entire Western Canon.Finishing the entire list will take years, so I am working on a quarter-by-quarter-plan. Any reader knows, however, … In this book, Bloom lists the texts that he believes constitute the canon (from Homer to present-day works) and argues for their safeguarding. The Western Canon; History Reading Lists; Ideology Reading Lists; Philosophy Courses; Persuasion, Influence, Rhetoric, Memetics, Copywriting, Argument, Mind Control; How to Read a … (shelved 1 time as western-canon-reading-list) avg rating 4.15 — 160 ratings — published 1941. Only two of the writers are Latin American. The collected works of William Shakespeare, for instance, would be part of the canon of western literature, since his writing and writing style has had a significant impact on nearly all aspects of that genre. Want to Read. ISBN 0-684-85906-8 The canon debate—whether referring to the American Literary Canon or the Western Literary Canon—has been a point of contention among academics since the sixties when liberals began fighting for more women and minorities and fewer “dead European men” to be included in the canon. Katha Pollitt again: it is foolish to argue that Chekhov has nothing to say to a black woman--merely because "he is Russian, long dead, a man." From Manet to Picasso: Masterworks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2010. READ: 10 YA Novels Re-imagine Shakespeare Works. All Things Shining: Reading the Western Canon to Find Meaning in a Secular World Challenge: Read the Western Canon. But Harold Bloom titled his major work The Western Canon. 1,453 150 Kathleen's Reading List to Become Well-Read. Shao-Chien Tseng. tended to be a deeply conservative pedagogical model, reifying the ‘canon’ of the Western Tradition—the intellectual trajectory that postcolonial theorists have lampooned as stretching ‘from Plato to NATO’. For many years its Moses has been Harold Bloom, whose “The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages” was a best-selling sensation in 1994, for what it … I’ve read Genealogy of Morals about 20 times. See David Gress’s article on Bloom’s book, “Diagnosis of a Kulturkampf ” in … Battle worn and unyielding in his belief in literature that matters, Bloom here is indefatigable. In this, a pillar of western literary criticism, Bloom lucidly lays out his argument for the Canon. I wont defend the Canon here in this review, Bloom does that way better than I ever could, but I will say I appreciate his heroism. 3rd ed., 1988. Beyond the Western Canon: Diversity in Classic Literature By Rachel Benzine February 6, 2020 ... Romeo and Juliet, and The Old Man and the Sea were all required reading for my high school English language arts classes. New York: Riverhead Books, 1996. Literary critic Harold Bloom's The Western Canon is more than a required reading list -- it is a vision. Harold Bloom Creates a Massive List of Works in The “Western Canon”: Read Many of the Books Free Online. 10 Black Classic and Contemporary Novels to Read for Black History Month Harold Bloom, Defender of the Western Canon, Leaves Behind a Complex Legacy … A canon is a body of work, which includes music, art, scientific discoveries, and written works. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Who’s Afraid of the Western Canon? “The Western literary canon has historically been dictated by economically secure, traditionally educated, socially privileged white men,” Behrendt said. In some ways, it probably is the starting point for all these art forms because of how ubiquitous the Bible, the Iliad, etc. Now – reading the above ten books can be tempting to turn into a crash course in the Western Canon. The Aristocratic Age: 1321-1832. While I love all its great, lengthy works, there are times I need concise prose, a tightly-worded argument, a restrained scope, and a narrative that does not wander hither and thither. History is path-dependent. The Western Canon and NEW Great Books Webring Intellectual History is one of many web bibliographies in the Horus History Links The Great Books page is the "somewhat official" page for the "Liberal Studies Great Books Program" at Malaspina University-College. To get started reading Great Books, one might think about what is a great book. Getting on the Required Reading list-and staying there. 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