Literary Canons and Cultural Power

3 credits · Undergraduate

The term “literary canon” refers to a body of literary works regarded as significant, authoritative, and worthy of study. This course seeks to engage critically with changing expressions of canonicity over time. What cultural forces have affected canon formation? What do literary canons reveal about the values and biases of their societies? In what ways might decolonization and globalism shape the study of nationalistically based literary traditions?