The Formation of Great Books Flashcards
(52 cards)
something “of the first or highest quality, class or rank” or
classic
an author or literary work of the first rank, especially one of demonstrably enduring quality
classic
something noteworthy of its kind and worth remembering
classic
canon comes from the Greek __________ which means
kanon; “a straight rod,” “a ruler,” and thus “a standard,”
it was used by scholars in the Alexandrian library in the third and second centuries BC to refer to a list of exemplary books “as guidelines for student readers”
canon
literary works of high quality and popularity, dependent on a notion that some literary works possesses an innate quality that is representative of their genre, as well as engages their audience and endures the test of time
Great books
there has been a shift in opinion towards the canon. Postmodern studies in particular have argued that canon is inherently biased as traditionally the main focus of the academic studies of history, and Western culture has been primarily on Europe and men. A reassessment of the literary canon began as various literary and social movements pushed to the forefront literature that had previously been underrepresented.
1960s
feminist scholars worked to discover the ‘mother of the novel’ and works by gay and lesbian writers as well as those from working classes were paid more attention
1970s
In ________, ______________ was the first black American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature
1950; Gwendolyn Brooks
_____________ was the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in ____
Toni Morrison; 1993
The impact of the _________________ was reflected in recognition given to black authors such as in 1950 when Gwendolyn Brooks was the first black American to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature and Toni Morrison was the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.
civil rights movement
___________________ became the first Japanese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in _____
Yasunari Kawabata; 1968
Nigerian ______________ became the first African to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in ____
Wole Soyinka; 1986
Egyptian writer, __________________ was the first Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in ____.
Naguib Mahfouz; 1988
According to ______________, an American professor, philosopher, and educational theorist, the three criteria of selecting great books are the following
Adler (1997)
According to Adler (1997), an American professor, philosopher, and educational theorist, the three criteria of selecting great books are the following:
- The books’ contemporary significance and relevance to the problems and issues of the century
- Their infinite rereadability or, in the case of the more difficult mathematical and scientific works, their studiability again and again
- Their relevance to a very large number of great ideas and great issues that have occupied the minds of thinking individuals for the last centuries.
Other thinkers, such as __________________, believe that aesthetics and artistry are the most important qualifications, i.e., they want to judge the works as literature first. Morality, psychology, and social implications are further down on his list of what makes a work worthy of the Canon. In the process of canon-formation, they posit that what makes the author and the works canonical are their “originality” and “strangeness”.
Harold Bloom;
Other thinkers, such as Harold Bloom, believe that _________________ are the most important qualifications, i.e., they want to judge the works as literature first. Morality, psychology, and social implications are further down on his list of what makes a work worthy of the Canon. In the process of canon-formation, they posit that what makes the author and the works canonical are their “originality” and “strangeness”.
aesthetics and artistry
Below are also other reasons for inclusion:
- Originality of Form
- Originality of Content
- Originality of Perspective
- Aesthetics
- Influence
- Representativeness
the prodigious literary critic who championed and defended the Western canon in an outpouring of influential books has been one of America’s most fascinating literary critics for nearly half a century
Harold Bloom
He was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University and is often cited as the most influential English-language critic of the late 20th century
Harold Bloom
At the heart of the canon is ____________ and his greatest achievement of creating uniquely compelling characters who according to Bloom, not only change in the course of the plays, an innovation in itself, but have the capacity to change themselves through the power of their inward and reflexive consciousness. Bloom insists that ‘_______________________’ through his creation of a new kind of psychological reflexiveness. Moreover, he argues that aesthetic value is autonomous of both morality and politics and aesthetic originality is the only qualification for inclusion in the Canon of Western literature.
Shakespeare; Shakespeare invented humans
in which traditionalists in favor of centering the curriculum on classic works of literature faced off against multiculturalists who wanted to include more works by women and members of minorities
canon wars
“of enduring interest, quality or style”.
classic
