The Formation of Great Books Flashcards
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
judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality and outstanding of its kind
classic
a work of art of recognized and established value
classic
a thing that is memorable and a very good example of its style
classic
it was used to provide a reading list for students that will enrich their feeling for style, supply models to imitate, and provide knowledge of sources to which they can allude
canon
These definitions demonstrate that what defines a classic is in the end nothing else but ________________________
audience reception
In the _______, there has been a shift in opinion towards the canon.
1960s
In the 1960s, 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
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
1960s
A reassessment of the literary canon began as various literary and social movements pushed to the forefront literature that had previously been underrepresented.
1960s
In the 1970s, feminist scholars worked to discover the ‘________________________’ and works by gay and lesbian writers as well as those from working classes were paid more attention
mother of the novel
The impact of the civil rights movement 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.
1970s
the canon expanded to include literature from Asia, Africa, the Middle East
20th century
Awards of the highest level, such as the Nobel Prize for Literature, track this shift; Yasunari Kawabata became the first Japanese author to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, Nigerian Wole Soyinka became the first African to win the coveted award in 1986 and Egyptian writer, Naguib Mahfouz was the first Arab writer to win the prize in 1988.
20th century
refer to an elusive and ever-changing list of literature that is constantly being amended, updated, and fought over
classics, great books, or canons
an American professor, philosopher, and educational theorist that made the three criteria that define the Great Books
Adler
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.
The books were not to be regarded as archaeological relics – monuments in our intellectual tradition. They should be works that are as much of concern to us today as at the time they were written, even if that was centuries ago. They are thus essentially timeless – always contemporary, and not confined to interests that change from time to time or from place to place.
The books’ contemporary significance and relevance to the problems and issues of the century
Most of the 400,000 books published each year are not worth carefully reading even once; many fewer than 1,000 each year are worth reading more than once. When, infrequently in any century, a great book does appear, it is a book worth reading again and again and again. It is inexhaustibly rereadable. It cannot be fully understood on one, two, or three readings. More is to be found on all subsequent readings.
Their infinite rereadability or, in the case of the more difficult mathematical and scientific works, their studiability again and again
The authors of the books take part in the great conversation about the great ideas that have been occurring in many great books over the years.
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.
In the process of canon-formation, they posit that what makes the author and the works canonical are their _______________________________
“originality” and “strangeness”.
_____________________ in the sense of strangeness, is the quality, that more than any other makes a work canonical
“Originality”
The great books, as mostly comprised of Western canons, have been criticized from several different political perspectives during the last decades. Somewhat simplified, the fundamental criticism is that of _________________________________, so it is not surprising that the debate in many ways started in the ________________, a very heterogeneous country with many minorities and religions, not all whom have been treated as equals over the years
representation and inclusion; United States
In his book, the Western Canon, he looks closer at the Western tradition and pinpoints the authors he thinks are the most influential. Amongst what Bloom perceives to be the great authors of the Western canon are familiar names such as ____________________________________________________________________, among others
Chaucer, Shakespeare, Goethe, Austen, Whitman, Tolstoy, Ibsen and Kafka
Bloom insists that ‘_________________________’ through his creation of a new kind of psychological reflexiveness.
Shakespeare invented humans
selection of great works
notion of a canon
Today it’s generally agreed that the ____________________ won the canon wars.
multiculturalists
are works of a very high order that touch on matters of immense importance
classics
Classic literature is important because it is another way to look at history, reading classic novels improves your overall vocabulary and writing skills and finally classic literature is unique. Tradition has held that classics are works of a very high order that touch on matters of immense importance. They are not mere skilled works of whatever category; they establish a category of their own. Cowan (1998, as cited in Huff, 2013) alluded that this set of literature can be identified by some of the following characteristics:
- The classics not only exhibit distinguished style, fine artistry, and keen intellect but create whole universes of imagination and thought.
- They portray life as complex and many-sided, depicting both negative and positive aspects of human character in the process of discovering and testing enduring virtues.
- They have a transforming effect on the reader’s self-understanding.
- They invite and survive frequent re- readings.
- They adapt themselves to various times and places and provide a sense of the shared life of humanity.
- They are considered classics by a sufficiently large number of people, establishing themselves with common readers as well as qualified authorities.
- Finally, their appeal endures over wide reaches of time.
