This is my first year teaching World Literature. I am really excited and have been going through various different texts that could be used for this semester. I want to give my students a well-rounded curriculum, but it's difficult to read the ancient classics with ESL students.
Before we start reading The Odyssey and Oedipus Rex, it's important to understand why these are classics in the first place. Why are these texts important? As a class we have started to discuss the Literary Canon. I did some research, but the canon seems to equate to the Western literary canon. Meaning, when people look for a worldwide canon, it usually includes only Western works. It was really difficult for me to find an Eastern canon, if there is such a thing. I had the students think about what they believe to be the Chinese literary canon, the most important texts to Chinese culture and art, as well as their own personal canon. One question crept up... "Hey, where are the Ancient Chinese works?"
I had them read some articles and watch some videos that debate the literary canon. Then I had them reflect. They had some really good thoughts. Here are some pieces of student reflections:
"When I was young, every summer vacation teachers would give us a list with the title, "The 100 Books Most Worthy to Read". I still remember when we got that list, the first thing that we would do is to find Chinese books. However, we never succeeded. I mean, even the most famous Chinese novels like "XiYouJi", "HongLouMeng" were not on the list. The books on the list were "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", "The Little Prince", and "The Old Man and the Sea." I always could not understand why there were no Chinese books on the list. Now I read the report, and according to the background info, I start to understand. I think it is interesting to invite famous, white scholars-- I mean, some of them are writers, so does that mean they can vote for their own books? Or will their friends like them so the friends vote for their works?"
"'World' is supposed to encompass every part of the Earth, and more Asian scholars should be invited when the most smart people select the canon."
"In my opinion, the book lists in the canon should be revised or added to over time because the culture has changed and the attention of the public also altered too... The other issue is whether the work written by minorities should be added to the canon or not. My answer is yes. There is a saying that everyone takes up a special place in the world. That is to say these African Americans and Asian Americans also have the right to have their own voice... Their works should be recognized because they are also a part of history."
"...books from one country or one culture can not really represent the whole world. Their worldview may be different from the people from another country. In order to achieve the multicultural world, the canon should have books from different regions."
Great reflections!
