Summary of Whose canon is it anyway?
“Whose canon is it anyway?” is an article written by Bethan Marshall. In the article, Marshall analyzes a review by Tom Paulin of a book by Anthony Julius about the anti-Semitism and literary works of T. S. Elliot. Despite being a well-known anti-Semite, Elliot and his poetry were studied in schools around the world. Therefore, by questioning his beliefs, we also question our own culture because Elliot’s works are closely related to its foundation. So, Elliot poses the question: Is culture something we can control or deliberately influence? In 1993, the head of the National Curriculum Council, David Pascall, changed the curriculum in an effort to try and answer Elliot’s question. Five years earlier,
Five years earlier, Brian Cox had tried to implement a similar kind of curriculum as Pascall but did not follow through with it despite feeling the need for a cultural analysis. Edward Said describes culture as being something inevitable that grows on the individual and automatically makes them a little xenophobic. Dr. Nicholas Tate brought up how our culture is based on our interest and the environment in which we are placed in. He believes that someone can be multicultural as it is part of what makes the person core culture. Yet, by trying to alter the culture, we are losing the traditional values that English literature was built on. For example, the works by Elliot that was been studied for decades are the roots for questions about culture, identity and power that are trying to be preserved.
“Whose canon is it anyway?” is an article written by Bethan Marshall. In the article, Marshall analyzes a review by Tom Paulin of a book by Anthony Julius about the anti-Semitism and literary works of T. S. Elliot. Despite being a well-known anti-Semite, Elliot and his poetry were studied in schools around the world. Therefore, by questioning his beliefs, we also question our own culture because Elliot’s works are closely related to its foundation. So, Elliot poses the question: Is culture something we can control or deliberately influence? In 1993, the head of the National Curriculum Council, David Pascall, changed the curriculum in an effort to try and