The Great Books of the Western World is an attempt to present the western canon in a single package of 61 volumes

The Western canon is a term used to denote a canon of books, and, more widely, music and art, that has been the most influential in shaping Western culture. Great Books of the Western World is a series of books originally published in the United States in 1952 by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc Western literature refers to the Literature of the Indo-European languages, as well as several languages geographically or historically related to the Indo-European Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Also see articles History of painting, Western painting Western Art' redirects here Power is a measure of a person's ability to control the environment around them including the behavior of other people Western culture (sometimes equated with Western Civilization) are terms which are used to refer to Cultures of European origin It asserts a compendium of the "greatest works of artistic merit". Greatness or preeminence is a concept that is heavily dependent on a person's perspective and Biases The term can be used to emphasize perceived Superiority Artistic merit is an English language term that is used in relation to cultural products when referring to the judgment of their perceived quality or value as works of art Such a canon is important to the theory of educational perennialism and the development of "high culture". Perennialists believe that one should teach the things that one deems to be of everlasting importance to all people everywhere High culture is a term now used in a number of different ways in Academic discourse whose most common meaning is the set of cultural products mainly in the Although previously held in high regard, it has been the subject of increasing contention through the latter half of the 20th century. In practice, debates and attempts to actually define the Canon in lists are essentially restricted to books of various sorts: Literature, including Poetry, Fiction and Drama, autobiographical writings and Letters, Philosophy and History. Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Fiction is the telling of stories which are not real More specifically fiction is an imaginative form of Narrative, one of the four basic Rhetorical modes. Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language A few accessible books on the Sciences are usually included. Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding

Examples

Examples of shorter canonical lists (in which the selectors have attempted to list only the most important works) include:

• The Harvard Classics
• Great Books
• Great Books of the Western World

University reading lists are also good indicators of what is considered to be in the Western canon:

• St. John's College reading list
• Columbia College Core Curriculum
• Yale College Directed Studies curriculum
• Stanford University's Program in Structured Liberal Education curriculum

Longer lists (in which the selectors have attempted to be more comprehensive):

• Loeb Classical Library (Greek and Latin authors)
• I Tatti Renaissance Library (Renaissance authors)
• Everyman's Library (Modern works)
• Penguin Classics

Origins

The process of listmaking—defining the boundaries of the canon—is endless. Canonical is an Adjective derived from canon. Canon comes from the Greek word kanon, "rule" (perhaps originally from The Harvard Classics originally known as Dr Eliot's Five Foot Shelf is a 51-volume Anthology of classic works from world literature compiled and edited by Great Books refers to a curriculum and a book list Mortimer Adler lists three criteria for including a book on the list the book has contemporary significance Great Books of the Western World is a series of books originally published in the United States in 1952 by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc St John's College is a Liberal arts college with two US campuses Annapolis Maryland and Santa Fe New Mexico. The Core Curriculum was originally developed as the main curriculum used by Columbia University 's Columbia College. Yale College was the official name of Yale University from 1718 to 1887 Directed Studies at Yale University is a selective Humanities study program for Freshmen, popularly known as "DS" and sometimes referred to as Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University or simply Stanford, is a private Research university located in Structured Liberal Education (SLE (pronounced "slee" is an academically demanding program at Stanford University that offers an alternative three-course sequence The I Tatti Renaissance Library is a book series published by the Harvard University Press, which aims to present important works Everyman's Library is a series of reprinted classic literature currently published by Alfred A Design Penguin Books have paid particular attention to the design of its books since recruiting German typographer Jan Tschichold One of the notable attempts in the English-speaking world was the Great Books of the Western World program. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Great Books of the Western World is a series of books originally published in the United States in 1952 by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc This program, developed in the middle third of the 20th century, grew out of the curriculum at the University of Chicago. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The University of Chicago is a Private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. University president Robert Hutchins and his collaborator Mortimer Adler developed a program that offered reading lists, books, and organizational strategies for reading clubs to the general public. Robert Maynard Hutchins ( January 17, 1899, Brooklyn New York – May 17, 1977, Santa Barbara California) husband of Mortimer Jerome Adler ( December 28, 1902 &ndash June 28, 2001) was an American Aristotelian philosopher

An earlier attempt, the Harvard Classics (1909) was promulgated by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot, whose thesis was the same as Carlyle's:

. The Harvard Classics originally known as Dr Eliot's Five Foot Shelf is a 51-volume Anthology of classic works from world literature compiled and edited by Year 1909 ( MCMIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Charles William Eliot ( March 20 1834 &ndash August 22 1926) was an American Academic who was selected as Harvard's . . The greatest university of all is a collection of books. - Thomas Carlyle

Debate

There has been an ongoing, intensely political debate over the nature and status of the canon since at least the 1960s. Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881 was a Scottish essayist satirist and historian whose work was highly influential during the Victorian era. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 In the USA, in particular, it has been attacked as a compendium of books written mainly by "dead white European males", that thus do not represent the viewpoints of many others in contemporary societies around the world. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Dead white males or Dead White European Males ( DWEM) is a term that refers in a derisive way to the contributions of historic European Males. Others, notably Allan Bloom in his 1987 book The Closing of the American Mind, have disagreed strongly. Allan David Bloom (14 September 1930 in Indianapolis Indiana &ndash 7 October 1992 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American Philosopher, Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Allan David Bloom (14 September 1930 in Indianapolis Indiana &ndash 7 October 1992 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American Philosopher, Authors such as Yale Professor of Humanities Harold Bloom have also argued strongly in favor of the canon, and in general the canon remains as a represented idea in most institutions, though its implications continue to be debated heavily. Harold Bloom' (born July 11, 1930) is a Literary critic. Bloom defended 19th-century Romantic poets at a time when their reputations

Defenders maintain that those who undermine the canon do so out of primarily political interests, and that the measure of quality represented by the works of the canon is of an aesthetic rather than political nature. Thus, any political objections aimed at the canon are ultimately irrelevant.

One of the main objections to a canon of literature is the question of authority—who should have the power to determine what works are worth reading and teaching?

Works

Works which are commonly included in the canon include works of fiction such as some epic poems, poetry, music, drama, novels, and other assorted forms of literature from the many diverse Western (and more recently non-Western) cultures. In Politics, authority ( Latin Auctoritas, used in Roman law as opposed to Potestas and Imperium Fiction is the telling of stories which are not real More specifically fiction is an imaginative form of Narrative, one of the four basic Rhetorical modes. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic Many non-fiction works are also listed, primarily from the areas of religion, mythology, science, philosophy, economics, politics, and history. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology

Works which directly address the canon (both for and against):

• The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages by Harold Bloom (ISBN 978-1573225144)
• Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom (ISBN 978-1573227513)
• The Dead Father by Donald Barthelme (ISBN 978-0374529253)
• The History of Western Literature by Otto Maria Carpeaux (eight volumes, only available in Portuguese)
• Debating the Canon: A Reader from Addison to Nafisi by Lee Morrissey (ISBN 978-1403968203)

See also

• Canons of Elizabethan poetry
• Great Conversation
• History
• Literature
• University
• Relativism
• Stringfellow Barr
• Scott Buchanan
• Harold Bloom
• Modern Library 100 Best Novels

External links

• "Great Books Lists: Lists of Classics, Eastern and Western"
• "Harold Bloom's canon"
• All That You Know Not to Be Is Utterly Real, Part I by Curtis White
• "Great Ideas" Website
• A "Great Books" Website
• Western Canon Great Books University
• Columbia College Core Curriculum
• The World's Greatest Books page at Project Gutenberg of Australia