The 'canon' includes all literary works considered worthy of scholarly attention, being most representative or of the highest value. Of course, subjective words like 'best' and 'most' cause a great deal of controversy. Quality literature, while subjective, must have some level of objectivity, to the extent that we can say with some certainty that A Tale of Two Cities is of higher quality than Star Wars: A Novelization. Literary scholars are best equipped to make those judgments, to decide what is most worthy of our attention and study. Does that give them the right to judge works and tell us what books really 'count'?
http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/canon_of_english_literature.htm
Is the English Department running out of steam?
English and other humanities majors have been on the decline for decades, but especially since 2008. Do these topics merit our time, when the world is speeding up so quickly? Is this, as many people consider, a useless major? Research has shown English degrees can be well-paying and highly useful, but the social stigma on such majors (especially since 2008) has caused less and less enrollment. Why is an English degree useful? How much harm do people inflict by perpetuating the stigma that it's useless?
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/08/the-humanities-face-a-crisisofconfidence/567565/
Is the decline of reading really a disaster?
Everyone seems to be lamenting the loss of reading nowadays. Evidence shows people just aren't reading as much as they used to. This makes for grouchy English majors who now have no one who wants to have an interesting conversation about what they've been reading lately. Being naturally inclined in that direction, I agree. But lots of people have become well-versed in the analysis of movies, debates, music meaning, etc. As certain modes of media become more popular, can they effectively replace books as times move forward?https://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/Death%20of%20Reading%20page.htm
My second question is most interesting to me, considering the horrible number of awkward conversations that go something like, "Ah, English. What exactly do you want to do with that?" or "That's so cool! I wish I had the courage to go out on a limb like that," or even, "I might have done something like that too, if I was here for fun." I hated the friendly conversations at dinner where older people would look knowingly at each other and say things with a wink like, "Be ready for a simple lifestyle, because it's sure not going to be for the money." Everyone outside of the major seemed to have a negative connotation with it. It interested me to see that it's this stigma that's destroying the major's success-not its innate value.
Image credit:http://www.trendingpackaging.com/safe-packaging-for-old-books/
I feel that the reason for the drop in Liberal Arts majors is not just public opinion (though that certainly doesn't help) but also the recent migration to the engineering industry. I believe that this is going to form a bubble, as an ever-increasing supply of fresh engineers combined with the rise in automation will create an environment where highly educated people are unable to get jobs that correlate to their skill level. What happens after that is beyond my ability to predict, but I doubt it will have very nice effects on society.
ReplyDeleteYour first topic is particularly interesting to me, because I think people tend to be too elitist about what constitutes "good" culture in general. The idea of what constitutes "good" art tends to change a lot over time, doesn't it? Wasn't reading or writing any kind of fiction once considered shameful and even harmful? What was it that changed people's minds? Have there been any consistent criteria for "good" literature throughout history?
ReplyDeleteI think an English major could be one of the most valuable degrees. There is no skill where one can have more influence than having the ability to articulate emotions into words. No matter what field of work a person is a part of, words have the most influence.
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