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Literary canons have real-world effects â they steal limelight from everyone else. We can challenge them by drawing attention to how they work
If we donât challenge literary canons, people can be left with only a narrow understanding of cultures, New Zealand academic Alice Te Punga Somerville argues. Photograph: Grant Maiden
If we donât challenge literary canons, people can be left with only a narrow understanding of cultures, New Zealand academic Alice Te Punga Somerville argues. Photograph: Grant Maiden
Sat 13 Feb 2021 14.00 EST
Last modified on Sat 13 Feb 2021 16.36 EST
I feel sheepish to admit how deeply affected I was when I encountered the research of Gauri Viswanathan, a professor in English at Columbia University in New York City. In Masks of Conquest: Literary study and British rule in India, she traces the history of English back to when it was first systematically taught as a secular discipline. I ask my students: