— disclaimer – my shift keys have stopped working so I am limited on the special characters I am able to use. Some of my writing will not make sense and/or be written grammatically wrong —
In Susan Gallagher’s piece, Contingencies and Intersections The Formation of Pedagogical Canons, she introduces the idea of literacy courses and/or pieces as being canonical. Truthfully, I had to look up the meaning of this word in this context because I had never heard it used in this way. She challenges the same topics we’ve talked about in class – what exactly are the criteria for authors when writing a piece to fit the literary canon and how do we decide what is important to teach. the literary canon Gallagher is referencing is known for being ‘loose’ and ‘fluid’ depending on the ‘judge’ at that moment. This can be confusing when talking about which pieces of literature should be taught and how they should be taught. She doesn’t believe the canon should be entirely abolished, rather it seems she wants to investigate exactly how literature makes its way into the canon.
On page 57 of her piece, she talks about African authors and their ability to enter the canon due to low educational standards that limit the amount of readers in Africa. This makes it easier for authors to have their work be a material object to publishers, according to Gallagher. Honestly, I assumed it would be the opposite. If there isn’t a large audience in Africa, wouldn’t it be harder to gain that level of importance and have their books be supported.
There were also a few instances where author’s are discouraged by publishers due to the content of their writing which prompts me to feel a sense of uneasiness. I don’t think it’s very fair for authors to feel this sense of censorship in order to have their work appreciated or to enter this literary canon.
My keyboard is frustrating me deeply so this is where I’m going to stop
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