ABSTRACT
Does the curriculum expect the course to teach the canon? The canon is often the way that the discipline communicates its history to the next generation. Canons develop historically to support a particular research paradigm. When this research paradigm is fundamental for introducing specific analytic procedures or habits, elements of the canon must be introduced. Canons are also the conversational database on disciplines. One cannot “talk the talk” without exposure to the canon. Canons have come under fire for the criteria underlying what they exclude as much as for the relevance of what they include. If a canon is important to the department you are teaching in, the curriculum will feature it through a sequence or set of required courses. Curriculum meetings should include discussion of what portion of the canon should be offered in nonmajor courses. Depending on the freedom of choice available to you, you might choose a wider variety of texts for nonmajors. When teaching the canon, you must decide how much of the critical tradition that develops around the canon to include. If there are groups of critics, students can be assigned to research each position on a particular text. After the class has had a chance to voice their own opinions, a course meeting can be devoted to a review of the critics’ positions.
