Back Westerse kanon Afrikaans المرجعية الأدبية الغربية Arabic Západní kánon Czech Okcidenta kanono Esperanto Canon occidental Spanish Mendebaldeko kanon Basque آثار برجسته غربی Persian Canon occidental French पाश्चात्य ग्रंथावली Hindi Književni kanon Croatian

Western canon

Dante, Homer and Virgil in Raphael's Parnassus fresco (1511), key figures in the Western canon
Detail of Sappho from Raphael's Parnassus (1510–11), shown alongside other poets. In her left hand, she holds a scroll with her name written on it.
Picasso, Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier) (1910), oil on canvas, 100.3 × 73.6 cm, Museum of Modern Art, New York

The Western canon is the embodiment of high-culture literature, music, philosophy, and works of art that are highly cherished across the Western hemisphere, such works having achieved the status of classics.

Recent discussions upon the matter emphasise cultural diversity within the canon.[1][2] The canons of music and visual arts have been broadened to encompass often overlooked periods, whilst recent media like cinema grapple with a precarious position. Criticism arises, with some viewing changes as prioritising activism over aesthetic values, often associated with critical theory, as well as postmodernism.[3] Another critique highlights a narrow interpretation of the West, dominated by British and American culture, at least under contemporary circumstances, prompting demands for a more diversified canon amongst the hemisphere.[3]

  1. ^ "SLE challenges the boundaries of the Western canon". www.stanforddaily.com. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  2. ^ "Review: Foundational Myths of Multiculturalism and Strategies of Canon Formation". www.jstor.org. JSTOR 44029759. Retrieved 2024-07-24.
  3. ^ a b Wilczek, Piotr (2006). "Czy istnieje kanon literatury polskiej?". In Cudak, Romuald (ed.). Literatura polska w świecie (in Polish). Wydawnictwo Gnome. pp. 13–23. ISBN 978-83-87819-05-7.

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