The topic of this essay is about teachers, who teaches in the subject Swedish, opinions in a literary canon. This study will present how they argue about a formally decided literary canon and how the teachers argue in using canon in their education. I have used an argumentative analysis to analyse the teachers’ arguments. The earlier research in the field concluded that the canon debate is polarized and mostly discussing whether canon is good or bad, and not so much on trying to discuss it in a constructive way on how to use canonized literature in school. My research concludes that the teachers’ opinions on canon are essentially polarized, but many teachers also think that a canon is at the same time beneficial, important and problematic. A majority of the arguments used on both sides are the same arguments that are used by the scientific literary field which studies canon. The biggest difference is the alignment to an educational context. The result show that the teachers’ use different pro-arguments and suggestions on how to establish a definite literary canon that could be used within the school system. Some argue for a formally decided literary canon established by the state and mean that the education will be equal and distinct, and students will develop the same cultural references. But not all teachers are positive to the proposition of a state established literary canon. The arguments on why and how teachers use canon in the education are similar to why there should be a definite literary canon in all schools. The contra-arguments the teachers’ use for a formally decided literary canon are that it will intrude in the teachers’ possibilities to adapt the education to the students. They also use contra-arguments that says the canonized literature is not adaptable to the students’ interests and that it is narrow and exclusive. They also mean that it is time consuming and will remove teachers’ possibilities to plan their education and make it adaptable for the students. The teachers’ contra-arguments on using canon in the education are similar to the above contra-arguments that the canonized literature is problematic in the perspective of authors and adaptiveness to different groups of students.

Den västerländska kanon har varit ett omdiskuterat begrepp ända sedan dess intåg i litteraturvetenskapliga kretsar - en debatt som pågår ännu idag. Debatten har främst kommit att handla om kanons legitimitet i förhållande till dess representation, då den sedan uppkomsten främst har representerats av litteratur skriven av västerländska män. År 2004 uppmärksammades debatten i Norden, vilket resulterade i att Danmark fick en etablerad kulturkanon, som syftar till att representera det danska kulturarvet. Detta inspirerade till en liknande debatt i Sverige, där folkpartisten Cecilia Wikström lade fram ett förslag på en liknande svensk kulturkanon för att därmed stärka det svenska kulturarvet. Detta förslag möttes av kritik från olika håll, vilket vi undersöker i denna uppsats för att ge en bild av kanons många aspekter. Uppsatsen är uppdelad i två delar: en makroanalys och en mikroanalys. Makroanalysen undersöker forskning kring kanonteorier, kanondefinitioner, kanoniska egenskaper och kanonrepresentation, för att kunna erhålla en tolkning och vidare en förståelse för vad som utgör kanon. Mikroanalysen är en undersökning som utmärker och legitimerar en romans plats i kanon, utifrån resultaten i studiens första del. Litteraturobjektet är Gustave Flauberts Madame Bovary från 1857, då den förekommer på flera kanonlistor, och är både hyllad och kritiserad. Litteraturen vi granskar består av etablerad litteratur som är representerad i kanon i egenskap av en manlig västerländsk författare, för att undersöka i vilken mån de kanoniska egenskaperna går att utröna i verket, och med detta motivera dess plats i kanon. Makroanalysen visar att kanon fortfarande till största del är representerad av västerländska män. Detta, visar forskningen, beror på traditionella urvalsprocesser som inte alltid följer samhällets utveckling mot jämlikhet och mångfald. Likväl har det uppstått en del alternativa listor och forskning som bidrar till att de försummade författarskapen representeras i kanon. Mikroanalysen visar korrelationen med resultaten i makroanalysen. Madame Bovary besitter de kanoniska egenskaper som eftersträvas i kanon genom stil och särart, tradition, värderingar, kulturarv samt står emot tidens tand. Resultaten av studien visar att det inte alltid handlar om de kanoniska egenskaperna per se, utan att det snarare är vad ett litterärt verk representerar i relation till det litterära fältet, eller den kanoniska diskursen, som avgör vad som anses vara kanoniskt eller ej. / The Western canon has been a debatable topic ever since its entry into the field of literature - a debate that is still on-going. The focus of this particular debate has primarily been about the canons legitimacy in relation to its representation, since it is mostly represented by literature written by Western males. In 2004, the debate was brought to attention in Scandinavia, which resulted in an established culture canon in Denmark, which intended to represent the Danish cultural heritage. This inspired a similar debate in Sweden, where the politician Cecilia Wikström suggested a similar Swedish cultural canon, in order to strengthen the Swedish cultural heritage. This suggestion was met by critique from different directions, which our study is partly based on. This thesis study is divided into two parts: a macroanalysis, and a microanalysis. The macroanalysis analyses research about canon theories, canon definitions, canonical qualities, and canon representation, in order to establish an interpretation and understanding of the constituents of the canon. The microanalysis is a study that distinguishes and legitimizes a novel’s place in the canon, based on the results from the macroanalysis. The literary object of this study is Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary from 1857, since it is recurrent in many lists of canonical works, and has been both praised and criticised throughout the years. The literature that is studied is established literature represented in the canon as a work of a Western male writer, in order to study how the canonical qualities are represented in the novel, and thus legitimise its place in the canon. The results from the macroanalysis show that the Western canon is still mostly represented by Western males. Research indicates that this is due to traditional sampling processes, which do not always follow the development in society towards equality and cultural diversity. However, some alternative canonical lists have emerged, as well as research that has contributed to further representation of previously neglected authorships to the canon. The microanalysis shows the correlation with the results from the macroanalysis. The canonical qualities of style and peculiar nature, tradition, values, cultural heritage and standing the test of time, are all represented in Madame Bovary. The results of this study indicate that it is not always about the canonical qualities per se; it seems to be more about what a literary work represents in relation to the literary field, or the canonical discourse, that determines what is considered as being canonical or not.

Globalization and English-language predominance situate English teachers as increasingly influential mediators of both language and culture. In the iconic multicultural hub of Ontario, Canada, teachers work within a causal nexus of social theories of language, the information and communication technologies revolution, and unprecedented global interdependency. Changes in English curriculum reflect these trends, from references to “global citizenship,” to stress on “intercultural communication,” “cultural sensitivity,” and Information and Communication Technology (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2007). Delegated gatekeepers of both linguistic and critical literacies, and facing new questions about the purposes and priorities of their discipline, Ontario English teachers must negotiate the divide between an inherited curriculum and the impacts of sociocultural transformation on changing literacy needs. To contribute to a professional dialogue about teaching English in a multicultural society and global age, this thesis presents findings from interviews with fifteen Ontario secondary English teachers. The focal question, “How is English changing?” introduces a range of pressing issues, such as: displacing the canon, practicing intercultural communication, balancing a democratic discourse, or “common culture,” with respect for diverse values, and managing opposing views and resistance to English curriculum change. The data reveal how English teachers across levels of experience occupy contrasting positions on the curriculum change debate. In part, this can be explained in terms of epistemological orientations. The participants represent three categories: Adaptation, Applied Research / Collaborative Inquiry, and Activism, each by turn more geared toward reconceptualizing English for social diversity and global consciousness. Beyond these classifications, the teachers reflect dissonant perceptions, sometimes personal ambivalence, on the changing role of text choice, and written and oral dialogue in the English classroom. From passionate defenses of Shakespeare, to radical measures to revamp book lists for cultural relevance, to remarkable illustrations of curriculum linked with global consciousness and civic action, the responses of the English teachers delineate zones of difficulty, change, and possibility. They help, too, to catch sight of a new horizon: the English classroom as a space for “cultural conversation” (Applebee, 1994) where canon- and teacher-centred dialogue give way to intertextual (Bakhtin, 1981; Kristeva, 1980) and intercultural (R. Young, 1996) transactions.

Globalization and English-language predominance situate English teachers as increasingly influential mediators of both language and culture. In the iconic multicultural hub of Ontario, Canada, teachers work within a causal nexus of social theories of language, the information and communication technologies revolution, and unprecedented global interdependency. Changes in English curriculum reflect these trends, from references to “global citizenship,” to stress on “intercultural communication,” “cultural sensitivity,” and Information and Communication Technology (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2007). Delegated gatekeepers of both linguistic and critical literacies, and facing new questions about the purposes and priorities of their discipline, Ontario English teachers must negotiate the divide between an inherited curriculum and the impacts of sociocultural transformation on changing literacy needs. To contribute to a professional dialogue about teaching English in a multicultural society and global age, this thesis presents findings from interviews with fifteen Ontario secondary English teachers. The focal question, “How is English changing?” introduces a range of pressing issues, such as: displacing the canon, practicing intercultural communication, balancing a democratic discourse, or “common culture,” with respect for diverse values, and managing opposing views and resistance to English curriculum change. The data reveal how English teachers across levels of experience occupy contrasting positions on the curriculum change debate. In part, this can be explained in terms of epistemological orientations. The participants represent three categories: Adaptation, Applied Research / Collaborative Inquiry, and Activism, each by turn more geared toward reconceptualizing English for social diversity and global consciousness. Beyond these classifications, the teachers reflect dissonant perceptions, sometimes personal ambivalence, on the changing role of text choice, and written and oral dialogue in the English classroom. From passionate defenses of Shakespeare, to radical measures to revamp book lists for cultural relevance, to remarkable illustrations of curriculum linked with global consciousness and civic action, the responses of the English teachers delineate zones of difficulty, change, and possibility. They help, too, to catch sight of a new horizon: the English classroom as a space for “cultural conversation” (Applebee, 1994) where canon- and teacher-centred dialogue give way to intertextual (Bakhtin, 1981; Kristeva, 1980) and intercultural (R. Young, 1996) transactions.