I would agree that in the past, writers from marginalized background were marginalised and that was an ideological reactionary agenda. What I would say is that writers like James Baldwin, Tony Morrison, Chinua Chebe, Walla Schoyenka should be included in the canon because they are. And one of the things that Jeffrey says, Ellen was of course Matthew Arnold. Yes. And that definition of the canon is the best that has been thought and said. And the question was, who gets to decide what that is? Isn't that still a problem? Let's say decide what thebest that has beenthought and said is. It's not me that decided. Why is it not hyper
In recent years movements to change school curricula have argued that all students at schools and universities should be able to see themselves reflected in the books they read. But others argue that moves to recolonise the curriculum to include more diverse authors should be based on the universal value of their work rather than the identity of the individual. So how do we best go about updating those reading lists that include some of the most well-established classics in literature and academia? Jeffrey Boakye, former English teacher and author of the acclaimed memoir I Heard What You Said, and journalist Tomiwa Owolade are our guests for this debate to discuss this timely topic. Our chair is the writer, academic and broadcaster, Shahidha Bari.
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