(Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, 1987) Klein, Julie Thompson; Bailis, Stanley; Miller, Raymond C.
The question of canon, of whether undergraduates should read an
authoritative list of books, raises substantial epistemological and pedagogical
issues which may be obscured if the question is framed merely as a struggle
between the left and the right for control of educational policy. These issues
can be highlighted if the question is framed in the concept of reading
canonically, that is, reading so as to nourish vision and action. The article
summarizes ways Biblical scholars have developed the concept of reading
canonically over the past ten years and explores how reading canonicaily may
be of use to teachers who find themselves in a daily struggle with narrow and
narrowing notions of consumerism and careerism which severely limit human
potential.