A150: Voices and Texts

A150: Voices and Texts
TMA -Semester 1 (2016-2017)
Cut-off date: end of 10th week
[Prepared by Course Chair: Dr. Shaju Ouseph]

The Voices and Texts of Authority
This assignment relates to Book 1 (chapter 2) of the course and carries 20 marks.
Question
Explain in the form of an essay of 1200 words, the concept of ‘Canon’ and its characteristic features. You may elucidate your idea of a literary canon and canon formation. You should also select a canonical piece of writing, apart from what is given in the course text and provide a short description of its content and form, as matter of case study.
Suggested Readings
1. Drabble, M. (ed.) (1989) Oxford Companion to English Literature, London, Guild Publishing.
2. Course Book, Voices and Texts of Authority, Chapter 2 “Canons and Classics in Literature”.
3. Bloom, H. (1995) The Western Canon. London, Macmillan.
4. Guillory, J. (1993) Cultural Capital: The Problem of Literary Canon Formation. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.
5. Kennedy, G. (2001) The Origin of the Concept of a Canon and Its Application to the Greek and Latin Classics in Gorak, J. Canon vs Culture. New York: Garland Publishing.


The following are guidelines on plagiarism:

If you submit an assignment that contains work other than yours without acknowledging your sources, you are committing plagiarism. This might occur when:

• Using a sentence or phrase that you have come across
• Copying word-for-word directly from a text
• Paraphrasing the words from the text very closely
• Using text downloaded from the Internet
• Borrowing statistics or assembled fact from another person or source
• Copying or downloading figures, photographs, pictures or diagrams without acknowledging your sources
• Copying from the notes or essays of a fellow student

(Slightly adapted from OU document on quoting versus plagiarism)

It is important to remember that plagiarism is strictly barred and would be subject to punitive action by the Arab Open University.