I have just received the results of my second course with the Open University - AA100 The Arts Past and Present, and was delighted to learn that I had a very pleasing mark for my end-of-module assignment (EMA), and have passed the course. Now I can add this to my successful A297 Reading Classical Latin course - so that is two modules so far. I am now in the process of doing A150 Voices and Texts, which is very interesting. Slightly more focused and challenging than AA100, it is supposed to be a good preparation for Level 2 study. At the moment we are considering what makes a text authoritative, and the whole process of the formation of the canons in different academic subjects; Religious, Classical, Music and Literature.
I think the idea of something being considered 'authoritative' is fascinating. I suppose I previously thought, or rather assumed, that canonical works were 'always there'. It is only now that I am discovering that canon formation is an extremely organic process which takes place over years, and it is dependent on the opinions of scholars, readers, publishers, reviewers, decisions regarding academic curricula, and least obviously - at least to me - simply of fashion! And a place in the canon is by no means always permanent, apart from the greats like Homer, Dante, Shakespeare etc.
Then of course, there is the whole issue of what it is that makes our own individual writing authoritative. We will be considering the issue of Voice and identity after Christmas, so I look forward to exploring that in due course. At the moment, this is the kind of thing I'm thinking of:
Writing with Authority:
http://facultyfp.salisbury.edu/jlcaviglia-harris/415/Writing%20with%20Authority.pdf
What Is 'Academic Writing'? : http://www.uta.fi/FAST/FIN/RESEARCH/acadwrit.html
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