Decanonizing the curriculum

English degree requirements in Canadian universities today, and the promise of a method-focused degree

Bibliographic Data

ID12713145
AuthorsSarah Banting (0000-0001-5049-3331, Mount Royal University, corresponding author), Madeline Scarlett (Mount Royal University)
Year2023
Volume23
Issue2
Pages173-188
Publication date2023-11-11
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArts and Humanities in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1474-0222 • E-ISSN: 1741-265X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14740222231213972
OpenAlexW4388591753
LanguageEN
References cited18

This paper proposes that a curricular shift we call “decanonization” is shaping contemporary English Major degrees at Canadian universities. We believe it is a response to a complex set of challenges currently facing departments as they program their undergraduate degrees in English, and, in a qualified way, we endorse it as a positive change: it can be seen as a step toward decolonization. But we argue that some forms of decanonized degree have unfortunate implications. While we affirm that our colleagues across the country are doing everything they can to sustain robust, current degrees in challenging circumstances, those circumstances have resulted in some cases in what appears to be a hollowed-out, underdefined degree. We propose an alternate curriculum, based on method, that seems to us particularly promising in the current context

Context (archaeology · Curriculum · Degree (music · Degree program · Engineering ethics · Mathematics education · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Set (abstract data type · Sociology · Computer Science · Educational Theory and Curriculum Studies · Engineering · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · History · Medicine · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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