It is true that a lot of university reading lists are not representative or reflective of their student body. For many years now, the English Literary ‘canon’ has been accused of focusing too heavily on dead, white men. Of course, it is true that if you are studying pre-nineteenth century English literary there weren’t many women who were actually writing but that is not an excuse to silence women now. In fact, one of the syllabuses I teach has a unit of modern novels and out of a choice of 5 books, only one is written by a woman. It is difficult to know why, as in the twenty-first century, there are a very large number of excellent women writers.
It is also very likely that if many within a university were tasked with the activity of creating a reading list, a lot of the books they have read themselves and have regularly used are also written from a Eurocentric (and possibly male) perspective.
So what needs to be done? On the one hand, university teaching staff (and possibly senior members of schools and Awarding bodies) need guidance when it comes to how to include diversity in a reading list. What message does it send if mainly white, or European or male views are those that are read and taught? It can make students wonder whether anyone else has an opinion, a view or knowledge that is valued. I hope that in the 21st Century course designers can be more conscious of the message that the set reading sends and perhaps it can be compiled with diversity in mind.
Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
