Crowdsourcing the Canon, Round 1

October 28th, 2011

by Meredith Nudo

Crowdsourcing the Canon's initial launch proved so successful, so I'm going to make this an ongoing feature! It's exciting to see so many impassioned readers lending their voices to this project — they offer such interesting perspectives and recommendations. And now I can't wait to see what others have to contribute as the project progresses. Remember to either contact me via the OEDB.org Twitter feed (use the hashtag #cscanon if you so desire) or e-mail at mnudo (at) oedb (dot) org. And if you've already sent something in, you're more than welcome to do so again! No limits.

Huge thanks goes out to everyone involved in contributing and compiling the very first Crowdsourcing the Canon entry, which answers the question, "What do you wish was on the syllabus this semester?" I'm looking forward to diving into some of these (a few of which I've read before and have no issues exploring again!) and posting my own personal thoughts.

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Rob Greene with Going Greene submitted the following science-fiction and technology books, as befitting a man with a Firefly-themed wedding!: Ender's Game, DMZ, Snow Crash (a personal favorite!), The Shallows and Alone Together. "All of them reflect changes in society, technology and the use of force, and look ahead to where they're going. Plus, they're good," he says of his selections.

Lamentations of the Instructor's Jessica Nettles also thinks genre fiction has much more to offer than many academics realize, and leans towards some excellent horror and science-fiction classics, like Fahrenheit 451, Turn of the Screw (both of which were required in my high school English courses) and Princess of Mars.

Mary Monroe's New York Times bestselling books capture the attention of Flavor Candle's Kimberly Reese, who considers her entire oeuvre well worth checking out.

"I read these per a rec from my mentor who is a senior SA officer. They were pertinent then & they're pertinent now," explains John Thompson at Mississippi State when asked about why he choose What Matters in College: Four Critical Years Revisited, The Undergraduate Experience in America, How College Affects Students and Education and Identity. All of these obviously have quite a bit of insight into the higher ed experience, making them ideal for incoming and current college kids.

Cynthia Rapak, a self-described "social media player" thinks Confidence Men a "Great book to understand the players of D.C. and Wall Street," heartily recommending it and even offering to send me a spare copy! I might just take her up on that!

English teacher Will Humphreys thinks Gravity's Rainbow (not a light read!), The Master and the Margarita, The Third Policeman and the Lyonesse trilogy all belong in the literary canon as well.

From Cornell and Honest College comes Greg Narayan's advice to read the works of philosopher Pierre Bourdieu, "particular[ly]…his theories of habitus." He goes on to state that, I had the pleasure of reading Bourdieu my junior year at college and it really helped explain some of the social dynamics around me," and obviously hopes other students will experience that same spark. 

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Thanks again to everyone participating in our first round of Crowdsourcing the Canon!

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