Canon?

A Question for the Literary Profession

Abstract

The discussion about what the canon is, how it is constituted, and its implications in the cultural and social spheres has a long tradition in different scenarios. In this paper, some traditional positions on the canon ―such as Harold Bloom’s― are revisited and engaged in dialogue, within the Latin American context, with alternative proposals to the canonical institution ―like Walter Mignolo’s concept of corpus― in order to highlight the necessity of changing the perspective from which academic education is structured. Finally, this reflection leads to establishing an ethical position aimed at constructing a literary profession within academia that is not alien to the society in which it takes place.