The Problem with DWMs (Dead White Males)

On one side are those who assert that raising up the traditional Western canon hides the worst sort of intellectual colonialism, one that only values the work of DWM’s (dead white males). On the other side are those for whom multiculturalism represents a creeping relativism, one that would destroy meaningful standards of artistic or literary merit in the name of political correctness, placing the output of every culture or group on equal footing. -- Riki Wilchins

This makes my second time quoting Riki Wilchins in less than a week, but this is so glaringly obvious, yet not given its due attention.

I've been out of school for a long time. I have no current connection to the world of academia, so if it's improved, if literature has gotten more inclusive on an introductory level, someone else will have to answer that question, but I suspect things haven't changed much. Twenty years ago, I was reading mostly DWMs (and the occasional DWF).  Needless to say, I'm solidly in the first camp.

However, when I hear talk of abandoning a traditional literary canon for good, I get nervous. I feel a little unmoored without any kind of guide, no matter how problematic. Questioning who gets into the canon in the first place and why is a good start, but I think -- and agree with Susan Jacoby on this -- incorporating a more diverse cabal of writers into mainstream literature classes, especially introductory ones, rather than shuffling those writers into women's or ethnic studies courses better serves students, particularly those at smaller colleges who have few opportunities to read more than DWMs.