Student Canons

In response to remarks on my last post, I am posting the canons my three classes constructed. The process by which the canons were constructed was as follows:

1. Each student compiled a list of 20 works from any style, genre, artist, etc. I encouraged students to be very reflective in this process. For each work, they needed to articulate what made it canon-worthy in their mind. Also, they had to hypothesize about why that quality is important to them personally.

2. In groups of 5, students combined their individual lists and whittled the combined list down to 20.

3. In the final stage, we posted all of the lists that the groups generated in the classroom. This was followed by periods of questioning, debate, and advocacy regarding works on those lists. Finally, we voted for a new list of 20 extracted from the posted lists. Each student was allowed 20 votes. What follows is three lists of the top 20 from my three classes with the numbers of votes works received.

In discussion following this exercise, students noticed that most of the music in their canons is new in the whole history of music, but relatively old in the context of pop culture. This relative oldness suggests that a cultural filtering process has gone on with pop music from the 60's-90's and that certain works have achieved a sort of classical status, which is of course a typical phenomena in the building of canons.

Class 1

16 votes
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

14
Thriller - Michael Jackson

12
Mo Money, Mo Problems - Notorious Big

11
Stairway to Heaven
We Didn't Start the Fire
Changes - Tupac
New York, New York - Frank Sinatra

9
Hotel California - Eagles
Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
Juicy - Notorious Big

8
Living on a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Crash into Me - Dave Matthews Band
Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Born in the USA - Bruce Springstein

7
Buffalo Soldier - Bob Marley
More Than a Feeling - Boston
What I Got - Sublime
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
Georgia on My Mind - Ray Charles
Respect - Aretha Franklin


Class 2

15
A Whole New World
Eye of the Tiger

14
Since You've Been Gone

13
Don't Stop Believin'
Carol of the Bells - Trans-Siberian Orchestra

12
Thriller
Free Bird

11
Brown Eyed Girl
American Pie
Summer of '69
Margaritaville

10
Proud to be an American

9
Hotel California
Stairway to Heaven
Changes - Tupac
Pachelbel Canon
Tears in Heaven
Baby Got Back
In the Air T'night

8
My Girl


Class 3

20
Thriller

15
Piano Man

14
Mrs. Robinson

13
Changes - Tupac
Georgia on My Mind
Tiny Dancer
Stairway to Heaven
American Pie

12
The Star Spangled Banner
Heard It Through the Grapevine

11
Buffalo Dancer
Let It Be

10
Don't Stop Believing
Juicy

9
Sweet Home Alabama
Margaritaville

8
New York, New York
White Christmas - Frank Sinatra

7
Black Magic Woman
Bohemian Rhapsody