My hope in literary studies is not that we expand and diversify what is considered a ‘classic’ but that we rid ourselves of the concept of a ‘classic’ altogether. It is not merely the case that our cultural elite have traditionally used the classics as a justification for their social position. The conept of a ‘classic’ is in itself inherently elitist. The idea that there must be a set list of works to be studied is the definition of exclusivity. The purpose of the standardization of education is the standardization of young minds.