Acumulaciones de capital literario: contrucciones del canon en la literatura peruana

This dissertation proposes a definition and methodology to analyze the literary canon: the canon is the set of producers and products that accumulate the greatest amount of literary capital granted by institutions of consecration. In this concept, two categories are fundamental: literary capital and institutions. Literary capital refers to objectivations of literary value: manifestations of the agreement on the importance of authors and their literary work (inclusions in reading lists, awards and prizes, mentions in literary histories, among others). Institutions are communities that participate in literary activity; they are governed by norms and exercise power over other agents.

This theoretical framework allows for the examination of the canon formation in literary criticism, anthologies, and Wikipedia. The accumulation of capital explains the existence of three positions within the Peruvian literary field: consecrated, legitimized, and aspiring writers. Furthermore, trajectory of capital is a concept that elucidates the changes in literary value. An ascending or descending trajectory shows when a writer's prestige has increased or decreased over time. Institutions located inside or outside the literary field is the basis for positing the difference between prestige and popularity: both concepts have a similar functioning, but literary agents have little or no involvement in the latter.