Western canon

The Western canon is a canon of books, music and art (and specifically one with very loose boundaries) that is thought by many to have been highly influential in shaping Western culture. It is a list of greatest works with significant literary and artistic merit. The selection of a canon is important to the theory of educational perennialism and the development of high culture.

Examples of canonical lists include:

The Harvard Classics
Great Books
Great Books of the Western World
Harold Bloom's canon
University reading lists are also good indicators of what is considered to be in the Western canon:

St. John's College reading list
Columbia College Core Curriculum