The ENGL 470 online conference is a class-wide project that aims to create dialogue on how unique interventions can affect the future of Canadian literature. It is inspired by Canadian Literature’s 50th anniversary edition, which “suggests some strategies for changing the ways we read, write, publish and think about literature in Canada” (Erika Paterson). Each project group will research either one of the interventions featured in Canadian Literature or a new intervention of their creation, will engage in dialogue with other groups and their research, and will synthesize their finished research and dialogue into a final summary, to be presented at the conference’s end.
Our group’s research will be based on Daniel Coleman’s intervention, “Epistemic Justice, CanLit, and the Politics of Respect.” Coleman resurrects Charles Taylor’s “call for epistemic justice,” a call that seeks to make us “as students of the Canadian literatures” aware of the assumptions inherent in how we not only judge but analyze literature. Our “Continentally-derived theories” make us interpret works of non-Continental literature through the Continental lens, resulting in knowledge bases that facilitate incongruities such as classifying “the works of Thomas King or Eden Robinson as examples of postmodernism.” We are thus diverted from the native epistemologies of the non-Continental literature that we seek to understand by our own native, Continental epistemology–our theory of knowledge, that goes something like this:
Following from Coleman’s intervention, our group will research how Indigenous literature is or is not being read through the Continental epistemology. We will seek out patterns in how this epistemology is being challenged and suggest ways in which we can separate more from our epistemology and into the epistemology surrounding Indigenous literature. We will further examine what the “politics of respect” entails and how we have engaged or can engage in it. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a new understanding of our engagement with literature, of how we can read not only the non-Continental storytellers, but the Continental storytellers—“the Moodies and Atwoods”—as well.
Works Cited
Coleman, Daniel. “Epistemic Justice, CanLit, and the Politics of Respect.” Canadian Literature 204 (2010): 124-126,163. ProQuest. Web. 24 July 2015.
WOW – I love this approach; excellent thought process and insights; I am excited. Thank you. And, thanks for the giggle with the Youtube, I find it so funny how Western thought demands division. But — it wasn’t so funny when I was a young student being spoon fed western theories of knowledge. I appreciate your terminology; “continental.” A great beginning, thank you.
Hello!
I love your website – it’s great that you spread things out so nicely, and your explanation of what this project involves is a much-needed refresher. Thanks!
My group is also looking at Daniel Coleman’s intervention, so I’m excited to see what you discuss. I’m intrigued by this idea of the “politics of respect”. Those two words are ones we use so often, very broadly and with many different meanings. It will be really interesting to explore what the phrase means in this context.
See you around soon!
Kaitie
This is really great! The description of your research objective is clearly articulated and engaging. It makes me want to read more. Your proposed research focus speaks to many of my own questions concerning the study of Indigenous literature within a Western framework of knowledge and epistemic tradition. The video link is also highly effective in grabbing our attention.
Really looking forward to seeing where your group goes with this.
-Laura
Since interpretation has been such a big part of this course, it will be interesting to investigate our interpretations themselves. Looking forward to seeing where this leads!
Hey all,
Awesome about page & explanatory video. Like Mattias said, interpretation is a large part of the course and “investigating interpretations” sounds like it will be thoroughly engaging in looking at how we understand and grasp sensitive and often troubled topics.
Stoked to see how this progresses! Specifically in relation to our understanding of abstract ideas.
Very clean looking website! I love the black and white contrast, it makes a very easy to read website. I think you have a very well thought out concept, I’m interested to see what patterns you identify in modern day literature.
Side note: Great youtube video haha!
I quite like the website design you ended up going with – I think the black/white/grey combination and title font works really well together.
Your topic sounds fascinating and I’m also really interested to see what you come up with – I think looking at different epistemologies around Indigenous literature is similar to some of the topics I’ve written about in my individual blogs for this course, and it’s definitely one of the areas I find the most interesting.