My name is Ali Duncan, and I recently completed my undergraduate degree at UBCO with emphasis in History and English. Late in my fourth year, I was inspired by a Postcolonial theory course, which prompted my interest in what my professor referred to as “The Settlement Myth.” This link ( Settler Melankelownia ) outlines a critical engagement project we completed as a class, which, in its totality, questions the narratives that have been handed the authority shape the way we, as Canadians, tend to think about our past, our present, and our future.
Beyond Canadian “classic” literature and historical commemorations, one may simply analyze the street names in their neighbourhood to determine that colonial authority and memory continues to govern the current public perception.
Like the class I mentioned above, I expect this course to dramatically change traditional ways of thinking, not only about the Canadian historical narrative (i.e. what stories are considered worthy of memory) but of modern political and social systems within our nation. I hope that we will be given the opportunity to read narrative and theory from voices that have been historically silenced or overlooked within the Canadian cannon.
In looking over the major assignment for this course, I was surprised, and admittedly a little intimidated, to see that we will be given the opportunity to collaborate and come up with ways of combatting current, and perhaps racist, ways of thinking about Canadian literature. While I have experience in critical studies, I have not yet been given the opportunity to engage with the material in such a way that positive solutions are born from critical analyses. I’m looking forward to seeing what we will come up with!
I expect it will be refreshing to take part in a Canadian literary course that does not focus on Anne of Green Gables, Flanders Fields, or works by Margaret Atwood. I won’t deny that works like these are significant within the Canadian cannon, but I am looking forward to engaging with culturally, racially, and spiritually diverse perspectives.
Really looking forward to collaborating with you all!
Cheers.
Jefferess, David. “Introduction” in Settler Melankelownia: Colonialism, Memory and Heritage in the Okanagan. May 2014.
2 responses to “1.1: “Introduction””