Sometimes I get involved with your dialogues and can’t help but to stop and add to the conversation. I’ll post on your blog when that happens, but I also post here snippets of our conversations; simply for your interest and my increased sense of connecting with you all.

Here is a conversation from this morning:

Assignment 1:5 The Young Girl’s Story of Evil

Thank you for a great story Maya, I too appreciated the conversational ‘a la King’ style – and couldn’t help thinking about the ‘second truth’ you talk about in your previous blog : The second truth is the formalities of expression, which are separate from us. King writes in a story-telling style, a conversational style – this is a ‘formality of expression – otherwise called a ‘genre’: the story-telling genre of literature. This is actually quite a complex conversation. Because categorizing, which is what we are doing when we ‘make’ genres’ and then expect writers and readers and story-tellers to stay inside of the ‘formalities of expression that each category we make requires in order to be ‘truthful’ or ‘correct’. A little like Chamberlin eating his pees with the fork (was it a fork?), at any rate, it was the ‘incorrect’ way to eat pees according to the formalities of that table’s eating practices. The point here being: genre making is a powerful tool which can both oppress and liberate ‘stories’. And as such, this is a good thing for us to be thinking about in the effort to understand colonizing narratives. Thank you.

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“I am eager to learn much more about Canada’s indigenous people through the literature we will be engaging with.”

NOTE: Canadian / Indigenous-> both are proper names, and both need capitalizing. Of course, we often read material in which Canadians are capitalized but Indigenous, or First Nations is missing the capital, and this is a reflection of the power of language to oppress and discriminate (silently).

Good Saturday ‘it’s February already?- 372

I am up bright and early with the birds and the sun determined to get comment sheets out to all of you today. Many of you have received my comments, but too many of you have not. I like to be able to connect with each of you before the end of our first cycle, which is what I like to call the units – cycles. Alas, I am late, but I am old too. And, elders have special privileges that young people do not have because we are smarter — and we need more sleep.

I will post on FB today as well as here. As I read through your Blogs, I will make some of my comments open to all of you when I come across common mis-understandings (for example when to capitalize Indigenous and Aboriginal *always, just like Canadian and European), and interesting questions or even lovely sentences, sometimes. I’ll share some links, here and on our FB page – I always double up what I put on FB because some people do like to be there.

So, here I go; I begin the reading-dialoguing process once again – hot coffee beside me and the sun rising out my window in the east ….

I hope you all have a lovely Saturday

Good Tuesday morning;

I have started our Student Blog page this morning with the first link received, thank you Georgia Masaki. You can post the link to your blog on our Chat Page via Canvas, or our Group page; whichever you prefer to use.  I will add you to the Student Blog as you post. Reading each other’s introductory Blogs is how we will begin to come to know each other and begin our process of working together. I look forward to learning a little bit about each of you and putting our ideas together.

Hello 372;

If you are having technical difficulties, or any difficulties at all — please feel free to email me: erika.paterson@ubc.ca. If you are feeling frustrated with the tools we are using, I am patient and understanding.  My goal is to teach not judge; no question is too small or too long or too late to ask.

Just so you know, I like to work very early in the mornings most days and I like to quit working around one.  During this time I am always monitoring our Chat and Facebook page and my inbox. I do not like to work on weekends, but I am dedicated enough to “typically” check daily when difficult assignments are coming due, in case someone is really in a panic – I don’t like panic, it is not good for your creativity or your well-being. I can also disappear for a couple of days during the week sometimes, but I will typically let you know ahead of time.  I will always post a link on our Facebook page and our Chat page when I post a new blog.

Enjoy!

Hello 372 and welcome to our course of studies together.

Note: This course was English 470 – but changed to 372 this semester, so  you may see references to Engl. 470 in earlier blogs or comments.

Please begin with the welcome page where you will find a general overview of course expectations. And, I have made a video for you that will talk you through the course syllabus – you can follow along.

Please also take the time to cruise through the course site and get a sense of how you will need to schedule yourselves  — this is an interactive online course and timeliness is essential in order to fully engage with the course. The Course schedule page is a quick reference to due dates.

This is a challenging course that asks you to explore literature in a different context than the average English literature course, and requires assignments that are likewise “different’ than what most of you will be accustomed  to expecting in a Literature course. I hope you will enjoy the challenges and make good use of our Group FaceBook page to ask your questions and assist each other with answers. This Facebook page is for your convenience only and is not mandatory; if you do not like Facebook we also have a Chat function on our UBC site.

Thank you, we will talk soon.

Good Friday 470;

As I read my way through your blogs I like to capture some of your passages that strike me as particularly interesting or insightful, passionate or provocative.

Kent Monkman. 2016.

Take note of the excellent hyperlinking in this quote: “A nation brought together through myth- terra nullius, empty wilderness, the Canadian Pacific Railway, a national government imposed to diminish and disappear already functioning systems of Indigenous governance, a nation imposed to bring civility to those perceived as savage through strategies such as the Indian Act, residential schools, the 60s scoop, the ongoing crises of Indigenous youth in care, away from their communities and cultures (see work by Cindy Blackstock). Indigenous communities and cultures, which, today, are still diminished and discriminated against by the RCMP, the Supreme Court of Canada, provincial education systems, Justin Trudeau, Gerald Stanley, the manager at McDonald’s, Brayden Bushby, and that nice white lady who taught you (a convoluted and flawed) history in second grade.

“Moments of silence and stillness in the face of epic beauty, offer a homecoming of sorts. A remembrance of the interconnectedness of all life and form. My being, in all its complication and simplicity, was and is part of the big play – Life, Earth, Death, Universe, Sun, Moon, everything, nothing.”

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You preface your question withe statement “we are all our own people”. I am not sure this is completely accurate. I believe that we have free will but that it is far less absolute than many of assume. As you suggested, our culture, upbringing, experiences (not to mention personality) all remain strong determinants of our general worldview and the choices we will make. In my opinion, for better or for worse, western culture is heavily influenced by individualist, capitalist, materialist understandings of the world. That worldview , I believe, is passed on through the education system, media, and society in general. This , in turn, tends to highlight and grow certain human traits that, unless one is very self aware and works consciously to overcome, will naturally manifest in their thoughts and actions. This , I believe, is the legacy of the Colonists. I grew up in a world where those racist, selfish and dangerous ideas were able to flourish and now I must work at uprooting them (not only from the education system and media around me ) but also from my thoughts and perspectives within.

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King acknowledges that he spends more time focusing on the Earth Diver story, largely because the majority of the audience is not working from a place of existing knowledge of this creation story. However, in approaching it this way, King also draws the audience’s attention to the fact that they do know the story of Genesis. Regardless of their own religious beliefs, King makes the audience question how the Genesis story became so pervasively known within our culture. Without directly asking the audience this question, King demonstrates an alternative by choosing to examine the Earth Diver story more thoroughly. King chooses which story to privilege, modeling his argument regarding how the dichotomous representation of the stories necessitates declaring one as sacred and one as secular. As King writes, “we are suspicious of complexities, distrustful of contradictions, fearful of enigmas.” Dichotomies are easy. Choosing is easy. Challenging the dichotomy is hard, and changing your mind is even harder.

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The asado stayed in South America until my grandfather brought it to Belgium. It was the only time his father ever said he was proud of him. He then showed his sons and son-in-law how to make an asado with steaks and merguez from Spain. There was never a need for salad, maybe the occasional tomato. My father then brought it to Canada. A land where the soul of the animal was destroyed by gas BBQs. As the indigenous people of the land, my father knew the power of wood and smoke. We began to use North American cuts and Italian sausages that we covered in curry sauce, blending cultures but holding onto what is sacred. The coals and the people.

Asado. It’s where we talk for hours about food, throw in some sociopolitical discourse, drink, dance, tell dirty jokes, and unite our friends from all over the world. The asado is my home.

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“”The idea that the violent , destructive, and shameful history of Colonial history in the Americas could be understood through the story  of a disordered and morally corrupt younger brother , in my mind, opened up the possibility of compassion for the mistakes of our past rather less useful emotions such as  anger or bitterness (or worst, guilt).

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“Or Robinson’s direct engagement with the listener, through questions or assertions which, maybe with Wickwire, were responded to with nods or gesture. He asks, “do you know what the Angel was? Do you know? The Angel, God’s Angel, you know,” (Robinson). And, admittedly, I don’t know. This is a loss from reading his story in a book. In person I might’ve furrowed my brow, and Robinson would’ve known to elaborate. Or maybe he would’ve left me to fill the details.”

To Home and Back

I can’t help but to reflect on this line “To me, home is IN my heart. I carry my home with me through my experiences and the relationships I have with the people who have shaped me. My home is in me.”

“ — which is so beautifully expressed throughout your blog – while this is such a loving and uplifting expression of home, in context  with our course this makes me think about the contagious suicide rate among young First Nation’s in Canada. I can’t help but to contrast this with and their experiences of homelessness, that extends to entire communities, indeed – entire Nations. As described in my link, at the root of First Nations’ suicide rates lies: “a condition characterized by long-lasting feelings of intense sadness and hopelessness” (Brandy Joe, Suicide: A permanent solution to a temporary problem).

” I think that we are already in a time where we can achieve ME across Indigenous and Western cultures. There has already been a shift in psychology where researchers realize that most studies are done with a WIERD demographic. WIERD = Western, Industrialized, Educated, Rich, and Democratic. This is still a huge problem, but I think that research is slowly heading in the right direction.”

What a powerful expression of your feelings toward living on Stolen Land – thank you for an insightful read this morning, and your excellent engagement with our course.

 “I will repeat what nearly all of us have said: home is very difficult to define, and it is going to be different for each and every one of us. As a Canadian of European descent, it is especially difficult. The truth is, if I am to use the more general of definition of home (“the place where I come from”), I have to tell people that my home is a stolen land. I have my home because people stole it from others. I was not responsible for these actions, and growing up as a child who knew little of our country’s harsh past, I had no reason not to proudly say, “My home is Canada”, in the same way that a child riding in a car that was, unbeknownst to the child, stolen by her parents, would proudly say, “This is my car”. I did not choose my past. I did not choose the country in which I was born. But here I am. And now it is my responsibility to be an Indigenous ally and to make amends for the actions of those who came before me, so that I can make Canada a place that my children can say- with deserved pride- is their home.

• Thank you. When I was growing up in the 60’s it was common to hear people say and write – “The only good Indian is a dead Indian” – and, of course we even sang a nursery rhythm: “one little, two little, three little Indians ….. they all end up dying. So, it is uplifting to experience such a shift in perspective that your generation is (finally) bringing to bare on reality.

“However, this assumption is rather fair, as there are several stark differences between European and Indigenous culture. Personally, I take Lutz’s assumption as an indicator that there was a strong belief that Indigenous cultures would willingly adapt well to European ways of life, as implied in the sense that he believes it is harder for it to be the other way around.”

• An excellent succinct and on the nail answer to my question!

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So, while I would argue that the meaning behind Judge McEachern’s comment is that it was one of disdain, belittlement, fear, or ignorance, I am choosing to value and bolster Don Monet’s interpretation of the roaring map and experience it as a metaphor for the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan peoples determination, grit, and integrity in manipulating a colonialist system and winning (even though it took a disgustingly long time for the government to accept and honour their land claims).

I was really interested in this subject and looked into what the Wet’suwet’en and Gitxsan Nations look like today, and if there have been more conflicts around land claims as a result of economic expansion in BC, and I found some interesting articles related to the TransCanada Corp.’s Coastal GasLink pipeline project and how it’s challenging both Western and Indigenous law and dividing Wet’suwet’en leaders. The conflict highlights tensions within Indigenous groups, where “painful trade-offs between economic development and ancient obligations of land stewardship” must be discussed (Hunter et al.).

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“When King places the Native story and Christian story in binary opposition, he is not polarizing us vs. them; he is making it possible for the reader to get a sense of someone else’s culture. King mentions that “creation stories are relationships that help to define the nature of the universe and how cultures understand the world in which they exist.” (King 10). The Christian story causes us the view ourselves as detached from the world and better than other creatures. The Native story gives us a sense that we are part of nature and that animals share similar souls to our own. The Native story seems to have a better outcome for the environment, but King doesn’t dismiss the Christian story altogether because we can learn it’s authoritative rhetoric and why it has influenced so many cultures. By contrasting two stories in a way that is easy to understand, he shows us that there are different ways to view our world and that these beliefs affect our behaviour and culture. It doesn’t seem that he is saying one story is better than the other, but that viewing the world from one belief system can normalize a lot of destructive behaviour. After all, “a person who knows only one country knows no countries,” Seymour Lipset.” https://blogs.ubc.ca/nolanjanssens470/

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Hello 470;

I have been reading through our blogs all week, and it is indeed a delightful and enlightening read. I want to thank you for your responses to my question.

can you see what is wrong with the following phrase:   “… the Western perspective and the aboriginal perspective are equally valid.”

This is the answer I was looking for:

Aboriginal is not capitalized whereas Western is which implies the former is lesser in some way to the latter.

And, what follows is a most insightful dialogue.

In my opinion, what is wrong with this sentence is that valid as an adjective is not measurable, you cannot put an adverb or a quantifier in front of “valid”.

Cassie Lumsden Hi Dana, I think your opinion definitely makes sense! The word valid probably is not the best way to compare two different things since how valid something truly is can be very subjective. I also think that there is more than one issue with this sentence, in particular I noticed that the word “Western” is capitalized while “aboriginal” is not.

“aboriginal” is a western term, originating from latin language and imposed upon Indigenous peoples. This is not what Indigenous peoples call themselves. So there is something inherently colonizing about this terminology.

I see this statement also reinforcing a narrative that places the West and Aboriginal people in opposition of each other . There is an implicit, and false, dichotomy expressed between the lines.

I agree with the previous responders about the grammatical use of “Western” and “aboriginal”. Additionally, I think it suggests that these are the only two ways of thinking. Canada has many First Nations communities, and these communities do not all share the same perspectives. One current issue that really speaks to this is the Trans Mountain pipeline; it is easy to assume that all First Nations people are opposed to it, but we must recognize that there is not simply one “Aboriginal” perspective. https://www.google.ca/…/we-are-first-nations-that-suppo…/amp

Along with what everyone else has already said, I think this statement is too optimistic. It is true that both perspectives are valid, or at least should be. But in reality and practice, this is just not the case. The western perspective dominates over the aboriginal perspective with only slight considerations. We see this in land claims/disputes all the time. If indeed the perspectives are equally valid, than the government wouldn’t force aboriginals off their land so that they can build pipelines or fish farms. They should be equal, but in practice are not.

Thank-you Ross, this is a very strong point.
Especially when you consider that the Canadian federal government issued official apologies to Indigenous peoples for Canada’s history of residential schools in 2018. But at the same time as this speech was being made -the Canadian government was continuing its years-long and brutally unrelenting legal battles against Indigenous peoples over land claims.It is readily apparent that despite statements of respecting Indigenous autonomy, in legal practice: Canadian government is still championed over the self-governing which Indigenous people had used for thousands of years before we settler-colonizers came to the land.Our western government is discriminative in laws and practices against Indigenous peoples. This is a good source about how the Indian Act was used to take away status and rights from Indigenous women: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/…/native-womens…And as you mentioned, the land claim disputes prove that legal discrimination and injustice is still present against Indigenous peoples today.But many still make problematically optimistic statements of equitable treatment, which are problematic for the precise fact that respect for Indigenous autonomy and self-government are being said and not practiced.There are also more complications to this problem, but this is the obvious one.

Indigenous Women’s Issues in Canada | The Canadian…

I agree with others who say that the way this phrase is worded and capitalized make it seem like there’s a superior perspective. Also the word Aboriginal should change to Indigenous peoples, which encompasses First Nations, Inuit and Metis. The other problem is, you can’t lump western and aboriginal perspectives as two distinct groups having opposing views. There are a myriad of individual perspectives within the both supposedly differing perspectives. Good resource:

ICTINC.CA

Indigenous Peoples Worldviews vs Western Worldviews

Understanding the differences between Indigenous Peoples worldviews vs Western worldviews is foundational to understanding Indigenous Peoples. Learn more in this short article.

Hello 470;

The contradiction that Chamberlin identifies at the heart of ‘home’ aptly speaks to the feeling of unease held by many Canadians of European heritage. How am I, as a Canadian of European descent able to reconcile the fact that my narrative of home, in all the ways in which it has come to define me, is implicated in the erasure of the home narratives of others? Querying narratives

 “And so evil, through untrue-true acts and words, was unleashed onto the world forever.” Telling the Canadian Story

“There was a time where I would have been silenced, but today I make noise for myself, for my peers and for my ancestors before me. Like many people who are considered as minorities or intersectionality-oppressed individuals, speaking our truth can feel far too vulnerable to share in the pressures of the public. The internet has created an accessible space for our voices, so in response, we “flood the feed”. I welcome you to that space, where I will be writing and curating stories of intersecting national and personal identity. Thank you for respecting, and most of all, listening.” Swamp Mama  

 The time has come to tell your story. Lesson 2:1 asks you to explore and express your values and the stories you use to connect yourself to your sense of home. Remember what Thomas Kings says, “we are the stories we tell ourselves.” Remember what Edward Chamberlain says, “stories give meaning and value to the places we call home.”  And, take some time to reflect on the stories you grew up with that shaped how you value your home, reflect on the how these stories have shaped your sense of belonging, or not – to your home and your homeland.

In the introduction to Lesson 2:1, I speak about examining our common assumptions and our diverse backgrounds in an effort to create an environment for learning and exploring difficult topics — together. My hope is that you will enjoy this process and that as a class we will create a more comfortable space to explore difficult questions with the knowledge that we do not all have the same perspectives because we do not all have the same stories. At the same time, we will discover some commonalties that will surprise us; and that always delight me. Write your story for your peers. Include the usual two hyperlinks and feel free to use visuals as well.

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I have passed a wonderful week reading our blogs and following links. You have provided some good links and some good answers to my questions and the growing dialogue via our comment boxes is excellent. Thank you all.

One of the wonderful elements of working online is that you can go back and correct typos and small errors that you did not see while composing, and even better, I do not stop to evaluate your blogs until mid-term, so you have the opportunity to make these corrections before “official evaluation” occurs.

Midterm occurs at the end of Unit 2. At that time, you will select your favourite three blogs for evaluation. You are ‘allowed’ to rewrite and edit to your heart’s content between now and midterm time.

My Instructor’s blog is responsive: I read your work and respond.

Reading through all your blogs can take a long while  because your hypertext and send me off to all sorts of interesting places where I learn about new ideas and endeavours and have all sorts of new and wonderful insights to add to what I think I already know.

After reading through all your blogs I have a few technical notes and general suggestions for you:

• In the future, link in your sources in your works cited when they are available online.
• Also, delete the sample page to clean up your blog
• Paste the question you are answering at the top of the post – and you are free to make introductory comments on why you chose this question
•  If you have any questions or comments about this lesson or the assignments in the next lesson, please do post on our FaceBook page
• If you can find the same article in pdf form – that is the best way to link
•  In order to encourage comments, it is a good idea to end your blog assignments with a question.
• Use MLA style for your citations: This is a great style guide: OWL

BE SURE TO READ THE GUIDELINES FOR BLOGGING AND HYPERLINKING IN THE SIDEBAR!

One more note, that I will probably make many times in different ways:

• can you see what is wrong with the following phrase:   “… the Western perspective and the aboriginal perspective are equally valid.”
• Please make a note on Facebook when you see what is wrong with the above sentence.

I want to encourage you to explore different blogs this week, even though you may have made a connection with someone you easily identify with, for the first couple of Units it will be more interesting if we explore beyond our comfort zones and engage with each other as widely as possible. Thanks.

I am enjoying reading all the different ways that Evil Came into this World and am very much looking forward to reading your stories about home. If you haven’t already done so – be sure to read this post: Taking the Story out of the Story …

Good Monday Morning 470;

I am happy begin a new semester of 470; the last time my course was offered online was the 2016/W section, accordingly there will be new resources to discover and hyperlinks to replace as we work our way along the course.

I hope you have enjoyed exploring our website and getting a feel for the course requirements and content. I will be spending the week reading your Blogs and getting to know you all through your introductions and comments, I look forward to my reading.

Be sure to respond promptly to all the comments you receive — even if you only have time to read and say thank you. This is a good time to double check to make sure your comment settings allow for comments without moderation.

I hope you enjoy the challenge of my questions for this week, and I look forward to reading your comments and your responses. Enjoy, and please do not hesitate to ask your questions on our Facebook page – or share interesting links. It is a good idea to post on Facebook each time you post a new blog – this will help stimulate dialogue as well. Thank you and enjoy