Hello 470;

Well, I have passed my day reading through all your blogs and comments, and what an interesting day it has been. I am most impressed and happy about the level of enthusiasm and critical and insightful thinking demonstrated via your posts. Thank you.

To be as clear as I can be – the way this process works in terms of my evaluation is, I read all your comments the day after they are due, and leave a smiley face to let you know I have read your comment, and also to alert you to the fact that I have finished reading comments for that particular blog. Some comments are worth full points, and some are worth partial points – depending on how well the comment corresponds to the requirements — which you will find on our Blogging Guidelines.

As you will note in the Blogging guidelines, you are expected to respond to all the comments on your blog. Sometimes, you will find a large number of comments on your blog, and no time to give each one serious consideration, when that happens, at the very least respond with a thank you and explanation that you have too many comments and not enough time to consider all. Missing responses will be deducted from your overall points.

To begin, I encourage you to choose different blogs to engage with each week. If you find you are not receiving any comments, than try to end your blog post with a good question to encourage dialogue – or, you can also solicit responses on our Facebook page. Give your peers a reason to go to your blog – entice them.

One big important note. Take a look at this list and see if you can figure out what is wrong:

• Canadian
• first nations
• European
• indigenous
• Scottish
• native
• French
• aboriginal

* [the answer is at the bottom of this post]

What follows are a selection of quotes from this weeks blogs and dialogues. Each week I will select some of my favourite bits from your blogs to share. Enjoy:

“In my International Relations theory (and in life), I identify as feminist–an identity that has shaped a huge amount of my university learning and something that I think this course will feed and nurture. I am particularly interested in anger as a discourse: the language that shapes it, how notions of time understand it and how it can be a relevant way of knowing in academia. Glen Coulthard is a professor at UBC who teaches in the First Nations Stu dies program and wrote Red Skin White Masks, his discussion around anger coming from an Indigenous and Canadian History/policy perspective. I mention him now because UBC has some amazing indigenous voices–voices I look forward to reading throughout the course.” Story Time.

“The apathy and unconcern towards the issues of First Nations mistreatment can be linked to this…many Canadians feel like it doesn’t concern them. I think that part of the way we can approach this issue and open up new areas for discussion within this semester of ENGL 470 is to bring in other intersections that collide, and see the threads that run through all of them that will allow us to understand on a more personal level.”  Story Time

“Wow – Nail on the head with that comment on Koyczan talking about the uncomfortable while making you feel at home. That’s the best way I’ve ever heard his stuff described.” Hello World

“Offering wisdom and advice for the future is one of the most important things scholars can do, the passing of information and knowledge only leads to a  better informed and knowledgeable society as a whole. Knowledge is power and those who possess a wider knowledge of Canadian literature will have impact far beyond the course but will extend into their individual conduct and studies.” Hello World

“To be honest I actually find it really interesting that school has literally given us a single-story about Canada’s history. I think it touches on other topics like politics and collective thought that heavily influence our historical understanding. Maybe if we only receive the “here’s what happened and we’re really sorry” story told from the white man’s perspective we’ll gain sympathy for the white man and learn to frown upon the Native man for being “stubborn” or “immature” for being “unable” to move on from the past.” Oh Canada.

“The reality is that many Canadians do not feel like indigenous issues are relevant to them.  Last semester, I took a CSIS450, a critical studies in sexuality class with Dr. Janice Stewart, in which we discussed the types of narratives that exist in our society, how they define the way we see history, and most importantly who profits and benefits from these narratives.  Although it was a gender and sexuality studies class, we touched on the portrayal of First Nations groups and the ways in which they are erased from our country’s history in various ways that are overlooked by many people.  One example is in the world renowned Canadian landscape art of the Group of Seven.  It wasn’t until I took this gender studies class that I realized there was criticism surrounding their art’s reinforcement of Terra Nullius, the depiction of various Canadian regions and land as untouched and undiscovered by humans when in reality, these areas had been inhabited by indigenous groups for many years.  This in and of itself reveals the problematic ways in which First Nations people have been written out of our nation’s history.” Whose Canada is it?

“It is interesting that you bring up the Group of Seven – last semester I took an art history class that examined the role of landscape in Canadian art the influence of the Group on a kind of psycho-geographic visual culture that is still with us today. Just look at how many people have put landscapes up on their blogs, and you get the sense that we connect this readily to our national identity. As you have pointed out – the Group of Seven represents a significant kind of erasure, one that I think is part of the foundation for this class as well.” Whose Canada is it?

“Your introduction post was incredibly well-thought out and informative. Thank you for the reading experience. I too find it particularly interesting how whenever someone is a member of a minority group, everything they do is categorized by their background. I am curious as to your thoughts on the matter: is it good to bring someone’s background to the table when discussing their cultural influence (even though a traditionally canonical writer is never introduced as a “straight white male”, for example) or is it more important to let someone’s work speak for themselves before learning about their background? ” Canadian Studies

“In regards to your first question “is it good to bring someone’s background to the table when discussing their cultural influence . . . or is it more important to let someone’s work speak for themselves before learning about their background?”, I struggle with that thought almost daily. It is a difficult road to navigate, firstly I think that the social context of an authors historical background can greatly help parse not only social concerns from but also explain literary choices ranging from names to locations but what terrifies me is the categorization authors face. It is hard to explain but for centuries western culture (British, North American, etc) has continually analyzed and categorized anything from science to art and I feel that while knowing that a piece of art is from the expressionist period and not the modernist era may add some insight that it also limits the artwork and consequently the artist. When you take that concept and expand it to race and gender it exemplifies the deliberate canonization of literature, many of the great female writers of the past centuries had to hide their identities behind male sounding names in order to be published or even front the publishing fees themselves just based on their gender.” Canadian Studies

“the time I’ve spent dipping my toes into the realm of Theatre and GRSJ has left with me a passion for anti-colonialist literature and the counter western narratives. As a third generation Canadian, I am always beguiled at the narratives that my parents and grandparents recite to me over the dinner table. I’m grateful that I am alive in a time where these white colonial narratives are being challenged.” And so it Begins

“I also think you make a good observation regarding the marketability of Canadian content. Using national symbols in some vague attempt to spark patriotic consumerism does seem to be pretty shallow. Anyhow, solid post, and I hope we come out of this thing with a more nuanced idea of what CanLit is, or at least some way to approach it.” Oh, Canada

“I always felt that living in South Africa was a very contradictory experience, similar to how the speaker felt in the quote you chose. In school we were only taught English and Afrikaans (an offshoot of Dutch dialects). We were never exposed to languages that were native to the homeland such as Zulu. Furthermore, history lessons revolved around Britain and her colonies, rather than exploring local peoples and their cultures.It almost felt that we were living somewhere else, and I think that a similar contradictory experience exists in Canada.” Canadian Literature 

“I looked online and saw that “Nervous Conditions” by Tsi Tsi Dangarembga is set in Zimbabwe formerly known as Rhodesia. My mom was born and raised there, and I was lucky enough to spend every Christmas there on my grandmother’s farm. Even though Zimbabwean voices encountered censorship during periods of colonization, they used orature and literature as a means of resistance to assimilation. For example, during the Second Chimuergna (1960’s-1979) which lead to the end of white minority rule, oral traditions symbolized the transition from colonialism to liberation. Political occasions such as protests included singing as a form of the resistance. The song lyrics would call upon the support of ancestral guardian spirits to ensure that the war would be won. In 1980, when Zimbabwe achieved independence, freedom offered the end of literary censorship. ”  Canadian Literature 

“I really enjoyed reading your introduction. I felt it offered a very honest account of the feelings which I think many of us in this class experience concerning our inability to reconcile the treatment of the First Nations people at the hands of the European colonizers. I really appreciate what you were saying about wanting to go into education and about the need to revise curriculum to include indigenous narratives and perspectives. While not specifically addressing First Nations issues in Canada, have you ever read Peggy McIntosh’s article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”? It is a quick read on the institutionalization of privilege in general- and in terms of your interests in education, and the need to reform curriculum to included discussions of institutionalized racism, I feel you might find it an interesting read.

Looking forward to reading more from you!” My Home and Native Land? 

* This is all about the colonizing power of grammar. Note the use of capitals in the list and ask yourself – why do the names we use to name Indigenous peoples, so very often, not begin with a capital letter? And, check yourself, make sure you give the same respect to the way you name Indigenous peoples – as you do to every other nation of peoples. Thanks.