Hello everyone of English 470A!
My name is Hannah, and I am a fourth year student majoring in Art History, with a minor in History. I have taken various distance education classes in the past, and have generally found that English courses taught online are more engaging and provide more discussion. As others have already said, online classes do create a more comfortable environment for those who may be more shy to speak up within a classroom setting. This is the main reason why I enjoy taking classes such as this.
There are various reasons why I decided to take this course in particular. I enjoy taking English classes and have dabbled throughout my university career, and I was intrigued with the course description of this class. We will be taking a look at Canadian literature through a historical lens, looking at both Indigenous and European influences to literature. After looking at the reading list for this class, I have become intrigued in how literature was adapted, changed, and influenced by various historical stories and contexts. I am further intrigued into this idea of “whose stories we listen to,” and which stories have affected the way in which we see “Canadian Literature.” Moreover I am interested in the concept of literature explaining only one side of history, due to the other side of the story being only told through orature; this theme of a loss of history and the question of what really makes up modern Canadian Literature are very thought-provoking for me.
This is the first Canadian studies style course that I have taken, however I have seen some similar themes in a selection of my Art History courses. This course brings up memories of an exhibition that I had seen in the Belkin Gallery titled “Witnesses,” which discussed art and the Canadian residential schools. This exhibition talked about ideas of story-telling and the loss of historical memories for the Indigenous peoples. One of the art pieces that I had looked into was Apparition by Rebecca Belmore which reflected the understanding of a loss of her own language, and the “potential for its disappearance.” This powerful video-piece really caused me to think about the loss of culture and the ways in which Canada’s history reflects that. Here you can read more about the the exhibition and the various other artists highlighted.
I expect this course to challenge our ways of thinking about Canadian literature, and to further our understanding of the history behind our literature. I am looking forward to this semester, this reading list, and the opportunity to pick each-others brains on the various lessons through these blogs.
Apparition, Rebecca Belmore
Works Cited:
Belmore, Rebecca. Apparition. Digital image. belkin.ubc.ca/events/witnesses-traumatic-histories-artistic-practice-and-working-from-the-margins. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Turner, Michael. “Witnesses: Art and Canada’s Residential Schools.” Canadian Art Reviews. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
“Witnesses: Art and Canada’s Residential Schools.” Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
Hi Hannah, as a student who has not previously studied any courses focusing on Canadian Literature or the Indigenous people I am interested in filling the gap of unknown knowledge in reference to these. In your blog you brought up an interesting art exhibition and included a powerful picture by Rebecca Belmore. The image is extremely blunt and I like that. I believe that this generation has become sensitive to certain subjects and likes to push a lot of them under the rug and residential schools is one of them. This image as you explained shows exactly how their culture has been lost over time and the horrific experiences they had to deal with. I hope that throughout this course we are shown pieces of literature and images that remind us of Canada’s history; but most importantly not just the positive things but the situations that Rebecca has shown were present.
I want to ask you what you came up with when you thought about how Canada’s history reflects the Indigenous people’s loss of culture? What examples other than the loss of their language did you think of ?
One of the main reasons I really enjoy art pieces and performance art, is that they challenge society’s thinking and forces one to ask questions. Art can push boundaries, make bold statements, and challenge the sensitivity of the general public with regard to current issues in our own culture and society.
I think that with regard to examples of Indigenous loss of culture within Canadian history, there is just an overwhelming amount. I don’t think that the various issues can all be pin-pointed. From colonization, the Indigenous peoples of Canada have been faced with discrimination and assimilation. One can see within the Indigenous societies around us that there is more than a loss of written and spoken language, there is a loss of traditional skills, whether thats in regards to hunting, cooking, or building, and moreover we can see a loss in forms of art. Many indigenous families have become “westernized,” they speak english and attend schools that are taught in english, they watch english tv, see western forms of media and performance. Canadian history is built upon European settlers arriving to North America, colonizing, and pushing Indigenous peoples out of their homes, and in many cases causing villages to perish because of the introduction of foreign disease, and in some sense the European idea of the “white man’s burden.” Canada’s history reflects this loss of culture from the very beginning, and it is only recently that Canadians are trying to right the wrongs of its past. Unfortunately for many communities, the damage has been done for many years now.
Hello Hannah,
I enjoyed reading your introductory blog in which you seem to suggest that to some extent the historical factor impact the way in which literature, such as the Canadian literary genres, adapts and changes over time. Another determining factor, according to your argument, appears to be the stories being told as well as those being ignored, which shape the way we perceive what could be identified as “Canadian Literature”. What I have found most interesting is, as implied in your blog, the “chosen” aspect of literature canonisation, which is tied to “the loss of history” or “historical memories”. With respect to your insights as regards the process in which Canadian literature comes into being, do you think it is a fact that the Indigenous story-telling tradition is marginalised or deliberately ignored? In what way do you think the Indigenous voices could be made heard within the realm of Canadian Literature? I suppose answers to those questions might be able to contribute to enrich the Canadian literary genres as well as the Canadian identities.
Regards, Patrick
I’m not sure if you could say that it was deliberately forgotten, however, when a culture’s primary way of teaching and story-telling is by word of mouth, it is hard to compete with the English language and literature. I think that perhaps Indigenous story-telling is marginalized, partly because the stories are told in various languages, languages of which there may be very few who can still understand. Because of this, it is difficult to further such Indigenous histories and memories. But we are faced with issues if we do translate such stories into English. Do the Indigenous story-tellers tell their tales in English so that more people can understand it? Do the stories then lose their significance? I think that it is difficult to say. Would translating the Indigenous stories, that are known, into English books help or hurt the cause? Because English has historically been the language of the oppressor for Indigenous peoples, perhaps if their histories were retold in English then it would not be heard in the same way. Bilingual people will tell you first hand that sometimes phrases and explanations just can’t be translated properly, or it loses it’s meaning.
I think we are in a difficult situation and I, myself, would need to research further into what could be the best outcome for Canada. What do you think?
Hi Hannah,
Thank you for the post! I really liked the way you tied-in art and the power of stories in telling (or not telling) the history of a place. I think art (including visual art, writing, music, performance, etc.) can have a lot of power in bringing people together to explore what may be challenging topics and to move beyond words to see broader connections, impacts, uncertainties, and challenges.
On another note, your mention of the exhibition “Witness” reminded me of another piece of art/story-telling device that has been getting displayed at various places: the Witness Blanket (http://witnessblanket.ca/). Have you seen this installation as well? The parallels between the titles of these two installations struck me as interesting (and potentially powerful).
Wow, thank you for linking this installation! I just watched the project’s trailer. I really like the way the Witness Blanket brought historical pieces that held memories of pain and turned them into something of strength. Such an intricate piece, I would love to look further into the construction and formulation behind it.
Hello Hannah;
Welcome to our course of studies together and thank you for this great introduction and excellent hyperlinks, indeed. I am looking forward to working together and learning from your perspectives as well as engaging with your insights.
re: “I’m not sure if you could say that it was deliberately forgotten, ” – I think you will be surprised to learn that indeed – all cultural activities, including the telling of stories – were outlawed among First Nations peoples for decades; so, yes, their stories were most deliberately forgotten. But, they have survived nonetheless. That is the thing about oral culture – you can burn the books, but it is very difficult to eradicate the stories.
Thank you and enjoy.