“Write a blog that hyper-links your research on the characters in GGRW according to the pages assigned to you. Be sure to make use of  Jane Flicks’ GGRW reading notes on your reading list.” (Paterson, Lesson 3.3)

From page 191 (229 in 2010 edition): “ Okay,” I says. “Let’s get started” …. To page 205 (244 in 2010 edition): “Latisha lay in bed with her eyes closed and listened to Elizabeth climb out of her crib” ….

Characters mentioned (bold indicates characters focused on in this post) in this literature-opsy are:

John Wayne             Lionel Red Dog             Coyote             Dr. Hovaugh             Babo         Ishmael

Border Guard            Robinson Crusoe             Hawkeye                    Lone Ranger             Thought Woman

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“9. King’s “preoccupation with mapping” (Goldman) is interrelated with the constant returning to Fort Marion. For the Women who fall from the sky, all roads lead to Fort Marion. Goldman suggests that King selected this episode in history because the Ledger Art of the Fort Marion Indians consists of “drawings [that are] acts of Native self-representation” (26). With this in mind, discuss why all roads lead back to Fort Marion in the novel, and be sure to consider the possible parallels between Dr. Hovaugh’s fictional institution in Florida and the historical Fort Marion.”

(Paterson, “Lesson 3.2”)

Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Nam June Paik (1995)

Reading this book was a trip, in every sense of the word. The closest books that I have read that come close to a similar unconventional boundary bending, literary convention squashing style are Italo Calvino’s If on a winter’s night a traveler and, to a lesser extent, Mark Haddon’s  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. That being said, Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water is a very different book than either of the aforementioned. Through his literary project, King is telling a story that I view as more politically minded (for lack of a better word) than either Calvino’s or Haddon’s novels.

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“2]… For this blog assignment, I would like you to research and summarize one of the state or governing activities, such as The Royal Proclamation 1763, the Indian Act 1876, Immigration Act 1910, or the Multiculturalism Act 1989 – you choose the legislation or policy or commission you find most interesting. Write a blog about your findings and in your conclusion comment on whether or not your findings support Coleman’s argument about the project of white civility.” (Paterson, “Lesson 3.1”)

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“3] In order to address this question you will need to refer to Sparke’s article, “A Map that Roared and an Original Atlas: Canada, Cartography, and the Narration of Nation.” You can easily find this article online. Read the section titled: “Contrapuntal Cartographies” (468 – 470). Write a blog that explains Sparke’s analysis of what Judge McEachern might have meant by this statement: “We’ll call this the map that roared.” “

(Paterson,    “Lesson 2:3”)

Maps are interesting items. We place a lot of trust in them, in their constellations of datum points and in the mathematical certainties of the Cartesian grid system. Given the nature of land claims cases, maps and geographical knowledge are of paramount importance.  However, once maps become political, they are subject to interpretation, which is what Sparke explores in his article – specifically the power dynamics of these interpretations among different groups.

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