Hey everybody! I’m Hailey and I’m a fourth year English Literature major. I’m excited to be enrolled in this course because I LOVE criticizing colonization! I think that it is vital for a society to analyze it’s past mistakes and learn from them in order to reroute behaviours, attitudes and actions in a justifiable and moral direction. From what I seem to have read/observed this course will be weighted largely upon online discussion and participation. According to my understanding, it is up to us as responsible and reliable students to engage in discussion from a digital environment and actively read both the teacher’s blog and our fellow student’s blogs. As a course about Canadian literature we will be reading literature/stories and discovering intersections between Western and Native traditions. This course will be historically-focused in an effort to focus our thought upon the impact of history upon Canadian literature as a genre. We will also reflect upon storytelling (and I’m assuming this regards Native storytelling). In addition, from what I’ve come to understand, we will be separating the genres of Literature and storytelling in an effort to reveal canonization, nation-building and colonialism, and how all of these topics work together.
I hope that this course strengthens my online skills and stimulates thoughtful online communication between students regarding the texts of study. In addition, I hope that this course allows me to develop a well-rounded critical understanding of Canadian literature. In particular, I hope to reflect upon the evils of colonialism and criticize the horrors of assimilation and integration that native Canadian cultures underwent during Westernization. I recently took a course that reflected upon British imperialism in Africa and India and I was baffled at the horrific, bloody history that cut deeply into the cultures of these affected continents/countries. I hope that this course provides me with a similar enlightenment and focalizes my educational motivations toward the wrongdoing of Canadian imperial actions/behaviours that were once thrust upon Native cultures of the pre-Canadian territory.
I’m looking forward to this course and I can’t wait to see what it has in store! Happy Friday :).
Works Cited
Gordon, Todd. “Canada As Colonial Power | Literary Review of Canada.” Literary Review of Canada, n.d. Web. 15 May 2015.
Monkman, Leslie. “Aspects of the Indian in Canadian Literature.” Aspects of the Indian in Canadian Literature. University of Toronto Press, n.d. Web. 15 May 2015.
Hi Hailey, welcome to our course of studies together, and thanks for the great introduction – and excellent hyperlinks. I am very much looking forward to working together this summer. Enjoy. Erika
Thank-you Professor! Looking forward to working together as well. Cheers! 🙂
Hi Hailey,
I feel that not many people (myself included) know about Canada’s imperial and ongoing colonial legacy. I know it existed and still exists but my knowledge of it ends there. The bare minimum. It’s almost like Canada is dismissed of it. I was wondering why you think so.
I can’t remember a course or reading (high school or post-secondary) discussing Canada in the context of colonialism; the closest thing I’ve come across that situates Canada in such a context is when native speakers in discussion panels notify their audience about how they are on “sacred land”.
An idea, from the first article you hyperlinked, that stood out to me was the idea that Canada appears “as an international good guy, without any tawdry colonial past”. This one-liner accurately sums up my high school and post-secondary education regarding Canada–a description free of anything negative. Do you think our imperial and ongoing colonial legacy is swept under the rug because we neighbour the Americans who have bigger and similar problems with imperialism, colonialism, globalization and westernization?
Hey Earl!
I linked these particular articles because they lightly touched upon some of the topics that I find interesting about Aboriginal and Canadian history and literature. You’re totally right about our high school education. Social Studies 9, 10 and 11 completely left out information about the colonialism that actually occurred, and the truly terrible events that Aboriginal peoples underwent during European settlement.
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.
I honestly feel that the fact that Canada keeps endlessly apologizing demonstrates a true ignorance toward Canada’s history. I don’t necessarily think Canada is sweeping the issue under the rug, but is instead continuously bandaging and re-bandaging the colonial wound without allowing our Aboriginal peoples the air they need to breathe and heal. We keep stealing Aboriginal land and apologizing. I say “we” loosely as well..
To answer your question about our neighbouring Americans: I have to admit I’m not as sure as I would like to be. We definitely continue to identify our local Aboriginal issues, but the issues never seem to end. This demonstrates to me that the Aboriginal issue is not as prioritized as it needs to be if resolution is the end point that Canada seeks.
Thanks for the comment, Earl! This stimulated a lot of interesting thought and insight for me. Cheers! 🙂
🙂
Hi Hailey,
I had to comment as your opening made me laugh – your emphasis, that you LOVE critiquing colonization! makes me think I am in good company. Despite the seriousness of the topic, I think that well placed levity helps undermine or at least challenge colonial hegemony.
As to some of the conversation here, I think my experience in school was that I learned about historical injustice in social studies, with no examination of the lasting effects of colonization in the contemporary. There was no connection made between contact and an assortment of legal policy that worked to disenfranchise people. I think the idea that, “that was then, this is now” is one of the most pernicious lies we Canadians tell ourselves (as seen in any comment section on the CBC, ugh).
Heidi
Hey Heidi!
Great to see I have good company 🙂
I completely agree with your comment about our historical education in high school. We definitely learned a little bit about what happened, but along with recovery comments about what we’re “doing now”. It seems like we’ve almost tried to “pay off” Aboriginal peoples.. but such “pay offs” just sweep the dust under the rug.
To me, it’s like the running joke about ICBC: “We know you were in a really traumatic car accident that probably traumatized you and will definitely impact you for the rest of your life… so here’s a million dollars. Feel better soon”.
Because money really buys happiness..and recovery, for that matter?
Thanks for the comment Heidi! Cheers! 🙂