Hi…
Welcome to my first blog post for ENGL 470!
My name is Jenny Lee and I am a 3rd year student at UBC Vancouver. From the introductory posts that I have read so far, it seems like a little more than half of the class is majoring in English literature. I am with those of you who are not pursuing an English major – my field of study is probably as far from English as majors can go: Biology. Yes, I know, it seems crazy that a biology student working towards med school is taking an English course. That being said, why am I taking this course?
My answer is that I am working towards an English literature minor. To be honest, I do not like writing, and I am not very good at it. However, I do love reading, and I like to decipher/understand/make connections to literature, as well as listen to what other people think about a certain piece of writing. The satisfaction that I receive from understanding a piece of literature outweighs my dislike for writing. I have chosen to take ENGL 470 in particular, because I feel a need to understand and connect to the country that I live in and am a part of. My birth country is South Korea, and I came to Canada in 2005. Despite having lived in Canada longer than in Korea, I identify myself more Korean than Canadian. This, I feel, puts my Canadian citizenship to shame. Other than the multiculturalism and the politeness (thank you! sorry!), I’m not sure what it means to be Canadian. I hope to find out a little more about being a Canadian through this course.
I have read from the course syllabus that we will be looking into and comparing Canadian (both European and native) literature and stories. In doing so, we will learn about the history and traditions of Canada, while paying attention to the points of view that the pieces of writing are written in. The voices of the stories will be important, as the peoples, whether it be the Europeans or the Indigenous, that are not represented in the literature are excluded from having their say, and we may only be reading a fraction of what really happened.
My impression of the course is that it will somewhat resemble studying The Joy Luck Club, which is a novel that is made up of stories told by 4 different families. While the novel differs from our course studies in that it explores what it means to be American, or Chinese-American, rather than Canadian, it is similar in that it focuses on the hardships the families had while adjusting to racism, and the search for identity. I am expecting that by the last day of ENGL 470, I will know more about Canadian history than what I know now: little bits and pieces about the Métis, the importance that the Hudson Bay had, and something about the Canadian Pacific Railway. I want to grasp a sense of my Canadian identity, and to be able to say I’m Canadian without feeling hesitant or out of place.
Thank you for reading my over-the-word-limit introduction! Please (pretty please with a cherry on top!) feel free to leave comments 🙂
I’ll end off with a video of BTS (I’m a huge fan, they are a K-pop boy group).
Works Cited
Biology Program. UBC, www.biology.ubc.ca/.
“BTS(방탄소년단) _ FIRE (불타오르네).” YouTube, uploaded by 1theK, 1 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALj5MKjy2BU.
“Canada National Anthem”, www.cic.gc.ca/english/celebrate/pdf/National_Anthem_e.pdf
Paterson, Erika. “Course Syllabus.” UBCBlogs, WordPress, blogs.ubc.ca/courseblogsis_ubc_engl_470a_99c_2014wc_44216-sis_ubc_engl_470a_99c_2014wc_44216_2517104_1/course-requirements. Accessed 11 September 2016.
“The Joy Luck Club: A Novel.” Amazon, 21 September, 2006, www.amazon.ca/Joy-Luck-Club-Novel/dp/0143038095.
Thank you so much for your follow up comment!
First I should mention that I dropped the course :(.
But yes, Western culture definitely allows more free standards of expression for individuals. Personally, I am both interdependent and independent. There are certain times in which I follow my own opinions and goals, rather than follow the average norm.
And yes, I agree that both a country and individual have times that it is collectivistic and times that it is individualistic!
Hi Jenny,
First off, thank you for your comment on my blog I really appreciate every response I get!
I’m thrilled to get to meet you.
I agree with you, it’s hard to decipher Canadian culture because, truth is, we aren’t exposed to the country’s roots as much as we are for other countries like America. I completely understand why it’s hard to identify as Canadian when we barely know what it means to be Canadian! It’s also hard to pinpoint what Canada is because there isn’t a specific culture that found the country and since we are extremely multicultural it’s even harder to explain. That’s why this course is interesting because it brings insight to those people who founded the roots.
Unfortunately, a lot of the indigenous culture has been eradicated and silenced. However, through this course we get to learn the voices which have been silenced in the past.
As a Chinese-Canadian I could relate to your interest in topics such as racism and obstacles that these families have to face.
Thanks for your comment!
Hello from a fellow Jenny! I think being Canadian can mean a lot of things, like developing tastes in food (poutine, Nanaimo bars, fusion foods) for instance. One of the positive things about being in a more open and multicultural environment is that people feel free to express and follow whatever culture and still call themselves Canadian. There is no such definition for what a ‘true Canadian citizen’ is, so I hope you don’t feel hesitant about it! Since you mention you feel more Korean, I wonder if your hesitation comes from not being able to relate to a certain group definition of Canadians or feeling like you don’t belong to one? Since Korea is more collectivistic as a whole and Canada individualistic, have you noticed and/or been uncomfortable with any cultural differences initially when you moved or any in general?
If it’s of any help, I would call myself Chinese Canadian because of my nationality and ethnicity, though having grown up in North America I identify more with Western culture. If people criticize me for not being able to read and write Chinese, then they are expecting too much of me and do not understand nor are open to the concept of westernization. There are many individual variations, but no right or wrong way to be a Canadian citizen. I might meet others who identify more with one of the two cultures, but that’s okay (although being fluent in my family’s language is something I want to do and don’t feel that I have to do it). At first, I rebelled and took French in high school because I didn’t exactly accept myself as being Chinese. In all, cultural identity in general is definitely an ongoing personal journey and best wishes on understanding your own!
Thanks for your comment!
Korea is definitely collectivistic. There are also many representative things that really unite Koreans – these are both the things that come up in non-Koreans’ minds when they think of Korea, and the things that most Koreans strongly connect to. For example, Korean food is very popular and has made its way into other countries. Another huge representitive of Korea is K-Pop.
In contrast, as you commented, Canada is extremely individualistic. There is less of a tendency to “stick to the status quo”. And while there are famous foods like poutine and popular sports like hockey, Canadians do not connect with those things as much as Koreans do with Kimchi or K-Pop (or is it just my biased opinion? I do not mean to offend anyone!)
My hesitation of my Canadian identity does not come from a lack of a sense of belonging. Your point on the difference between Koreans and Canadians as to being collectivist vs. individualistic is right on point. While in Korean culture, I have something to share with practically every citizen, there isn’t really anything like that in Canada – hence the multiculturality. So to sum things up, I think the reason for my hesitation is the lack of a huge common binding factor. Did that make any sense?
And I definitely do not feel uncomfortable in/with Canada. I love Canada for its multiculturalism… you know what, that might be the common binding factor! But it is a little hard to wrap around in my head. It feels like I did organize my sense of identity a little, but in the process came up with more complex thoughts.
Thanks again for helping me think about being Canadian. Also, it seems like you had a long journey to think about your cultural identity as well. I really like your idea of “no right or wrong way to be a Canadian citizen”. I will continue to think about this and hopefully I will be confident with my Canadian identity by the end of the course!
I realize I wasn’t that clear with my questions as I intended–it’s been a while since I’ve thought about cultural differences and influences (there’s a lot of psychological aspects to them). I meant to address personality, as well – like are we interdependent – when we interact with others, we identify ourselves in a group. or independent.https://dannonl.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/independent-vs-interdependent/ Here is a more complex chart that I could find on a whim, of the sorts of thinking and identification that relates to these terms. Being a second generation immigrant myself I remember identifying as more interdependent but from taking PSYC 307 (Cultural Psychology) last year I realize that I am heavily influenced by Western culture in general, so that I have learned to separate myself from certain situations and don’t feel a need to adjust certain parts of myself in order to fit the group standards.
I am unsure of judging how deep connections can be as I don’t know much of both. Both Korea and Canada have fanbases in hockey and whatnot. I am aware of how internationally widespread and supportive the fan-base for K-pop is, but I can see what you mean–Hockey or sports in general is more of a reason to celebrate your own country’s accomplishments though I would think in certain aspects just like ourselves, we may waver between both collectivistic and individualistic characteristics?
I’m looking forward to seeing your reflected thoughts in the end of this course! 🙂
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