Hello and welcome!
Picture credit: Maureen Bracewell, October 2013
My name is Kaylie. I am a lifelong learner, an avid knitter, a nature lover — and a first time blogger.
Recently, I transferred from Capilano University, where I was working on my Associate of Arts degree in Global Stewardship, to the Global Resource Systems (GRS) program at UBC. Through this program, I intend to focus my learning on sense of connection (to place, environment, culture, community), and how this sense affects our interactions with each other and our environment.
Throughout this blog, I hope to explore some of these themes of connection within the context of literature and stories; I welcome you to join me!
However, this blog is not simply an open exploration, but it’s also part of an online course through UBC: Canadian Studies: Canadian Literary Genres (ENGL 470A). This course will be focusing on Canadian literature, with an emphasis on the power of stories and the intersections, and departures, between Indigenous and non-Indigenous narratives, especially those narratives originating in the place now commonly known as North America (ENGL 407A).
By taking this course, I’m expecting to have the opportunity to critically reflect on the stories that create our perception of Canada, while improving my computer literacy skills and experiencing how the internet can be used as a tool for learning, discussing, and sharing different perspectives.
Beyond this, I’m hoping this course will also offer the opportunity to discuss and consider topics and questions such as how stories shape culture, nations, and a sense of connection, or “home;” what forms stories can come in (e.g. songs, art, writing) and how our society’s perspective on the validity of these stories may change depending on the form used to share it; and what it means to be a person living in a place where many of the stories, and even place names, that I learned throughout my childhood were largely disconnected from this place and its people.
I have always loved stories and I am looking forward to exploring both the stories, and their underlying connections, throughout this course. Please leave a comment if you feel inspired to do so; I look forward to connecting with you!
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Works Cited
Bracewell, Maureen. Oct. 2013. JPEG File.
“ENGL 470A (3 cr): Canadian Studies: Canadian Literary Genres.” Distance Learning. UBC, n.d. Web. 7 Sept. 2016. <http://distancelearning.ubc.ca/courses-and-programs/distance-learning-courses/courses/engl/engl470a/>.
Hanson, Erin. “Introduction.” Oral Traditions. Indigenous Foundations. UBC, c. 2009. Web. 8 Sept. 2016. <http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/culture/oral-traditions.html>.
“Global Resource Systems.” Faculty of Land and Food Systems. UBC, n.d. Web. 7 Sept. 2016. <http://www.landfood.ubc.ca/academics/undergraduate/grs/>.
“Global Stewardship Associate of Arts Degree.” Capilano U, n.d. Web. 7 Sept. 2016. <https://www.capilanou.ca/global-stewardship/>.
Lueras-Tramma, Nadine. “Feeling Connected Makes Us Kind.” The Greater Good Science Centre. U of California, Berkeley, c. 2016. Web. 8 Sept. 2016. <http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/feeling_connected_makes_us_kind>.
“Musqueam – Our History Web Map.” Musqueam a Living Culture. Musqueam Indian Band, c. 2011. Web. 8 Sept. 2016. <http://www.musqueam.bc.ca/musqueam-our-history-web-map>.
excellent blog title! it offers a sense of hope despite some of the harsh realities of canadian colonialism and racism that we will be looking at.
Thanks stephanie for your reflective comments and for the feedback! : )
I hope we will find some hope among the challenging topics that we will be discussing in this course. However, I have been learning that “creating connections” can also sometimes mean recognizing how interconnected some of the topics and challenges in much of society can be (e.g. colonialism, racism, sexism).
I hoping that I’ll get the chance to explore various facets of these connections (hopeful and interconnected) throughout this course!
Hello Stephanie,
Thank you for this comment – but Stephanie, I need to be able to identify you when you comment – so can you please sign off with the name on my class list – thank you!
yes no problem!
-stephanie lines
what are some specific ways that story telling impacts our identities?
Hi stephanie,
Thanks for the thought-provoking comments (and sorry for my slow response). In terms of impacting identities, the first thing that comes to mind for me is story telling about who we are, where we’ve come from, and where we’re going. I think this can be an individual reflection or process (e.g. the things we tell ourselves about the kind of person we are, our past, etc.), or a larger, group story–such as those we tell about nations, or religion, or the community or group we are a part of (or are excluded from). For instance, in a group setting this can take the form of shared songs (a form of storytelling), such as a national anthem. This can help to create an opportunity for people to share a common message and identify themselves as a part of a group, both of which I think could be incorporated into one’s identity.
i see story telling as being very important in developing our own sense of voice. in child education we see children being encouraged to use their own voice and offer us greater understanding of what is going on in their minds rather than just making decisions for the child. in trauma work i see voice as being integral as well – in order to really understand our own agency, we need to be able to make our own narrative of what has happened to us, rather than letting potential oppressers or abusers tell us how they perceive things have happened, which can often lead to gaslighting.
Hi Stephanie – I am not sure I know what “gaslighting” entails?
hi erika,
gaslighting is a term i have often referred to in situations of abuse. it refers to a form of mental abuse where an abuser manipulates the abused by making the abuser’s point of view primary and denying the abused’s point of view, causing the abused to question themselves, or feel like there is something wrong with them, ie. like they are being over-emotional, over-reacting, being unrealistic/unfair to the abuser, etc.
Hi stephanie,
I completely agree with you that stories can be a key part of developing our own sense of voice. I didn’t think of it before, but I really appreciate the examples you gave as they give specific scenarios of how stories can affect one’s voice and situation–and may not always be thought of as situations where one needs to find one’s story/voice. As I mentioned in my response above, I think storytelling can influence one’s sense of identity, collectively and individually, and I think storytelling for oneself can be important to help not only influence, but establish one’s identity and, like you mentioned here, voice.
Thanks again for taking the time to post your comments and reflections here!
– Kaylie
Hi Kaylie!
Your interest in how society’s perspective on the validity of stories may change depending on the form used to share them is very intriguing. I suppose that most people would think literature (written and published) more trustworthy and “valid” than oral stories. But from the Indigenous peoples’ perspective, as it is part of their culture to relive their history and identity through story telling, oral stories would be more reliable. If society puts more validity on written stories and little or no validity on oral stories, even if we had several voices (colonial and native) speaking up about a certain incident, there would be more weight put on the colonizers’ part of the story. This, in turn, may enter a negative feedback loop; society would see the colonizers as right and the indigenous as wrong, and continue shaping Canadian history and literature from the one voice that is valid.
However, this is not the case right now. While there is still a great portion of native voices that we haven’t heard from or acknowledged, there is recognition for some of these voices. There are books including narratives and opinions of the indigenous about the colonization process, racism, and other hardships they’ve been through. We learn about the birth of Canada and its progress as a nation in high school (sometimes even in elementary school), and as we learn about that, we read about the natives that were driven out of their own land and into tiny pieces of land that the colonizers “gave” them.
I feel that we are working towards listening to the Indigenous, but maybe not hard enough. For example, the campus that most (or maybe not?) of us study on (UBC Vancouver) is basically stolen property of the Musqueam.
I also like your thought on “what it means to be a person living in a place where many of the stories, and even place names, learned throughout childhood are largely disconnected from this place and its people”. Personally, as I live right on the UBC Vancouver campus with my family, I don’t feel a connection with the land or its history. There is aboriginal artwork and culture all over the campus, and yet since I do not know much about the Musqueam other than the fact that this land was stolen from them, I cannot relate with the artwork and culture.
What are your examples of when you felt or feel disconnected from some place or people?
Jenny
Hi Jenny,
I just wanted to thank you for your comment! I will more fully reply to your questions and points over the weekend 🙂
Hi Jenny,
Thanks for sharing some of your responses, reflections, and questions!
In terms of the validity of stories, I first really started reflecting on this while doing a course on “world literature” where I did some investigating about what “counts” in this regard. (As a side note, the concept of world literature itself has been discussed, such as in this article, as it prompts questions such as what is literature? Does world literature mean literature from around the world, or literature with worldly perspectives, or literature with settings within our “world,” or something else entirely? How is this affected by stories that are told orally, or that need to be translated?)
While an increasing number of stories are being shared and listened to (and, as discussed in this course, perhaps the changes in usage of the www is affecting this too), there are also many that are being missed and stories that are not being heard, especially when looking at “literature,” which, based on my experiences, often does not include oral stories. I agree that there are an increasing number of diverse voices and Indigenous voices being acknowledged, but I think there are still large gaps (e.g. when one looks at the majority of literature that is typically read in academic institutions). Partially for these reasons, I found the reading list for this course refreshing and exciting, but it seems more like an exception than what I’ve generally encountered in other courses.
Also, yes, I agree with you that education is a great start, although I think things could also be improved in this area. (For instance, I work with children and youth and I often find that even the older participants are unaware of the meaning of “unceded” or the name of the nation that originally inhabited the area where they live or study.) However, I’ve heard that the new elementary/secondary curriculum might be incorporating more of this knowledge; hopefully this awareness and the opportunities to hear diverse voices will continue to grow!
Anyhow, in response to you last question, I would actually say that I generally feel strongly connected to this place. However, as someone who does not have ancestry indigenous to where I am living, I feel like I am constantly navigating this sense of “place” and the history of this land, while also learning and unlearning about my relations, the world around me, and the affects of colonialism. In some ways I do feel disconnected, especially from my ancestors and the places they came from a couple hundred years ago, but at the same time, I’m hoping that through my learning and reflections, and by making connections with this place and my community, that I’ll be able to navigate this connection/disconnection and the meanings associated with it.
Anyhow, I hope this more fully answers your questions — thanks again for the comment! 🙂
– Kaylie
Hello Kylie, just wanted to pop in and say I love your title 🙂
You write so beautifully, I found your post so nice to read. Thanks!
Hi Hannah,
Thank you so much for the kind and encouraging reply! 🙂
Hello Kaylie,
Well, you are certainly in the right course, at the right time: wonderful to have you and your insightful perspectives in our class. I am very much looking forward to our work together. Thank you.
Hi Erika,
Thank you for your kind and welcoming reply! I’m really excited about participating in this course as well. 🙂