Hello and welcome to this student blog for ENGL 470A Canadian Studies. My name is Kevin and I am a 3rd year UBC student pursuing a double major in Creative Writing and English Literature. I am a Canadian citizen but am not as interested in Canada as I perhaps should be, demonstrated by the fact that I frequent World News rather than CBC. I will start visiting both.

My current understanding of this course is that it focuses on the relationship between European and Indigenous narratives that are situated in the country of Canada. On a broader scale, it will focus on the effects of stories on cultures and how they are used to craft a concept of community and a concept of home.

Our word “land” is too spare and meagre. We can scarcely use it except with economic overtones unless we happen to be poets. The aboriginal would speak of “earth” and use the word in a richly symbolic way to mean his “shoulder” or his “side.” I have seen an aboriginal embrace the earth he walked on. (W. Stanner qtd. in J. Chamberlin 79)

I originally intended to title this blog “Many Homes, One Land,” but after reading that quote, I made a most likely futile change. As someone who is not as interested in Canada as he perhaps should be, my chief interest in this course is how its specific focus applies to the universal context. I think of the relationship between European and Indigenous narratives in Canada as another instance of the timeless problem: that of having many groups live on Earth that can only comfortably accommodate one. Every instance is different, of course, and it is in the specifics of this one that I hope to find new insights. I am also as a creative writer interested in the techniques that make these stories as compelling as they are, especially those that remain compelling outside of historical and cultural context.

I am not an active social media poster but do have experience blogging with the Arts One course that I took in my first year. I have also taken quite a few distance courses and have done research on online communication, so I look forward to experiencing this course’s unique structure.

Works Cited

CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC News. CBC/RC, 15 May 2015. Web. 15 May 2015.

Chamberlin, J. Edward. If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories? Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2004. Print.

Paterson, Erika. ENGL 470A Canadian Studies. U of British Columbia, 11 May 2015. Web. 15 May 2015.

Sun, Kevin. kcsaob. WordPress, 25 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 May 2015.

The Real Deal. Globe. TRD, 26 Dec. 2012. Web. 15 May 2015.

WN Network. World News. WNN, 15 May 2015. Web. 15 May 2015.