Monthly Archives: January 2015

Your task is to take the story about how evil comes into the world, from King’s text, and change it to tell it. First, learn the story by heart, and then tell the story to your friends and family. When you are finished, post a blog with your version of the story and some commentary on what you discovered. If you want, you can post a video of you telling the story, in place of text.

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I have a story to tell you. A story about how evil came into this world. A story that began a long long time ago…

There once was a child, born with golden locks and eyes that shone as bright as the stars. She was blessed with a kind nature and a loving heart and all who knew her, loved her. Her name was Matilda and she was a very special girl. In fact, she had these 3 fairies who guided her and played with her all throughout the day. These 3 fairies were Blue, Green and Red. They loved Matilda very much and sought to always protect her from any harm. Every night before Matilda went to bed, the 3 fairies would tell her a bedtime story filled with wonder, love and magic.

Now these 3 fairies were playful and like to play while Matilda was taking her afternoon naps. Once, while they were playing Hide-n-Seek, Red’s tail got caught in the ground in between the rocks. She panicked as Blue and Green were far away and could not hear her cries of help. After a while, Blue and Green got worried and flew back to see what was holding Red. But it was too late, her tail was broken and she would never be as beautiful as Blue and Green again. Red grew angry as she blamed this incident on Blue and Green. She thought nasty thoughts and wished for their misfortune.

One day, just like always, Blue, Green and Red were telling Matilda a story before she went to bed. But on this night Red was quiet and did not participate much in the telling of the story. Matilda grew worried and asked Red what was wrong. By now, Red’s anger had been transformed to include every living creature on Earth. It was because of the rocks that had gotten her stuck. It was because of the ground that was so wet and sticky that got her stuck. It was because none of the other animals helped her. It was because Blue and Green always got more attention that she did. And her anger grew and grew, till it could not be contained anymore and she told a story full of horror, betrayal and hatred and Matilda cried and could not sleep that night. Blue and Green demanded that Red take back her story, but in response, Red said: “A story once told, can never be taken back”.

Since then, darkness, fear, betrayal and evil has been in Matilda’s heart and it will never go away.

The following blog is in response to the question.

Explain why the notion that cultures can be distinguished as either “oral culture” or “written culture” (19) is a mistaken understanding as to how culture works, according to Chamberlin and your reading of Courtney MacNeil’s article “Orality”.

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According to Chamberlin, “all so-called oral cultures are rich in forms of writing, albeit non syllabic and non-alphabetic ones…and, on the other hand, the central institutions of our supposedly “written” cultures – our courts and churches and parliaments and schools are in fact arenas of strictly defined and highly formalized oral traditions”. The mistake he says is in the concept that “speaking and listening are simple and natural… while writing and reading are cultivated and complex.” This, he says “encourages people to treat other societies with a blend of condescension and contempt while celebrating the sophistication of their own” (Chamberlin 19). In examining the evolution of language, linguists have realized the complexity of languages and hence the idea that speaking and listening are simple and natural are not true. Speaking, listening, writing and reading are all forms of communicating that require complex and organized systems of thoughts.

Culture is represented in many ways. Culture can be defined as “the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning” (A Definition). Under such a definition, a system of shared beliefs, values, behaviours are presented in oral and written traditions. Coping mechanisms – from helping us escape harm to working together to build communities are all through our ability to communicate. Further, our communication with others is not dependent on either oral or writing methods. It is in both. It is in these methods, that allow the passing on of ones culture from one generation to the next.

The classification of culture as either an “oral” culture or a “written” culture is dangerous in exactly the way Chamberlin phrased it. It is because it creates a hierarchy of culture. The thought that one culture is more “advanced” than other, or more “evolved” is an illusion that is encouraged by history. It creates the divide between “them” and “us” and does not encourage the desire to cultivate or to understand another culture on the premise that it is backward and therefore unworthy of understanding, preserving and celebrating.

MacNeil also expresses her views on orality. She says “The framing of orality as a “preference” or “tendency” encourages its place within the paragone of the printed and spoken word, and suggests a single-sensory conception of media – that orality exists in a dialectical relationship with literacy, and that communication is a competition between eye and ear” (MacNeil). In this framework of either “oral” or “written” culture. They are presented as mutually exclusive options that cannot co-exist. While in fact, culture is a result of both the “oral” and the “written”.

MacNeil further extends to apply this to the “oral” and the “written” within the framework of our modern web-based society. MacNeil quotes MacLuhan in stating that “the computer does not initiate the dominance of one media form over another, but rather encourages their fusion within the pluralistic realm of the “global village”.” Transcribing voice into text has become so advanced that one could record a voice note as a reminder and have it transcribed into text. Similarly, texts can be read out to us, sometimes in customized voices. The fusion of the written and the spoken word has never been such harmony.

The desire to classify culture either as “oral” or “written” is a convenient classification that might even stem from the OCD nature in humans to classify everything into neat little pockets. Where in fact, we do not fit in. “Them vs Us” is a mentality that has been encouraged because it separates people into neat sections. But as Chamberlin sees it, “We are… much more involved in both oral and written traditions than we might think. And our stories and songs draw on the resources of both.” (Chamberlin 20)

References

A Definition of Culture. n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. <https://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/courses/122/module1/culture.html>.

Chamberlin, Edward. If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories? Finding Common Ground. Toronto: AA. Knopf. 2003. Print.

MacNeil Courtney. “Orality.” The Chicago School of Media Theory. Uchicagoedublogs. 2007. Web. 19 Feb. 2013

Hello Peoples.

Grammar is not my favourite subject, but Indigenous culture and literature is fascinating to me and I’m quite excited to learn from this course. I expect this course to be challenging and time-consuming (after looking at the syllabus and because I read slow) but at the end of the day, it is an experience that I know will broaden my perspective and my ability to challenge the norms that we have in society.

About me. I love people. I love stories. I am curious. When I meet someone new, I am always thinking where they came from, how they came to be here…what their story is. I think that behind each story that we hear, are other stories that are forgotten and hidden. I think that stories need to be remembered because they are moments that define people for who they are. The tradition of oral story telling is one that is essential in the Indigenous culture, one that is integral to passing on the traditions and culture from generation to generation.

Canada is a such a great place for collecting stories. For it is here that we meet people from all around the world. Some of them looking for a better place to survive. Some of them, just looking for a place to park their money. Either way, they have a story, and I can’t wait to find out what. Canada is a country born out of immigration and as such the interaction with the Indigenous population is one that needs to be better understood.

One of the sites that I like to surf around is kickstarter (besides etsy and groupon) and I found this kickstarted a while ago that I would like to share https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jodymread/hitting-the-road-round-two?ref=nav_search. I think that it is through projects like these where Aboriginal people learn more about their own culture and are able to celebrate it.

During the time that I’ve been in Canada, it is in Squamish and in the Okanagan where I’ve learnt most about the Aboriginal people. I remember that I attended a conference where Jeanette Armstrong and Greg Youngling spoke and I would like to also share a poem that she read during the conference. “Artifacts” http://livinginthelibraryworld.blogspot.ca/2013/03/native-poetry.html

My educational background is in mathematics, and so I do not have a lot of previous material or knowledge about Indigenous culture or literature apart from English course I took in my first year. As such I look forward to working with you and learning from you!

Qihui. (Kiwi)

p.s. I couldn’t really figure out how to attach a visual here, but I have a link to a picture that I would like to share. http://www.otffeo.on.ca/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/09/booksOFlife-class.jpg