Hello everyone!
My name is Lara Deglan (aka Lara Dee for Blog purposes, just because). I just completed my final year in UBC’s Acting program and this is my last English course I need in order to complete my minor in English literature so I can graduate (thank god!… I mean, oh… I am so sad it’s almost over). I barely made it into this course, but someone dropped and I got in. So, my apologies for this late post. I feel like this course is going to be very interesting because I know pretty much nothing about blogging, have very little patience for computers, and also know next to nothing in terms of Canadian literature. But, that just means that I am going to learn A LOT over the semester.
What I like about this course is that it seems to revolve around story telling and the connection between Indigenous and European traditions. I especially like this fact because though I know very little about Canadian historical stories, I am Icelandic and the world of my ancestors (the Vikings) also revolved around story telling; their conquests were “recorded” purely through stories passed on through generations because they could not read or write. [Side note: If any of you are interested in learning more about the Vikings, I recommend watching the show Vikings on the History Channel (http://www.history.ca/vikings/)]. But what I like most about this course is the fact that Erika is open to us not only having freedom to write our heart’s desires within our blogs, but also to choose the type of paper we wish to write at the end of the course. I am the type of person that loves to write my own ideas and thoughts, rather than reiterate another person’s, so I am very excited to have the freedom to do so.
All in all, I think this course will be a great learning experience and the blogging aspect will, in a sense, act as a reflective journal to navigate through the course. Talk to you all soon!
P.S. I also found this encyclopedia link to kind of get an idea of what to expect in terms of our readings: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/literature-in-english/. Also, here is a picture I took last weekend while I was on my first cruise. I feel like it definitely encapsulates some of the beauty that Canada has to offer. After all, a picture says a thousand words, and I feel like this photo (aka Canadian landscape) could definitely inspire some new Canadian literature.
Works Cited
New, W.H. “Literature in English.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 May 2014.
Paterson, Erika. ENGL 470A: Canadian Studies: Canadian Literary Genres. University of British Columbia, 2014. Web. 20 May 2014.
Vikings. n.d. Web. 20 May 2014 <http://www.history.ca/vikings/>
Hello Laura Dee, nice to meet you and welcome to our course of studies. Unfortunately, neither of your links are working – and I am terribly curious to see what kinds of readings the encyclopedia expects in a course like this? I suspect you will be surprised. I hope you have your books by now and have been enjoying your read through Edward Chamberlin’s, ‘If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories’ – this is a great read. I am happy you appreciate the range of chooses this course offers in terms of expression of insights and reflections – good. I look forward to working with you this summer. enjoy.
Oh, one more note, you will want to remove the Sample page and set up a navigation menu like the one in Laura’s blog ( https://blogs.ubc.ca/marslaura/ ). There are instructions on the Student Blog page, just scroll down to the bottom.
Hi Erika,
Thanks for letting me know about the links and navigation menu. I just updated both and both should be working now. And yes, I used the encyclopedia as purely a starting point to get some context at the very least. And I am getting my books today 🙂
Hi Lara,
Don’t worry about knowing nothing about blogging, computers, and Canadian literature. I’m on the same boat as you! I’m sure by the end of the summer we will be experts on the subject!
It seems like you’re closely connected to your Icelandic roots. It’s so fascinating that a community could successfully pass down stories so many generations later, and continue to impact descendants today. I’ll definitely check out the show, I’m a huge History Channel junkie.
Anyways, looking forward to learning more with you and engaging in future discussions!