Hi everyone and welcome to the home page for our English 470 conference group.
Course Goals:
English 470 is a course that is focused primarily on the development of Canadian literature. This course has examined the intersections and differences between stories that European descendants and Aboriginals tell, and has brought up how those socialized by Western society approach stories. We have learned about the effects that stories have on our perceptions, and how our stories shape our lives. We have also examined orality and text-based literature as two styles of story-telling, and the merits and significance of both as equally valid methods. For this course, our class is required to work in groups to come up with a possible intervention to promote and define Canadian literature. We are encouraged to explore the ways that allow the Canadian literary output to remain relevant to every citizen in this diverse nation.
Conference Goals:
For this conference, our group would like to explore the meaning of nationalism and how it pertains to the idea of Canadian literature. What belongs to Canadian literature? Who are the agents that shape the perceptions and boundaries of this literature? How does history, language, government and culture empower or obstruct its development? These will be the questions that we will explore in this online conference.
Research Concerns:
-Respecting the diversity of Canada from Vancouver out.
-Observing the effects of cultural education on reducing discrimination, and improving knowledge and relations.
-Evaluating the efficiency of Pen Pal programs as a culturally relevant educational tool.
-Researching the different experiences faced by Canadians in different provinces and communities.
“My work is very different from traditional art work. How do you paint a land claim? You can’t carve a totem pole that has a beer bottle on it… I paint this for what it is – a very toxic land base. This is what my ancestral motherland is becoming.”
— Lawrence Paul Yuxwelupton
Works Cited:
The Gertrudes. “One Almighty Nation.” Youtube. Amanda Strong. 9 Jan. 2015. Web. 24 July 2015.
Yuxweluptun, Lawrence Paul. “Red Man Watching White Man Trying to Fix A Hole in the Sky.” Canadian Art Junkie. National Gallery of Canada. 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 28 July 2015.
“Cropped copy of maple leaves.” The Crux of the Matter. COTM.blog, Sept 2014. Web. 14 Aug. 2015.
Hey Team!
Great work on your introduction! I liked how you phrased your conference goals, posing very clear questions that will be addressed by your team! In particular, your choice of photograph as well as a quote, which does represent the course goals very well. As perceptions are something I personally think are the most important concept in understanding human relations, I can’t wait to read more from your team!
Thanks! I thought the painting was powerful, and thought the quote related quite nicely to our topic. I agree that perceptions are huge, because there is research showing that some may feel like they fit in, while others feel alienated, in a new country. Over time–after the ‘honeymoon period’–it’s more common to feel out of place, which is often the case for immigrants. Unfortunately, some First Nations may feel alienated in their own land.
I really liked your about page as well, and am looking forward to more.
Best regards,
Evan
This website is easy to navigate and I find the menu aesthetically pleasing with its black, white, and gray. Your group’s topic is very interesting. Does one of the questions that you pose–“What belongs to Canadian literature?”–mean that you intend on creating a list of sorts of what does and does not belong to Canadian literature, or alternately, of the criteria that qualifies literature as Canadian? If not, then would your group support the concept of such a list?
Thanks! haha. Tim had another idea of using the colours of the canadian flag, but in a way that also evokes a stop sign. However, we like how things turned out here. We disagree with the notion that you can determine what belongs to Canadian Literature through deductive reasoning, like a list, because doing so is way too presumptuous. For example, Atwood said “It seems to me dangerous to talk about ‘Canadian’ patterns of sensibility in the work of people who entered and/or entered-and-left the country at a developmentally late stage of their lives” (quoted in Mukhurjee); but doing so forgets the fact that immigrants or foreign-born citizens make up over 20% of our population, and will only grow in the coming years(http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-010-x/99-010-x2011001-eng.cfm). While it’s interesting to ask “What belongs to Canadian literature?” and “Who does it belong to?” it’s important to remember that it’s better to think about what belongs than what DOESN’T belong–as if something precludes the sense of belonging for another person. We asked that question in a somewhat self-conscious way, because it’s an important question to ask, but potentially dangerous.
Hey, I love the layout of your website, it’s super easy to navigate and aesthetically appealing! I also am very interested in your conference goals as the idea of stories and nationalism is very complex and intriguing – especially your question: What belongs to Canadian literature?
As a classical studies student the idea of nationalism and the literature associated with the land is extremely fascinating! I look forward to reading more of your research 🙂
Saarah
Thanks Saarah! Sorry, I thought I responded to this earlier.
I thought that the contrast between the multi-coloured pin figure & landscape, and the lab-coats of the white people holding up the sky was powerful–forming a kind of counter-story to the dominant (Eurocentric) narrative.