Hi everyone,
My name is Christine and I am currently a fourth year student at UBC majoring in Sociology and minoring in English Literature. And this is my final semester as an undergrad. Yay!
My nationality is Korean but I was born in Saudi Arabia because both of my parents studied Arabic and graduated university in Riyadh. After living in Saudi Arabia for 8 years, my family moved to Canada and I have lived here ever since. I am not yet a Canadian Citizen – although I have lived here for 16 years – but I am in the process of acquiring citizenship. Since I have lived in Canada most of my life, it may be surprising for other people to hear me say that I do not know much about Canada. Just learning briefly about he history and government of Canada during my high school years, is all the knowledge I have of this country. That is why I am eager to take a class that studies about Canada.
The course English 470A studies Canadian literature in a historical context. These Canadian literature focuses on the connections between the European and Native traditions that provides a deeper understanding of the complex history and origins of Canada. Moreover, I am curious to learn about the connections between European and Indigenous traditions of literature. Other than grade 11 History class – a course about the Canadian History, I have not learned much about Canadian literature and I am quite excited because at this point, I have no knowledge about this particular topic. Also, this course not only studies about the historical context of Canadian literature, it focuses on story telling and how stories are told about literature. This is quite different from other English courses offered at UBC, because all of my previous English courses only studied the literature itself. Getting a chance to study the stories people tell about literature will surely be intriguing.
By taking English 479A course, I expect to enhance my critical and literary skills for most part, and enrich my knowledge about Canadian literature. I am excited tolearn about First Nations because I never really had a chance to be engaged in active learning about the Native traditions of literature. Also, I hope to develop knowledge about the relationship between nation building and literature. Because this is an online course with active discussion sessions, I will surely be able to learn how to interact and work together with other students through a different network. I really hope to gain a lot from this course, and I will work hard on my part to make this learning experience fascinating.
Works Cited:
“Home | Department of Sociology.” Department of Sociology. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. <http://soci.ubc.ca/>.
Rogers Shelagh, and Niigaanwewidam James Sincalir. “Globe Books 2013: A new chapter in aboriginal literature.” The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/globe-books-2013-a-new-chapter-in-aboriginal-literature/article16116492/>.
“SAUDI | National e-Government Portal – Home.” SAUDI. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. <http://www.saudi.gov.sa/wps/portal/yesserRoot/home/!ut/p/b1/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfGjzOId3Z2dgj1NjAz8zUMMDTxNzZ2NHU0NDd29DfWDU_P0_Tzyc1P1C7IdFQFV9YhO/dl4/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/>.
Hey Christine!
I loved your post, in particular how you grew up in Saudi Arabia with such a distinct nationality yourself. I bet you have some crazy and awesome stories!
For the Dialogue Assignment, I would like to ask you a question.
I understand that forced assimilation and discrimination was a brutal part of Native American history. The end result being that many Native American’s did not know who they were anymore. They lost connections to their cultural traditions, beliefs, and even languages because they were not a part of it. Do you, in any way, sometimes wish that you experienced part of your childhood in Korea? Does living in Saudi Arabia in any way affect your cultural identity?
Thanks,
Anna.
And P.S good luck acquiring your Canadian Citizenship! You’re almost there!
Hi Christine, thanks for the introduction. Your link to ” Globe Books 2013: A new chapter in aboriginal literature” is a great resource for expanding on the introduction of the course – thanks, I hope everyone reads this – actually, please post it on our facebook page, it is relevant and interesting. Thanks! I also found your link to the SAUDI | National e-Government Portal fascinating. What a remarkably different form of government — and an excellent source for learning about how that government views itself — or put another way: the stories they tell about themselves. I am looking forward to working with you and learning about the world from your perspective. Thanks.