Hello everyone, my name is Nick and I’m a 4th year English/Poli Sci major finishing up my degree this term. Looking back over my four years at UBC I could never have imagined being where I am today, and university has undoubtedly changed me for the better. I am now an avid traveler and love visiting new places, not only to learn more about other cultures but to constantly learn things about myself. I am half Italian and half English, and having been born here I consider myself at least a little bit Canadian but not entirely. I am a huge hockey fan and nothing excites me more than watching the boys take home the gold (World Juniors and Olympics in the same year eh!); I am profusely apologetic, to the confusion of non-Canadians around the world (sorry about that); yet I hate drinking Caesars (I’ll take that seafood taste on my plate thank you very much); and I’m not one for poutine either (let’s leave the artery clogging to our southern friends).
All told I now consider myself to be a citizen of a global race, although I’m still not entirely sure what that means. As I continue to travel I find more and more similarities with other cultures across the globe, and I’m sure my identity will continue to evolve over the course of my life. With that in mind I want to take a global approach to thinking about canonical Canadian literature. While that may sound strange, I agree with the notion of Canada as a cultural mosaic (a notion which some other blog posts here seem to support) and I feel that to truly get a sense of what it is to be Canadian is to realize that no matter where you come from we live in a country that is generally inclusive. To neglect any one culture is to neglect an important part of what is one of the most diverse countries in the world, and I think that our literature should propagate the values of the entire cultural mosaic we have created.
Sidebar: I hate strongly dislike social media.
This may sound strange considering that I’m participating in a course that has such a strong emphasis on the internet and alternative media sources but I do realize the merits of the global interconnection we have via the web, and perhaps this course will help me see something I previously missed in social media (and alternative media more generally). I look forward to collaborating with each of you and hearing about what other feel it means to be Canadian, especially if you disagree with my assertion that our country is an inclusive one. I am always open to learning, especially about cultures I know little about, and collectively I’m sure that we will all take something away from this course that will help us navigate through this very convoluted social ecosystem that we call Canada.
Works Cited
Canadian Press. “World Juniors: Canada Holds off Russia to Win Gold.” CBC 5 Jan. 2015. CBC Sports. Web. 7 Jan. 2015. <http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/world-juniors-canada-holds-off-russia-to-win-gold-1.2890571>.
Statistics Canada. Canada’s Ethnocultural Mosaic, 2006 Census: Findings. Ottowa: Government of Canada, 2006. Print.
Hi Nick, good to meet you, I suspect this course of studies will have a few surprises for you in terms of ideas about both “inclusivity” and “social media”. You will find that social media tools and platforms provide an amazing opportunity for inclusiveness – and on the other hand, that many, many peoples have been and still are excluded from the benefits of “being Canadian” despite living in this land we call Canada. I am looking forward to your contributions to our course of studies, your blog looks great. Enjoy.
Hi Nick! It’s nice to meet you! I really like how your blog looks and the meme of Liam Neeson is hilarious. I find it interesting that you bring up the notion of Canada as a “cultural mosaic”. Typically, this notion is considered more inclusive than the assimilatory nature of the American “melting pot”. I’m currently reading about geographical mosaics and how these mosaics focus on boundaries and borders and can actually legitimate exclusion. What are your thoughts on this contradiction with regards to Canadian culture?
Hi Jasmine, thanks for the comment! I think it is certainly important to consider spatial boundaries between cultures in addition to social boundaries, for the exact reasons you mention. When certain cultural groups are segregated, or even ostracized, the psychological reaction can be to legitimate the exclusion by considering the group as ‘other’ or ‘lesser’. While this can certainly bring problems, I think that in Canada (and globally) this separation has more to do with socioeconomic status than it does with culture. You can find people from all walks of life in any social class, and distinctions between social classes predominantly stem from economic disparities. While this is an issue within itself with respect to cultural mosaics, when we consider a canon of Canadian literature we have have to separate the cultural differences from socioeconomic differences. While there are certainly social exclusions that discriminate between the affluent and the impoverished across the country there remains a great diversity within each social class, and I think that this diversity is something to be celebrated as uniquely Canadian (and thus included in a Canadian canon).
Hi Nick,
Thanks for your interesting and refreshingly honest blog. Like you, academia has positively impacted my life and how I view the world around me. I will also agree that there is a tremendous amount of education to be had in travelling the world. This for me is where I learn the most. Aside from the personal lessons of survival I see travel – foreign and/or domestic – as a great opportunity to connect with complete strangers, share stories and understand the world from a different lens. What I am always shocked by when travelling is how universal some things are. The interests of music, art (film and television) and fashion seem to be familiar whereever I go. Oddly, I run into people with similar senses of humour. This too me is the strangest phenomenon as I consider my humour pretty unique and somewhat unsettling…haha.
On the topic of Multiculturalism I would argue that while in theory it is supposed to be inclusive, in practice, it has actually created communities that are often exclusionary. As much as I love Toronto, having lived there for over ten years, I can say that very rarely have I seen a rich integration of ethnic groups outside of their respective communities. I love the fact that our big cities are gateways with strong communities for immigrants to reside in and find support in but I would like to see more interaction between ethnic groups. I would also argue that as you climb the income ladder the level of diversity actually shrinks. I believe you find more of mosaic in the less affluent neighbourhoods of a city.
Finally, in response to your latest blog, I would have to disagree with your statement “when we consider a canon of Canadian literature we have to separate the cultural differences from socioeconomic differences”. I don’t think these can be mutually exclusive – one influences the other. Factors like income, education, housing etc all influence how we experience the world and ultimately define the stories we tell ourselves and others around us.
While the focus of this class is on European and Indigenous traditions of literature and orature I hope there are some opportunities to explore some of the newer immigrant groups in Canada. It would be interesting to learn how they have shaped our country since the Europeans.
Thanks again for your blog.
Cheers
Stuart Fleming
Hi Nick!
I really enjoyed reading your first blog post! Like you, I have a love for travel and hope someday to be able to fulfill this wanderlust. As of yet, however, I have done very little travelling (mostly within Canada and India). I’m always a little jealous of people who are well-traveled!
As Stuart noted above, I think you will find that there exists an atmosphere that is surprisingly exclusionary (in everyday social situations, as well as in Canadian legislation of the past and even of the present) that challenges the image of Canada as a cultural mosaic. The Canada of today has certainly made strides in comparison to the Canada of the past (during times of colonialism, slavery and exclusionary immigration laws) but we certainly have a long way to go as well!
I was especially intrigued by your statement that your ongoing travels have revealed similarities between your own cultural identity and those across the globe. Would you mind sharing what some of these similarities are? Many people believe that there are sentiments shared cross-culturally across the world, and suggest that there are “universal” cultural norms and values. Have your travels revealed any indication of these universal cultural ideals/have you been surprised by any marked differences?
I’m looking forward to your response and look forward to your future blog posts as well! Great job!
– Shamina 🙂
Hey Stuart and Shamina, thanks for checking in! The universality that I have found is typically in the customs and social systems that exist across the globe. Keep in mind that I am still not very well traveled, so my experiences are limited and may not be true of cultures I have yet to explore. One of the most striking things to me is the hospitality that I have found around the world, and it usually includes food and drinking. When I went to Italy to visit my family in Italy I was greeted by a full night of eating and drinking; when I visited my friend’s family in China we were welcomed in the exact same way; and whenever my family has visitors to Vancouver they are quickly escorted to my grandparent’s house and everyone gathers for a huge meal. Tied into this notion of food being culturally important is the emphasis placed on family, specifically by respecting older family members. Anywhere I have traveled the family structure always placed emphasis on taking care of those who in the past took care of you. A third universal theme I have seen is a connection with nature. There is something special about the outdoors that people of all cultures feel, and while the landscapes may differ you will always find that there is a special emphasis placed on the natural beauty of the world we live in. Certainly there are also differences among cultures, but while we may think of other cultures as foreign,or different, there are a lot more connection between ‘us’ and ‘them’ than meets the eye.