1.1: Introductions

Hello everyone! My name is Rachel Kim. I am a fourth year English major student at the University of British Columbia and am also studying for the LSAT to apply to law schools next year. I’m a greedy consumer of media and enjoy creative writing and art.

I am currently enrolled in ENGL 470A for the summer session. I will admit that I am taking this course to fulfill a requirement for my major but, as I see the enthusiasm of my fellow classmates for the course, I’m beginning to generate my own excitement too. The online format and the amount of discussion/interaction required gives me some anxiety, so please excuse my inevitable stumbles.

The course is concerned with the “power of stories”—the role literature and storytelling play in the context of our history, and the mechanisms behind the giving and taking of power between groups. In the course overview, we are asked “whose stories” we listen to, and whose we do not hear. I am especially interested in the focus on First Nations literature. I have felt uneasy about the fact that I never followed up a week-long experience in Nazko with Love Corps with any further learning or desire for understanding, and this seems like a good opportunity to finally do so.

Also, last year, I took a course called Modern Asian Women in Narrative, and having that break from a largely Eurocentric literary education was a breath of fresh air. It is hardly surprising that diversity in English literature courses is rare. It falls in line with the state of diversity in American literature today:

 

This course could be relevant on a personal level as well. I am a Korean-Canadian who has always felt more curiosity and pride for my Korean roots. However, I’ve always been told that I am Canadian, my low-tolerance for spicy food and deficient Korean vocabulary presented as evidence. Yet even then, my Canadian identity is defined by an absence of qualities. What truly ties me to my Canadian heritage? As someone who is—to quote Fred Wah—“living in the hyphen” (53), I ask, what is on the other side of the hyphen?

I hope to come (at least closer) to an answer with you.

 

References:

Lo, Malinda. “Diversity in 2013 New York Times Young Adult Bestsellers.”Diversity in YA. N.p., 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 15 May 2014.

“Nazko.” Love Corps. Love Corps, n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.

Paterson, Erika. ENGL 470A: Canadian Studies: Canadian Literary Genres. University of British Columbia, 2014. Web. 15 May 2014.

Wah, Fred. Diamond Grill. Edmonton: NeWest, 1996. Print.

 

14 comments

  1. Hello Rachel,

    Thank you for your comment and happy LSAT studying to you as well. As a first time blogger, I feel anxious for every comment I leave (hopefully it will change). I look forward to working with you this sunny semester.

    Bobby,

    1. Thanks, Bobby! I think a lot of us are a little nervous–me included. I’m sure we’ll all be comfortable blogging like pros in no time. (:

  2. Hi Rachel, so nice to meet, a lovely introduction — and welcome to our course. Good luck with your LSAT exam, and yes — there is regular engagement required for this course, so you will indeed be a busy student this summer, but much of your blogging will allow you to practice your creative writing skills and hopefully you will enjoy the challenges as you perfect your blogging style. All your stumbles will be happily excused. You will indeed have the opportunity to explore and reflect upon what lies beyond the hyphen! I am very much looking forward to working together with you and everyone else this summer. Yours is pretty much the last introduction I have read these past few days, so I can safely say we are a most interesting and interested group of learners. Enjoy.

      1. Thank you very much! I’m excited to be part of this group. I’m so full of nervousness and anticipation; I hope my contributions will be (as least, progressively more) interesting and engaging throughout the course of this class. I’m really looking forward to the discussions and trying my hand at a text-intensive blog.

  3. Hey Rachel,

    Definitely learnt something new today about the state of diversity in literature. I didn’t realize how under represented certain groups were (I would have guessed the number would be a lot higher considering we are in the 21st century and diversity is becoming growingly appreciated).

    I also share your anxiety for blogging and commenting on the internet. To me, it feels like you are opening up your writing for the world to see and the thought of it is quite intimidating. (although in reality, I doubt anyone other than our classmates will read this :P). Good luck on your LSATs and looking forward to reading your blogs 🙂

    1. Hi, Leo!

      It is pretty surprising how little diversity there is in the current media. I think it’s because, even though diversity is appreciated more, there needs to be more than appreciation to overcome the current institutional powers (eg. institutional racism and sexism). Just look at the demographics of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Even though the Oscar nominees and winners have become more diverse, the powers that be are still predominantly white and male. Though this isn’t to say that we aren’t moving forward (the Academy has a female African American president now!); it just means we have a long way to go.

      I completely agree with you. It’s so intimidating to know people are going to read your blog. Writing and authorship is such an intimate thing! Thanks so much, I look forward to working with you!

  4. Hi Rachel,
    Thanks for sharing the information about diversity in English literature! Fascinating statistics, and it would be interesting to further explore the reasons authors choose to create protagonists with traits that fall within what is considered societally dominant and culturally normalized.
    I find it very interesting that you note that “even then, [your] Canadian identity is defined by an absence of qualities.” I relate (being half Taiwanese, yet considered by others as “more Canadian” due to my lack of many Asian characteristics), but have never really considered how bizarre it is to distinguish “Canadianness” in these terms!
    I too am looking to discover more of what it means to be Canadian, and I look forward to further engaging in dialogue with you during this course!

    L.

    1. Hi Lian!

      I have a half-baked idea that some of those “reasons” are actually the tendency for a majority, or the norm, to become invisible. By that I mean, the majority becomes the standard for “normal,” which means a minority must be explicitly characterized to be visible. Flimsy arguments against the show Elementary come to mind. I’ve read many a comment that criticized the show for casting Lucy Liu as Watson because “Watson is supposed to be a white male.” (Please excuse me if that came off a little bitter. Because I am still bitter, haha.) Sometimes I catch myself thinking a character is white, only to later realize there had been no definitive indicator of race.

      I also look forward to having more discussions with you! And thank you! I was waffling over what to title my blog for a long time. 😛

  5. Hi Rachel!

    I, too, am someone who lives in the hyphen. I was born in Taiwan, but immigrated to Canada shortly after I was born. Just like your Korean may not be as good as your English, my Chinese is certainly not on par with my English. I don’t know much about Taiwanese pop culture, yet I don’t like hockey, maple syrup, or poutine. I look forward to exploring with you what ties one to being Canadian or Korean or Taiwanese, if one does not fit any stereotypes.

    1. Hi Cindy!

      I feel like stereotypes are problematic when trying to understand your identity because the tend to be less descriptive and more prescriptive. A “stereotypical Canadian” is polite, loves maple syrup, adores hockey, and is visibly white. Automatically, I feel excluded. I mean, I love maple syrup, but I look 0% white. Yet, I’m not completely comfortable with Korean culture either, like you. It’s all very confusing, isn’t it? I hope our explorations will turn up some kind of answer!

  6. Hi Rachel,
    The one thing that stood out to me about your blog is your reference to Fred Wah and “living in the hyphen”. As someone who is visibly very white and has lost touch with their ancestry (my Dad was adopted so there’s not much to know there, and I think my Papa on my mom’s side has some Polish roots? And my Nana English perhaps?) I have no hyphen to speak of. That being said, I guess I do define myself as Canadian, but only because this is the country my parents and I have lived in since birth. If you asked me what it means to be Canadian, beyond a silly “I have maple syrup on my pancakes” I don’t think I could tell you. Like you, I feel like I am only defined as Canadian because of an “absence of qualities”.
    Do you think that one of the reasons you are so drawn to your Korean roots is because there is very little that is tangible to cling to when attempting to define was is truly Canadian?

    1. Hi, Shannon. That’s a really good question! That might be a big part of why I identify better with my Korean roots. Just superficially, I have my physical appearance, language, and cultural phenomena such as KPop to use as justification–and for others to use to identify me. Even if I considered myself 100% Canadian, I’d still inevitably be asked, “Where are you from originally?”

      Maybe it’s the influence of the Looking Glass self–people define me as Korean, so I consider myself Korean. It would explain why I suddenly become hyper-aware of my Canadian side (whatever that might be) when in Korea!

Leave a Reply