Hello!
Hi! My name is Saarah and I am a 3rd/4th year international Art’s student. I grew up kind of all over the world: I have lived in Pakistan, Turkey, UAE and the United States. I have a double major in English Literature and Classical Near Eastern and Religious Studies (with an emphasis in Classical Studies). I chose these subjects because I think that whenever we do anything or learn anything or begin anything we should always first go back to the basics, the beginning, and I believe that language, literature and classical/ancient history are the basics.
As an avid reader I read The Handmaid’s Tale a few months ago and loved the novel. I did not discover that Margaret Atwood was Canadian until a friend pointed it out to me and I further researched her background on her website. It was exciting to discover that she previously taught at UBC and this discovery made me rethink the lack of knowledge I have about Canada, its history, culture and the role it plays in the world of literature and storytelling. In order to further broaden my knowledge I decided to find a mainstream source of it and discovered a Buzzfeed article which highlighted beautiful passages from Canadian authors. I chose Buzzfeed because it such a unique and prominent source of information today; if we are going to be studying how the past affects the future it may be beneficial to first observe and understand the future we reside in.
As an internationtal student I am aware of my huge lack of knowledge about Canadian traditions, history and literature. Extrapolating from this idea, here is a picture of my high school in Karachi, Pakistan. This image is my way of reducing this lack of awareness by showing a different viewpoint of my home city than that usually portrayed in news outlets and social media. (I apologize for the unclear image, technical difficulties)
This course, named “Oh, Canada …. Our Home and Native Land?” is about Canadian studies with relation to its historical context and First Nations literature and history. It about Canadian literature and storytelling and the intersections between the two. The course is also about how Canadian literature intersects with European traditions and Indigenous traditions. This course is all about stories, both hidden and public, and the roles these stories play in revealing things both, about ourselves, and about the society these stories are from. Through all of these aspects we are going to learn more about colonization (recognizing it within literature and stories), the relationship between nation building and literature and the ability to see symbols and metaphors apart from the Western examples we are so used to seeing in literature. I am excited to learn more about Canadian history and literature and about Indigenous traditions in Canada.
Works Cited
Hello Saarah, so nice to meet you, welcome to our course of studies together. Thanks for a most interesting introduction, I think you will indeed enjoy this course and I am looking forward to your contributions and our dialogues. Enjoy.
Hi Saarah,
I assure you—as an international student, you’re no less aware of Canadian authors than the majority of Canadian-born people! I think we all learn early on some names of Canadian writers, but as we get older it seems to become less relevant. I personally think it’s important to have Canadian representation in any kind of media, and I find that when it comes to film, television, and (maybe to a lesser degree) music, American outlets tend to consider us a joke. But maybe I’m being too sensitive…
Thanks for sharing the photo of your high school in Karachi! It’s always interesting, and, frankly, needed, to give people a true representation of places around the world. Did you find that growing up there was a point made to introduce students to specifically Pakistani authors (in the way it seems to be a point to expose Canadian students to Canadian writers)? Do you find that there’s a difference, either in subject matter or writing style, between Pakistani literature and that from other places in the world?
Thanks for your post! I look forward to reading more from you!
Hi Whitney!
Thank you, I feel quite a bit better about my ignorance of Canadian literature and authors 🙂
I spent most of my elementary years living in the States so when I moved to Pakistan in middle school it was a huge culture shock for me. So my knowledge of Pakstani authors and literature only begins from my middle school years. In my British system high school we only read Shakespeare and stories like “The Yellow Wallpaper”. However when I switched to the American school (the one pictured above) my English teacher there was adamant that we would read a range of literature from around the world. However, even then we only read a few short stories by Pakistani authors. My main interest, and love, for Pakistani literature and authors comes from my mother! She would always have books by Pakistani authors in the house.
I think there is a big difference in subject matter and writing style among authors of any different country, culture or society! Pakistani authors show a strong vein of resistance, optimism, and perseverance that comes from living in a country like that. However, amongst the optimism and the vulnerability often portrayed, there is always the shadow of violence, catastrophic events and the effect that religious fundamentalism has on the world.
Hi Saarah,
So happy to see a fellow Pakistani in the course! I, too, am enthusiastic about engaging with the assigned texts to examine, as you said, the link between the building of a nation and its literature. I believe that Canada is a fascinating place from which to begin examining the effect of stories on a country’s social psyche and vice versa; I know for a fact that where you and I are from, stories play an essential role in the upbringing of our nation’s youth and in laying the foundations for so many personalities. I think the same can be said for Canada, for though the writing styles and fundamental ideas of Canadian and Pakistani writers may differ somewhat, the infusion of national identity and of cultural motifs into stories are what make them so invaluable, no matter what country you are from. Looking forward to working with you!
– Alishae Abeed http://www.blogs.ubc.ca/alishaeabeed
🙂
Hi Alishae,
Its great to see another Pakistani in the class!
I agree with you completely, stories and culture are so intricately linked in society, no matter which society. The things that we learn about ourselves, our culture and the world around us through stories and literature is invaluable and so varied. It is fascinating to view and experience!
Thank you,
Saarah