![\"12622173_1026729234016872_5336276214155243770_o\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/thebabsblog\/files\/2016\/05\/12622173_1026729234016872_5336276214155243770_o-300x200.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This is a blog that will follow\u00a0a course offered by the English department at UBC titled “Canadian Studies.” Broadly, this course examines the creation of particular, and perhaps universalizing, narratives about Canada, Canada’s history, and the stories of Canadians. Specifically, this course focuses on how Canadian literature is canonized in a way that serves to further a\u00a0colonial project and silence marginalized or less mainstream narratives, such as those of Canada’s Indigenous population. Given that the Government of Canada just signed on as “a full supporter, without qualification,”<\/a> of the UN Declaration\u00a0on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, this course serves to carve a much-needed path forward in the understanding of Canadian historical and contemporary landscape. For the success of the coveted “nation-to-nation dialogue,” simple dialogue is hardly enough. Each party\u00a0must listen to, engage with, and understand the stories of their partner, and this Canadian Studies course provides a gateway for just that.<\/p>\n Much of my study in IR revolves around the creation of knowledge. Who gets to claim truth? Who decides what “fact” means? The way stories are told and the way that narratives are formed determine how we perceive ourselves, however largely “we” is conceived. I hope that the course\u00a0will serve as a\u00a0venture below the meta-theoretical. By examining texts in both European\u00a0and Indigenous canons, I hope to gain\u00a0the intellectual wealth there is to be had by listening to stories that are heard infrequently. Beyond just talking<\/em> about how uncovering\u00a0certain\u00a0narratives might benefit our conceptual capacities, it is my expectation that this course will give me the experience I need to push my own thinking in a way that is more expansive, more plural, and more hungry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Works Cited<\/p>\n “BC Creative Convergence.”\u00a0Alliance for Arts + Culture.\u00a0<\/em>Alliance for Arts + Culture, n.d. Web. 12 May 2016.<\/p>\n “Nick Babey.”\u00a0SoundCloud.\u00a0<\/em>SoundCloud, n.d. Web. 12 May 2016.<\/p>\n “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of\u00a0Indigenous\u00a0Peoples.”<\/em>\u00a0Government of Canada.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 9 May\u00a02016. Web. 12 May 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi there. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Nick. I make cheap Adele jokes. I was going to begin by telling you which year I’m in, but given that it’s the summer term, I’m not exactly sure whether or not … Continue reading