Hello and welcome to this exciting adventure through Canadian Literature, where we will explore how the stories of the Great White North evolve and are communicated to the rest of the world. This blog is where I will share my thoughts and questions about the stories I will be consuming, and what exactly constitutes Canadian Content.
CanCon for short, Canadian Content is the modern, inclusive term that refers to Canadian created literature, television, and music. In this age of the internet, the resulting globalization of media consumption has changed the landscape of how Canadians engage with modern entertainment.
Although CanCon intends to celebrate Canadian identity, it largely overlooks the voices of indigenous peoples, much like Canadian Literature. This course, English 470A, will be focusing on whose stories make up Canadian literary canon, and expand students’ repertoire of under-represented stories.
What’s exciting about this class is the new ways of communication that we will be utilizing, and how the online format allows us to experience first hand the different effects of different storytelling methods. Personally, I find the changing ways in which people communicate and share their stories to be a fascinating reflection of cultural values and social practices.
I have spent three years at UBC, studying literature and how it is a mirror of the people who both read and write it. While stories are the focus of my degree (a major in literature and a minor in creative writing), I have also taken several language classes, and have come to appreciate the differences in language and how that affects the cultural norms we inherit.
My spare time is also spent on telling stories, as I am the co-president of the UBC Players’ Club (the oldest theatre club on campus), and work on other shows throughout Vancouver during the summers. I’m passionate about stories because they give everyone a voice, and in hearing about others’ experiences and emotions, we can connect to someone we’ve never met. And for minorities whose stories may not otherwise be heard, every connection is important.
WORKS CITED
Athanasopoulos, Panos. “How the Language You Speak Changes Your View of the World.” The Conversation, 27 April 2015. Web. 11 Sept 2016.
Freeman, Sunny. “‘CanCon In The Netflix Age: Just Don’t Mention It’s Canadian.” Huffington Post, 29 Nov 2013. Web. 11 Sept 2016.
Hello! I really enjoyed your introduction. I found your link on language especially interesting. Connecting language and culture to personality is quite a powerful thought.
In the context of this course, the article made me wonder if stories are the key tool in illustrating a culture. As you pointed out in your introduction, language points out cultural norms. Through stories, I believe people are able to convey not only common uses of language, but also illustrate a larger picture of who they are and where they have come from.
So, I think language does tie one to a specific culture, but also allows us to compare these cultures in a really beautiful way.
Interesting thoughts! I’ll be sure to keep these in mind as we continue through this course!
Hi Madelaine! I really enjoyed reading your post, and am very curious about how you mentioned the use of language. I am very unfamiliar with the subject, so I have a few simple questions 🙂 Is the effect on cultural norms through language studied in the field of linguistics or anthropology, or both? As a multi-lingual person, what do you feel you gain, besides the ability to communicate? What sort of culture is represented in the a people’s language? My guess would just be adjectives, perhaps, but I am really not sure….
Looking forward to speaking with you about this topic soon!
Hey Jessica! I myself am not very familiar with either linguistics or anthropology, but I would imagine they both work at least a little with the relationship between languages and the cultures of the people who speak them.
One of my favourite things about learning a new language is learning the different idioms and sayings. It really makes me think about English and the silly sayings we have to express ourselves.
Now I’m by no means an expert in how language works, but from what I’ve read and what I’ve experienced both in class and in countries whose primary language isn’t English, I find that learning about the culture helps understands the nuances in the language. German, for instance, tends to use negatives more than English does.
Something that I learned recently, actually is “aus den Augen vorloren,” which could be translated literally as “to lose the eyes of someone” (lose sight of someone perhaps?) but really is more along the lines of “to lose touch with someone.” It’s things like these that can tell you a little more about the subliminal values of the people who have developed this language. For this particular phrase, I like to think that it came about in reference to seeing people in person.
Hopefully this answered at least some of your questions!
Hello Madelaine,
I very much enjoyed your first blog post and I can’t wait to read more from you. I too am interested in the oral tradition aspect of this course. We tell oral stories, in the form of updating people about our lives and various experiences we have, all the time to our friends and family, so I think it will be interesting to analyze the art of the oral tradition through the lens of storytelling and literature.
I also speak a few languages and I think taking note of the language of these stories will play a role in our analysis. It’s very interesting to see the shift in tone or meaning as you retell a story in various languages.
That’s awesome! I agree, the impact of translation on a story will be something to consider as we analyze these stories.
Hey Madelaine! Nice to meet you! I agree that much of Canadian literature and other media largely overlooks Aboriginal people, and I think it’s wonderful that a large part of the course will be focusing on Aboriginal people and their stories.
I like the online format of this class. It’s really interesting to be able to blog, and it allows you to open up and communicate with people!
I agree that it’s important for minorities to have a loud voice.
Nice to meet you too! Thanks for your comment!
Hello Madeline;
Welcome to our course of studies together, and thank you for an interesting introduction and a great hyperlink to the article re: CanCon. I too have degrees in theatre, so also approach much of my learning via oral, visual and representations of movement. My daughter works in the film industry in Vancouver, so I have some insights into the difficulties for Canadian film artists. I am looking forward to working together, thank you and enjoy.
Erika
Somehow I only just am seeing your comment now, sorry for the late response! That’s good to know, I’m excited to explore more kinds of storytelling as the term progresses. Thanks!