Introduction to Canadian geography, socio-cultural background and political system

14 Setembro 2023, 12:30 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

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Discussion of the some of the unusual characteristics associated with Canadian identity that were highkighted in clip on Canada from Michael Moore's documentary Bowling for Columbine (clip had been screened in the previous class and discussion begun - this was a continuation.

Presentation of program and discussion of evaluation criteria

12 Setembro 2023, 12:30 • Cecília Maria Beecher Martins

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Program

Working with critical and literary texts students will explore not only how the ancestral oral traditions of the First Nations peoples have been recovered and adapted to give voice to First Nations communities today (e.g. Chief Dan George, Rita Joe, Lee Maracle, Joshua Whitehead etc); they will also reflect on how this literary tradition may have influenced mainstream Canadian literature (Atwood’s concept of survival), immigrant writing of the end of the twentieth century (biotext) on contemporary spoken word artists (e.g. Rupi Kaur).  

Students will also be introduced to the geography of Canada, its socio-cultural realities and political system. Through discussion of critical and literary texts as well as the presentation of factual data students will be made aware of the principal moments in its history so that they can understand how the country progressed from being an oft-overlooked colonial project to a leading nation on the world stage.

 

 

Teaching methodology and Evaluation Criteria:

A student-centered teaching approach will be used following a task-based methodology. Materials will be presented in an orderly succession so that students can build up their knowledge on subjects discussed sequentially. A proactive posture will be expected from students. Therefore, they will be provided with a calendar indicating all of the readings and evaluations at the beginning of the semester to prepare for these in advance.

Students will have to read one of two set novels autonomously: Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing or Fred Wah’s Diamond Grill. This will be the subject of the second written test.

1^st Written test (30%): 19^th October

2^nd Written test (40%): 30^th November

Individual Oral Presentation (15%)

Attendance and participation (15%) 5^th – 14^th December

This grade is not awarded for mere presence in class, it will require participation in the reflective discussion of set texts. Each student will be responsible for the discussion of at least one of the set texts.

As this CU is taught in English class oral presentations must be made in English. Written evaluations may be presented in English or Portuguese.

Bibliography

Armstrong, Jeanette C, and Lally Grauer. Native Poetry in Canada: A Contemporary Anthology. Canada: Broadview Press. 2001.  

Atwood, Margaret. Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2004 [1972].

Brown, Russell, and Donna Bennett. An Anthology of Canadian Literature in English. Toronto. Oxford University Press. 2010.

Cameron, Elspeth (Ed.) Canadian Culture: An Introductory Reader. Toronto. Canadian Scholar’s Press. 1997.

Saul, Joanne. Writing the Roaming Subject: The Biotext in Canadian Literature. Toronto: UTP, 2006.

Vance, Jonathan F. A History of Canadian Culture. Oxford: OUP, 2009.