Approximately 2.5-hour class plan

Nights Below Station Street

Housekeeping:  (Suggested: 5-10 Minutes)

1)      Short Papers

1. Grad School Option

2)      Upcoming Work

• In the second half of the semester we will be reading two long novels and working on our group presentations and our final research papers.

Here is a basic rundown of what to expect:

• Tonight:

David Adams Richard: Nights Below Station Street

Identify our groups for our Group Presentations (10% of your final grade)

• April 1^st

We begin three weeks on Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Select Topics for Group Presentations. These will occur during our final two class periods before the final exam.

• April 8:

We will continue with “The Handmaid’s Tale”

We will begin work on our long research papers (30% of your final grade)

This paper will build on your short research paper. It will propose a mature literary argument capable of sustaining the intense critical scrutiny of your peers. The length will be 7-8 pages, and you will need to use 8-10 peer-reviewed secondary sources.

• April 15

We will finish “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Will work on topics for group presentations/ long papers

• April 22

We will begin three weeks of work on Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

• April 29

More with Life of Pi

Group Presentations

• May 6

We will conclude Life of Pi

Group Presentations

Review for the final exam, which will be substantial

Final Papers will be due on the day of the final exam – I have to double check the exact date.

Nights Below Station Street:

Who is he? What is a the “GG” award, anyway?

Part One: Experience

In-Class Writing: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Take the next ten minutes to collect your thoughts on David Adams Richards Nights Below Station Street. What do you remember from the reading? What stands out to you? Are there any particular aspects of the story that you found to be interesting or intriguing? Why?

Small Group Discussion: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Share your writing with one another, and then come up with a group statement in response to the following questions: How is this version of “Canada” different from or similar to other versions that we have encountered this semester? Use good specific details.

Group Presentations: (Suggested: 5-10 minutes)

General Class Discussion: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

5:50: Break

Part Two: Analysis

Breaking up the story: (Suggested: 10-15 minutes)

Let’s break the story down into major character, events, and settings, themes, and motifs. Find good descriptive details to associate with each of these subjects. We will do this in two groups.

Time line of events.

Group Presentations: (5-10 minutes)

What did you find? What was important? What kinds of conclusions can be begin to make about this reading?

Part Three: Evaluation

So, in this class the basic standards we have for evaluation so far are

• Frye’s Garrison Mentality Theory

• Anderson’s Nationalism Theory

• Atwood’s Survival Theory

But we also have the other stories we have read this semester as well, and we can begin to compare and contrast these works with each other.

In your jounrnals:

Consider Nights Below Station Street against one theory and two short stories we have considered so far, come up with a group statement you can send one person from your group to present to the rest of the class on the foll

I want you to answer the following question and be able to present it to the class:

Consider Nights Below Station Street against one theory and two short stories we have considered so far, come up with a group statement you can send one person from your group to present to the rest of the class on the foll

What are some meaningful connections you can make between this text and the other readings we have done this semester?

Part Four Synthesis:

We will start our Lab

Cheryl Lousley argues..

Frank Davey “interprets the gap between the knowledge of Richards’ characters and narrator as”condescension” {Post-National 78). He argues that the “large superiority in
linguistic power the narrator and novelist enjoy over their characters opens
a wide political gap in the text [T]he book’s characters . . . are construed
. . . as better off leading passive, acquiescent, non-constructive, geographically
limited lives” (78).

Do we agree with this? What do you think? Take a few moments to journal, and they we will go around and share our thoughts on this.  We need to be using our findings from our analysis and evaluation to back up our claims.

Lousley also points out that…

Janice Kulyk Keefer… argues that Richards’ depiction of poverty involves an immediacy and totality that serves to elicit empathy for individuals and provide an understanding of the historically and regionally specific condition of their poverty. The text “reveals… the degradation of human life and the despoiling of the natural world are not mere fait accomplis—alternatives exist, however shakily. For the reader to merely shrug them oif is to become complicit in the very degradation and despohation this fiction represents” (175).

Do we agree with this? Again, let’s journal for a few moments and then discuss.

Lousley ends with the following observation: What do we think about it? Why do we think what we think?

The force of this novel lies in bringing to public light material conditions and
underpinning relations that are usually discounted and invisible—and
giving this knowledge moral significance. Richards’ use of repetition and
structural discontinuity underscores how the material relations of place
and history are neither simple nor self-evident. The reader must actively
work at making sense of the disjointed narrative. As Philip Milner notes,
the demands placed on the reader are the focus of many of the early reviews
and criticism of Richards’ fiction: he cites one reviewer who asks, “Why is
Richards making me work so hard?” (202, italics in original).

It seems to me that a good place to end up with this story tonight is with a very famous poem by a British poet named John Keats.

Let’s reflect on this poem for a moment — what’s going on here?

Discussion.

So — my question for you tonight is this: Do you think you are likely to find the Grecian Urn at Zellers?

Your Homework for next time is to read and annotate the first third of The Handmaid’s Tale

Clip

There’s too much to talk about to pretend there is an order tonight: we’re just going to plow into things and let the pieces fall where they may — which seems like an appropriate way to do things, given our reading this week.

Discussion of the reading, journal –group work.

Group Work.

A conversation on Postmodernism: Mini-Lecture

Welch Everman’s Postmodern Mindset

Requirements for a “postmodern” mindset:

1) A  willingness to entertain contradictions as being equally true

2) An ability to be serious and funny at the same time

3) You are attracted to the fake.

Nations are products of the eras during whch they matured.

The American “rebel” persists, even though modern Americans are some of the most passive people on the planet.

The English “Lord” persists, even through the feudal system was destroyed centuries ago.

The Canadian  ? — ? was formed in the latter half of the twentieth century, and who knows what the future will hold?

Postmodernism and Canadian Literature

Paper Exchange

Prep For the Final Examination

Housekeeping: Presentations tonight. Papers next week, final drafts on the day of the final — that may make things easier, I suspect.

• My office hours next week, MW:8-11, 1-3; T: 8-10-230-330.

• I want to see your paper before it is turned in.

• Final Examination: We will be prepping for this next week, after we finish Life of Pi

Group Presentations:

• Group One: (20 Minutes)

Questions: (5-10 Minutes)

• Group Two:  (20 Minutes)

Questions: (5-10 Minutes)

Break

Class Conversation:

• What was your experience of reading chapters 45-90? (Suggested: 10 Minutes)

Journal Entry:

• What’s sticking with you from the reading and why? Go into good detail and use good quotes. (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Group Discussion:

• Share your findings: (Suggested: 5 minutes)

• Next, come up with a group statement on the following subject:

• At the end of chapter 86, after narrowly avoiding a collision with a much larger ship, Pi suddenly says this:

“I love you!” The words burst out pure and unfettered, infinite. The feeling flooded my chest. “Truly I do. I love you, Richard Parker. If I didn’t have you now, I don’t know what I would do. I don’t think I would make it. No, I wouldn’t. I would die of hopelessness. Don’t give up, Richard Parker, don’t give up. I’ll get you to land, I promise. I promise!” (236)

• It’s a very touching moment, and one that can lead us into a larger conversation tonight.

• Let’s approach it this way: What might Pi mean when he tells Richard Parker not to “give up.” Let’s talk about this in our groups and then have a class conversation on the topic. (Suggested: 5 minutes)

• Class Discussion: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Analysis:

• Let’s break the reading down into its major events and characters and get this information on the board. (Suggested: 10-15 minutes)

• Discussion of the analysis: What kind of conclusions might be begin to make about this story and how it is told by attending to these details?  (Suggested: 5-10 minutes)

Journal:

• Last time, we talked a little bit about the central claim of this book, was that it was a story that can “make you believe in God.”  Well – okay, you’re 90 chapters in, so – has it had this effect on you yet? If so, why? If not, why not? Be specific.

Two New Terms tonight:

• Eucatastrophy: coined by J.R.R. Tolkien – essentially means a sudden positive turn of fortune for a character in a story.

• It is similar to the Greek concept of the deus ex machina (God from the Machine), a storytelling tool for saving the hero from certain death or misfortune.

• Both of these terms can be related to the Christian concept of the miracle.
  

• Now, back to the subject of pets….does it take a “miracle” for a pet to not be an animal? What might I mean by that? (Group Discussion: 5 minutes)

• Now, back to history…is your history a history of “dry yeast-like facts,” or is it a history of catastrophes, eucatastrophys? Where is the deux ex machina in your life? The beginning? The middle? Expected at The End?   (Journal Entry: 10 Minutes)

Homework:

• Finish Life of Pi, Finish your Papers. We will review papers in class, and the final drafts will be due on the day of the final examination.

1) Course Policy and Procedures

2) Proposed Syllabus

3) Blogging and Eh 241: A User’s Guide

Once you have read these documents, you are ready to move on into our course. You can do so by clicking on the following link. It will take you back to the proposed syllabus page, where you can find the appropriate class information by clicking on the appropriate day.

Best of luck, and I look forward to working with you all this semester.

Assistant Professor Adam Crowley

Proposed 14-Week Syllabus for Eh 303: Canadian Literature

Below please find pertinent information for each of our meetings. Each meeting links to a more substantial description of the evening’s events. All specific reading and writing assignments are listed on these pertinent pages.

Note:

• Individual presentation sign-up takes place during week 2 for weeks 4-6

• Short Academic Essay proposal due week 5, essay due end of week 7

• Group Presentations sign-up takes place week 9, presentations take place 12-14

• Long Academic Essay proposal due week 10, essay due end of week 14

• Final examination TBA

January 21 Context and Colonization

Critical Selection

• Northrop Frye: The Bush Garden (selections)

Considered Prose Selections

• Frances Brooke: The History of Emily Montague (selections)

• Susanna Moodie: Roughing It in the Bush (selections)

January 28: The Poetry of Colonization

Critical Selections

• Benedict Anderson: Imagined Communities (selections)

Considered Poetry Selections

• Isabella Valancy Crawford: Malcolm’s Katie (selections)

• Charles Sangster: The St. Lawrence and the Saguenay (selections)

February 4:  The Wilderness

Critical Context

• Margaret Atwood: Survival (selections)

Considered Prose Selections

• John Richardson: Wacousta (selections)

• Catherine Parr Traill: Canadian Crusoes (selections)

February 11: Poetry of the Confederation

Considered Poetry Selections

• Charles G.D. Roberts: Selections

• Archibald Lampman: Selections

• Bliss Carman: Selections

February 18: Canadian Race and Racism

Considered Critical Context

• Thomas King: “Godzilla Vs. Post-Colonialism”

Considered Prose

• Joy Kogawa: Obasan

February 25: Canadian Race and Racism Cont.

Considered Prose

• Joy Kogawa: Obasan

• Individual presentations begin.

March 4 (mid-term) Canadian Class Systems

Considered Prose

• David Adams Richard: Nights Below Station Street
  

• Individual presentations will conclude.

• Short academic paper due.

March 25: Canadian Class Systems Cont.

Considered Prose

• David Adams Richard: Nights Below Station Street
  

April 1: America Through The Looking Glass

Considered Prose

• Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale

• Students will select topics for group presentations.

April 8: America Through The Looking Glass

Considered Prose

• Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid’s Tale

• Students will work on topics for group presentations.

• Students will begin drafting long academic paper

April 15: A Post-Colonial Nation

Considered Prose

• Yann Martel: Life of Pi

• Students will work on topics for group presentation.

• Students will begin drafting long academic essays.

April 22: A Post-Colonial Nation

Considered Prose

• Yann Martel: Life of Pi

• Group Presentations

April 29 Summation

• Group Presentations

May 6 Final Papers/Final Exam Review

This class is going to use a lot of technology to make it easier for you to participate, and hopefully help you become a better writer.

In this course, I will frequently require you to POST your homework assignments directly to this website. All posted material can be read by anyone, anywhere, at any time, so you should do your best to present yourself in a professional manner. This is your work and reputation we are talking about.

The process for doing this should be fairly uncomplicated. If you follow these guidelines, you should not have any trouble.

Write your assignment as you normally would in a word-processing program, such as Microsoft WORD. Next, SAVE THE DOCUMENT as you normally would. The reason we do this is because, should you try to write it directly on the website, you could become disconnected from the internet while you are typing. This would result in you losing all of your hard work. Consider yourself warned.

Copy and paste your writing into the COMMENTS BOX at the bottom of the Syllabus’ page for the class you are working on. Include the required identifying information at the top of the form.

Click on the submit comments button. That’s it! You’re done.

Your writing may not show up on the web page right away, as it will be sent to me for moderation first (basically to protect each of you from spam).

If you have problems, it is always okay for you to simply e-mail me your homework at crowleya@fc.husson.edu. However, over the course of this semester I do expect you to become proficient in posting to the blog, as you will have to do a lot of this in your professional life.  We should all be able to do this by the end of week two.

We will also be using a lot of YouTube videos in this course this semester. You need a high-speed internet connection to watch these. If you do not have one at home, that is okay. We have them here on campus in the computer clusters. I’ll explain to you how you are to use these.

Part One: Introductions

• Review of Course Policy and Procedures (Suggested: 10-15 minutes)

• Introductions (Suggested: 5 minutes)

• Roundtable Discussion Part One: What is Canada to you? (Suggested: 5 minutes)

• First Major Point: (Suggested: 5 Minutes)

• Like all nations, Canada can only be defined as it exists during a specific period in time.



• Just as the “America” of today is not the “America” of late-twentieth century, the “Canada” of today is not the “Canada” of any other time. Such definitions are best sought out in history classes, and this is not a history class.

• A specific definition for what Canada is, then, less useful for us than a definition for what Canada may or might be, or what it might appear to be to us through a reasoned consideration of its literature — that is, it stories, myths, and traditions that can be associated with general conceptions of “Canada.”

Roundtable Discussion Part Two: What is Literature to You? (5 minutes)

• Second Major Point: (Suggested: 5 Minutes)
  

• Literature is the oral of written record of human experience that impacts society.

• In its grandest sense, literature collectively represents the stories, myths, and traditions that underline society

• Your culture is a product of literature, and you probably are as well.

• During different periods, different forms of literature are more or less evident in a society or culture. As a student, you may have a particular  affinity for a certain kind of literature — a national literature, a gendered literature, a religious literature, ect.

• You also probably have some rudimentary tools for judging and evaluating literature.

• For example: In our society, literature — when it is regarded as useful — is valued for its capacity to make people “good,” “productive” members of a community. Certainly, there is some value to this. But literature is always more than this or any other culturally approved standard, and this is one reason why people have such a hard time defining it: they want to tie to an emotional or political standard, and literature is always more than that!

• Part Two: Familiarization

• So, now that we have thought a little bit about what Canada is and what Literature is, we are ready to start thinking about what Canadian Literature is.

• But before we so, I would like to take a few moments for you to consolidate these ideas for yourself.

• In your journals, I would like you to informally write down for yourself what your understanding of the concept of “national literature” is, it can be the literature of any nation.  What does that phrase mean to you?  (10 Minutes)

• Group Discussion: (5 minutes)

• Group Report: (5 minutes)
  

• Class Discussion: (5 minutes)

10 Minute Break

• Part Three:

Opening lecture: A Canadian Condition: The “Garrison” Mentality (10-15 minutes)

Those of you who had me last winter for Major British Authors may remember that, at the very start of that course, we were thinking about medieval life in Europe, and how it was a period when the greatest scientific and social achievements were regarded as having occurred a thousand years before during the age of antiquity. The human mind was presumed to have “peaked” long, long ago.

You might remember the scribe Bede, who lived around 730 BC, and who, with 250 books, had perhaps the largest library in Europe.  By contrast, I have about 450 books in my office. Stupid Bede!

Well, the early Canadian experience was, for many of the regions first English and French settler, in some senses very similar. However, the distance here between the origins of knowledge and everyday life was not temporal, but was geographical.

Now, when I refer to the early Canadian experience, I am referring to the 17th and 18th centuries.

Early Canadian settlers were not like the religious outcasts who settled America.

Rather, they were businessmen and soldiers with close ties to the English and French empires. Their time in Canada was a time “away” from home — and Canada was _not_ home.

It was something else, something mysterious.

Socially, the only value many early residents in Canada found was the value they could get from people who shared their European ideals. They got these ideals from the military communities they lived in, and these communities were called “Garrisons.”

Garrison In Fredericton, New Brunswick!

Though they were built much later, we have several examples of Garrisons in Maine: Fort Kent, Fort Fairfield, Houlton, and Fort Knox, to name only a few.

First Major Theory: Living in Garrisons does _strange_ things to people.

There is a theory about it called “The Garrison Mentality,” and it was created  by Northrop Frye 

Small and isolated communities surrounded with a physical and psychological “frontier,” separated from their American and British cultural sources: communities that provide all that its members have in the way of distinctively human values, and that are compelled to feel a great respect for the law and order that holds them together, yet confronted with a huge, unthinking, menacing, and formidable physical setting – such communities are bound to develop a garrison mentality.  –Frye

The Garrison Mentality

Now, the idea of the garrison mentality leads Frye to claim that there were two types of early Canadians, fighters and deserters. Fighters supported the Garrison, and deserters leave it. This causes internal tension. But do we believe this?

Journal Entry: (suggested: 10)

Now that we have thought a little about the Garrison Mentality, I want you to take a few moments and describe the social dynamics of small town life as you understand it. Please use good specific details. What keeps the people in small towns united? How do their values define the town? What is it like to be a member of a small town in Rural Maine, or wherever it may be that you are from? Avoid cliche and be specific.

Group Discussion:  Groups discuss findings, come up with a collective statement on their thoughts. (5-7 minutes)

Class Discussion of Group findings. (5-10 minutes)

Do we buy this theory today? Journal entry on whether or not you think people who live in small towns might fall into this psychological trap. Have you ever experienced it? If so, explain when and what it was like.

Part Four: (10 minutes)

We will begin our investigation into Canadian literature with some writing that relates to garrison life. Two  women, writing in very different centuries and in very different literary modes, both appear to have been touching on the basic themes Frye identifies with the Garrison Mentality.

Two early works that appear to show the Garrison Mentality in action are Frances Brooke’s “The History of Emily Montague” and Susanna Moodie’s “Roughing It in the Bush.”

Frances Brooke

A few facts:

Born 1723-24. She was a well known member of the theaterical community in London before she left for Quebec with her husband in 1768. He was a chaplain in the Garrison there. Her novel, The History of Emily Montague, was written while she was in Canada. She returned home after writing it.

• Idyllic Description of Quebec (pages 11-13)

• Idyllic Description of First Nations People (pages 15-16)

• But Some Problems with the Natives — What’s going on here? (pages 16-17)

Susanna Moodie

A Few Facts about “perhaps the saddest middle class woman in the history of the world”

Born in England in 1803, died in 1885 in Canada, where she lived a great deal of her life.

In 1832, she moved to a farm  near Lakefield, north of Peterborough, Canada.

Published Roughing it in the Bush in 1852, about life in the 1830s

• Description of Quebec (page 16)

• Dislike of Canadian Life (page 39)

• Thoughts on First Nations People (page 146)

In-Class  writing: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Describe a time when you have been a “fighter” for a social group. Describe a time when you have been a deserter.

Group Discussion (Suggested: 5-7 minutes)

Class Discussion : (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Homework:

Reading assignment for “The History of Emily Montague” Read Pages 08-35: Here is the Link

Reading Assignment for “Roughing it in the Bush” Read Pages   09-39: Here is the Link

For next class, I want you to write a three page response to the reading in which you identify and examine specific details in the writing that you think relate to the Frye’s concept of the Garrison Mentality. I would like you to post at least 1.5 pages of this work directly to the blog by Tuesday of next week.

Video On Francis Brooke’s “This History of Emily Montague”

Video On Susanna Moodie’s “Roughing It In The Bush”

Tonight, we have three presentations, and I thought we would begin with those. We can go in any order.

(Suggested:45 minutes)

• Presentation 1 (10 minutes)

o Discussion (Suggested: 5 minutes)

• Presentation 2 (10 minutes)

o Discussion (Suggested: 5 minutes)

• Presentation 3 (10 minutes)

o Discussion (Suggested: 5 minutes)

Break

1)      If you did not present today, your two-page paper proposal for the short paper is due.

Class Discussion: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Let’s begin now by talking about what we are thinking about addressing in these papers and how we are thinking about completing this work.These papers will be due in two-weeks time.

Poetry Discussion

So, last time, we were talking about poetry and what it is and what it does. What did we say? Do we remember?

Group Discussion: (Suggested: 5-7 minutes)

Your reading assignment for this week was to read five poems by two of the Confederation Poets and to consider the themes that were being addressed in these works.

Let’s begin the conversation by getting into small groups and discussing the poems and what we found.

Class Conversation: (approximately 20 minutes)

So, we are going to be reading some of these poems as a group tonight and discuss their apparent themes and motifs, also any apparent symbols that we may come across in the writing. The question we are going to be asking ourselves is this: “What do these poems have to say generally, and also about course-related topics?”

Some Canadian Poems (Suggested: 20 minutes)

Consideration of two specific poems: (Suggested: 25 minutes)

I also want to spend some time this evening with two poems in particular, Charles G.D. Roberts’
“Canada” (again) and Archibald Lampman’s “The City at the End of Things.”

These are really perfect works that represents where we are going and where we have been

It seems to me that these works very illustrate the social tensions we have been considering so far this semester, and I’d like to have an extended discussion and conversation about that for a time this evening. Think of this as a “summing up” as we get ready to move forward. Let’s read them, and then discuss them (25 mins). I’d like to use this as a model for our upcoming conversations about the five novels.

–

So, to move forward, we need to become familiar with a new concept. I’ll introduce the phrase in a moment, but first I want to introduce the idea, and we’ll do that with an a writing prompt and a group discussion.

In-class writing: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Okay, so: here is the question: What does it mean to be part of a minority? What does it mean to be a member of a minority group? What are the hallmarks of a minority “existence?”

Group Discussion: (Suggested: 5 minutes)

Class Discussion: (Suggested: 5 minutes)

In-class writing: (5-7 minutes)

One fairly common concept that is associated with the minority is the concept of the “other.” The “other” is the minority group you are not part of. It represents another or different aspect of society that you are aware of but also generally ignorant of. What are some groups that you might associate with the status of the “other?” At the town, state, and national levels?

Group discussion: (5-7 minutes)

Class Discussion: (Suggested: 5-7 minutes)

In-class  writing:(Suggested: 5-7 minutes)

Okay. Now I want you to think about a slightly harder question. Some groups in society are more tolerated than others, but they are not granted equal status. They exist in-between the majority and in the minority. These are what we might call “hybrid groups.” Can we identify any hybrid groups that we are aware of, either at the town, state, or national level?

Group discussion: (5-7 minutes)

Class Discussion:

Group Discussions: (Suggested: 5-10 minutes)

Okay, now let’s take our conversation on “others” and “hybrids” and apply it to the works we have read so far this semester. Who are the “others?” who are the hybrids?

What we have been discussing a social theory that is commonly called “post-colonial theory.” It generally begins with the premise that minority and majority populations have disordered or inaccurate understandings of one another.

House keeping/grading issues: (Suggested: 5-10 minutes)

• What’s missing?  How long do you have to turn it in?

Mid-term:

• What does my mid-term grade mean?

Group Discussion:

• What did we end up saying in our short papers?

Obasan: Pages 150-300

Tonight, we will be using our 4-step approach.

Experience:

In-Class Writing: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

What was your experience of reading the second half of this novel?

• Throughout, be clear about “why” you think you had the range of reactions you had.

Group Discussion:

• Part 1: Let’s begin by going around and summarizing our writing. (Suggested: 5-7 minutes)

• Part 2: What kinds of cultural experiences do we have, or are we familiar with, that we can bring to this book. Let’s list some possibilities. What is the “frame” through which we are approaching it? (Suggested: 10 minutes for listing and discussion)
  

• Part 3: Identify one person, image, theme, or event you developed a new understanding of as you went through the novel. (Suggested: 10 minutes for reflection and discussion)
  

Break around 5:50

Analysis:

“Colonial” Time-line:

• Okay, I want to “Colonize” this book, so we can get a better understanding of just how interesting its structure is.  Let’s develop a couple of time lines.

What are the various periods that are represented in this novel?

• We will break in two groups, one group that is concerned with the events that occur right before or after Uncle’s death, and the other group will line up the events that take place before the Uncle dies.

• You will be writing these on the board. (Take a total of 20 mins: 10 to get organized, and 10 to get stuff up on the board)

Navigating the time line:

• Once we have the time-line down, we can come up with lists of the people and places that you think are the most relevant.  We will write these on the board as well. (Suggested: 5 minutes to add new information to the board)

• How does she move from one time line to the next, or back and forth within the same time line? (Suggested: 5-7 minutes for reflection and discussion)

Evaluation:

• In-class writing: (Suggested: 5-7 minutes)
  

• Okay, now that we have all this information, we need to try to do something with it.

• What is the story she is trying to tell?

• Why does she tell it this way?

• What does this way of telling the story “lend” to the story? How does it shape your experience of it?

Group Discussion:(Suggested: 5-7 minutes)

Group Work:

• Okay, now let’s evaluate it against both the critical standards we have come across in our other readings and in our major theories. Let’s break into groups of two to begin this work, and then we will report back. Groups of Two (Suggested: 5-10 minutes)

Synthesis:

• Okay, let’s consider and/or argue with some critics of the novel.

• Here are some things that are being argued about Obasan:

Radical Idea Lab

• Idea One:

Smaro Kamboureli s argues  that Obasan shows us how bodies register and resist “the established state’s ills.” She argues that the body is “a powerful medium of knowledge and agency, a site of experience that contests racist Canadian discourses of nation, gender, and sexuality.”

So – okay: What role to “bodies” play in this novel? How does the character’s physicality speak to their condition. A good place to think start this conversation, I think, is with all the descriptive language that is associated with Obasan the first time we meet her.

• Idea Two:

According to Glenn Deer

Vancouver and the rolling ocean of the west coast are the central absent spaces that are achingly longed for by the Alberta-exiled Uncle Isamu and his niece Naomi in Kogawa’s novel Obasan (1981).

• Idea Three:

According to Rufus Cool:

Confronted by a world that is hopelessly fragmented or polarized, such works set out not simply to recount the memory of some happier, more harmonious time fromthe past but to “revivify” or “resuscitate” that time, to bring it back with all “the complexity and fullness of immediate experience”

Homework:

• Read and annotate Nights Below Station Street (it’s not that long, and probably an “easier” read than Obasan in terms of its structure, but necessarily in terms of its content). No extra writing, but know the novel when you return.