Saint Mary's College



A LITERARY TOUR OF CANADAEnglish 163, Other English LiteraturesSpring 2012Carol L. Beran, Ph.D.GV207 631-4432cberan@stmarys-ca.eduWhether we consider a very small community—a relationship, a family, a rural town—or a very large one—a city, a nation—communities differ by “the style in which they are imagined,” writes Benedict Anderson in Imagined Communities (7). As we make our literary tour of Canada, we will look at how some Canadian writers imagine communities in their fiction: Lucy Maud Montgomery not only put Prince Edward Island on the map, she created the novel from which many people say all of Canadian literature sprangAlistair MacLeod writes short stories about fishing communities in Nova Scotia Anne Hébert imagines Quebec’s past in her passionate account of love and murder; Roch Carrier presents a more contemporary view that includes Canada’s favorite sportRobertson Davies sees British culture clashing with other cultural influences in a small city in Ontario as someone plays a cruel trick on two shy peopleAlice Munro’s short stories often focus on interpersonal relationships in rural Ontario communities Margaret Atwood envisions troubled communities centered around three women and a mysterious friend in recent times in Toronto Margaret Laurence evokes immense sympathy for her multicultural characters in a prairie town in this once-censored masterpieceAritha Van Herk takes readers on a mining expedition near the Yukon border where men and nature challenge the lone woman in the campRobert Kroetsch’s characters hunt dinosaur fossils along a riverSheila Watson depicts a dysfunctional community haunted by Coyote in the interior of British Columbia in a short novel that begins with a murder, Emily Carr writes of her experiences painting pictures of decaying totem poles, and Raven tricks an old man in a Haida creation myth to reveal a world full of light and lifeReadings:Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride, 1993Robertson Davies, The Leaven of Malice, 1954Anne Hébert, Kamouraska (in translation), 1970Robert Kroetsch, Badlands, 1975Margaret Laurence, The Diviners, 1974Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, 1908 (Internet: Project Gutenberg)Aritha Van Herk, The Tent Peg, 1981Sheila Watson, The Double Hook, 1959Selected stories:Emily Carr, Klee Wyck, 1941 Ch. 6, “D’Sonoqua” ()Roch Carrier, “The Hockey Sweater,” 1979; film ()Hugh MacLennan, “Concussion” ()Alistair MacLeod, Island, 2000 (E-rRes: ENGL163)Alice Munro, The Progress of Love, 1986“Raven Steals the Light” Haida Myth ( HYPERLINK "" )Learning goals: Artistic UnderstandingEngage in close reading and serious analysis of a group of texts important in the development of the short story form.Read with attention to the language and formal features of each text; note each writer’s use and revision of conventions of the genre and be able to relate formal features of each text to the writer’s purpose.Apply appropriate critical vocabulary (“point of view,” “plot,” “genre,” “literary convention,” for example) in analysis of texts.Develop familiarity with multiple and evolving forms of the short storyCourse Requirements:Attendance: no more than 3 cuts. Cutting class more than 3 times has a negative impact on your participation grade. Departmental policy requires that any student missing more than 9 classes receive an F for the course. I expect you to come to class on time, with your course pack and the books in which you have assignments for the day, and stay for the whole sixty minutes. Repeated tardiness or frequently leaving while class is in session will count as absences. I challenge you to have perfect attendance—and I give extra credit on the participation grade for those who do come to every class.Prepare all assignments carefully. Read critically. Respond thoughtfully. Participate actively in class discussion and activities. Your participation grade is composed of classroom contributions, attendance, and turning in freewritings on the days assigned.Three out of four essays. You may do all 4 and have your lowest grade crossed out.Make use of my office hours and the Writing Center. In general, I don’t allow rewrites. Note also that in fairness to other students, I cannot read your entire essay in advance of grading, since I could not possibly do this for all of my students. I am happy to talk to you about key ideas, organization, possible outside sources if needed, and so on.Project. Sign up for your project as soon as possible. Topics are scattered throughout the syllabus according to the day on which they will be presented to the class. These will be oral presentations, with only the thesis and bibliography (MLA format) and notes used to present turned in.Final Exam. We will create this together at the last class.When you communicate with me by email, please use your Saint Mary’s account. Academic honesty: all work must be your own, and done specifically for this class. Sources must be acknowledged by using parenthetical citations and a works cited list (MLA format, section 58, Handbook). Any paper turned in without a Works Cited list gets an automatic F.: You must upload your 3 essays to . Papers not uploaded by the deadline will lose credit. Not having all 3 of your major essays on at the end of the semester will negatively impact your participation grade.Final grade: the average of 6 grades—one grade on each of the 3 papersessay grades, a grade on the your project, a grade on the final exam, and the your participation grade.Student Disability Services: Student Disability Services extends reasonable and appropriate accommodations that take into account the context of the course and its essential elements, for individuals with qualifying disabilities. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Director at (925) 631-4164 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation guidelines and available services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found at the following address on the Saint Mary’s website: :(Feb. 6 Americans looking at Canada. Borders. Peace, order, and good government. Geography of Canada. Imaginaries of place. Feb. 8 Anne of Green Gables, ch. 1-9 ()Feb. 10 Anne, ch. 10-18Feb. 13 Finish Anne. Project: Prince Edward Island __________ Feb. 15 MacLeod, “The Road to Rankin’s Point” (E-rRes: ENGL163). Project: Nova Scotia __________Feb. 17 MacLeod, “Island” (ER-res: ENGL163) Feb. 20 Read one article about Anne and one about Island from the library databases; freewrite about key points in each article and your reactions to them. Bring Anne to class. Projects: Labrador __________, Newfoundland __________, New Brunswick __________Feb. 22 Kamouraska, one half1/2. Project: the Acadians and “Evangeline” __________Feb. 24 Finish Kamouraska. Feb. 27 Essay #1 due. View “The Hockey Sweater” (). Projects: Quebec __________, Wolfe, Montcalm, and the Plains of Abraham __________. Continue discussing Kamouraska in class.Feb. 29 The Leaven of Malice, ch. 1-3. Project: Colonialism and Post-Colonialism __________Mar. 2 Finish The Leaven of MaliceMar. 5 Projects: movie, Black Robe __________, Ontario __________. Continue discussing Leaven in class.Mar. 7 Munro, “Miles City, Montana”Mar. 9 Munro, “Circle of Prayer”Mar. 12 Munro, “Lichen.” Project: The Canadian (Precambrian) Shield__________Mar. 14 Munro, “White Dump”Mar. 16 Essay #2 due. Read an article about MunroProgress and one about Davies Leaven on the library databases; freewrite about key points in each article and your reactions to them. Try to find articles related to the items we read. Bring Progress and Leaven to class.Mar. 19 The Robber Bride, ch. 1-14. Project: The Group of Seven__________Mar. 21 The Robber Bride, ch. 15-28 Mar. 23 The Robber Bride, ch. 29-43. Project: “The Robber Bridegroom” iand other related stories in Grimm’s Fairytales fairytales __________Mar. 26 Finish The Robber BrideMar. 28 Read 2 articles about Atwood related to The Robber Bride from the library databases; freewrite about key points in each article and your reactions to them. Projects: Manitoba __________, Saskatchewan __________Mar. 30 The Diviners, ch. 1-3. Project: Louis Riel and the Meétis ________Apr. 2-9 Easter BreakApr. 11 The Diviners, ch. 4-6. Class will not meet while I am away at a conference. Instead, you should get together with one or more classmates to discuss the reading.Apr. 13 The Diviners, ch. 7-9. Class will not meet while I am away at a conference. Instead, you should get together with one or more classmates to discuss the reading.Apr. 16 finish The Diviners.Apr. 18 Essay #3 due. Read 2 articles about Laurence related to The Diviners from the library databases; freewrite about key points in each article and your reactions to them. Projects: Alberta __________Apr. 20 Badlands, 1/3. Projects: Alberta’s dinosaurs __________, Alberta’s oil sands __________Apr. 24 Badlands, 1/3 Project: theYukon __________Apr. 27 Finish BadlandsApr. 30 The Tent Peg, 1/2. Project: the Franklin Expedition __________May 2 Finish The Tent Peg. Project: Arctic explorers related to The Tent Peg characters (other than Franlkin) __________May 4 18 Essay #4 due. Read one article related to Badlands and one article related to The Tent Peg from the library databases; freewrite about key points in each article and your reactions to them. Bring Badlands and The Tent Peg to class. Project: the Northwest Territories __________May 7 The Double Hook, 1/2. Project: Nunavut __________May 9 Finish The Double Hook. Project: British Columbia __________May 11 Emily Carr, ch. 6, “D’Sonoqua,” from Klee Wyck ” (), and “Raven Steals the Light,” a Haida creation myth (). Exam planning.May 14 Final exam 11:30-1:30 ................
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