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604-304-RI

Class #6

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Introduction

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Today's Class

Today's Class

1. Canadian Folklore and Literature

- Margaret Atwood, "Survival"

- Canadian folklore

- Folklore figures

- Thomas King, "A Coyote Columbus Story"

2. Alternative News and Canadian Politics

- "Les médias alternatifs et la désinformation"

3. Lab (HC-2160)

- Midterm Oral Presentation (10 %): Schedule + Topic (if different from CRA)

- Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography (10 %)

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CanLit and Folklore

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Margaret Atwood, "Survival"

Margaret Atwood, "Survival"

  • "Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature" (1972)
  • A work of literary criticism
  • Goal: Determining what is "Canadian" about Canadian literature
  • Audience: Non-academic readers

Victim Positions

According to Atwood, four "Victim Positions" are possible.

Position One: To deny the fact that you are a victim.

  • This is a position in which members of the "victim-group" will deny their identity as victims, accusing those members of the group who are less fortunate of being responsible for their own "victimhood".

Position Two: To acknowledge the fact that you are a victim (but attribute it to a powerful force beyond human control such as fate, history, God, or biology.)

  • In this position, victims are likely to resign themselves to their fate.

Victim Positions (continued)

Position Three: To acknowledge the fact that you are a victim but to refuse to accept the assumption that the role is inevitable.

  • This is a dynamic position in which the victim differentiates between the role of victim and the experience of victim.

Position Four: To be a creative non-victim.

  • A position for "ex-victims" when creativity of all kinds is fully possible.

Criticism

Atwood's arguments were initially well-received, especially in CanLit itself, but were also criticized by scholars for the following reasons:

1. "being simplistic, narrow in scope, unhistorical, biased, not supported by literary evidence, based on poorly-grounded assertions and distorting our views on Canadian writing."

2. "The criticisms of these authors indicate that Atwood's Survival now provides a disservice to Canadian literature."

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Folklore in Canada

Folklore vs Oral Literature

Oral literature shares with written literature the use of heightened language in various genres (narrative, lyric, epic, etc), but it is set apart by being actualized only in performance and by the fact that the performer can (and sometimes is obliged to) improvise so that oral text constitutes an event.

Points of Origins: English-Canadian Folklore

  • England
  • Scotland
  • Ireland
  • Loyalists following the American Revolutionary War

Each group brought their own traditions and created new folklore in their new homeland. In the generations since the early settlers, waves of immigrants have come to Canada from around the world, adding their own folklore to the country's mix.

Atlantic Provinces

The folk stories of Newfoundland can sometimes be traced back to Ireland and Great Britain, as with the stock character Jack.

The retelling of these stories over generations in the isolated Newfoundland outports of the island gave them a "distinctive Newfoundland flavour".

The Jack of Newfoundland lore is "lazy or mischievous, but he is nearly always resourceful when faced with adversity", as when he confronts giants or ghosts.

Central Canada

Lumberjack heroes are one genre of Canadian folklore that spread throughout the Great Lakes region. The lumberjack tall tales often had French-Canadian origins, but were hugely popular among the itinerant lumberjacks of Ontario and the northern United States as well.

Example: Ottawa Valley storytellers transformed a real historical figure, the Quebec lumberjack Joseph Montferrand, into "Joe Muffreau" or "Big Joe Mufferaw".

Other lumberjack heroes include Julius Neville, Louis Cyr, and Napoleon La Rue.

Canadian Prairies

Folklore traditions brought from Central and Eastern Europe have survived in Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Doukhobor, Mennonite, and other communities of the region.

Northern Canada

Folk tales about the adventurers in northern Canada (particularly about the Yukon's Klondike Gold Rush era) provide more examples of folk heroes based on real historical people. These include the stories told about Sam Steele and "Klondike Kate" (Kathleen Rockwell).

Quebec Folklore

Popular tales are composed in a particular style. First, they are marvellous recitations whose sole purpose is to amuse. They often begin and end with well-known sayings.

Usually the action is not located in any particular place or time and the characters are not seen as individuals.

Unlike tales, legends appear to have historical bases that appeal to the listener's credulity.

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Thomas King

Thomas King, " A Coyote Columbus Story" (pp. 42 -46)

1. "Coyote Columbus" is written as a children's story. Is this an appropriate story for children?

2. Analyze the tone and techniques used in the text. What is the author's point? Are the author's writing strategies effective to get his point across?

3. Coyote mentions a "red history book". Why specifically refer to the colour "red"?

4. Given the purpose and uses of tricksters stories (p. 40), were the two coyotes used appropriately in King's short story?

"Parable, Parody, or 'Blip in the Canadian Lit. Landscape'" (pp. 47 - 48)

1. Are you surprised with the short story's "success"?

2. What does the author mean by "Maybe we want Columbus to discover American again"?

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Misc.

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Midterm Presentation

Midterm Oral Presentation (10 %)

  • October 15 or October 22.
  • Individually but done in front of half of the group.
  • Schedule will be determined at the lab.
  • Guidelines and evaluation grid are available on Léa.
  • Practice, practice, PRACTICE!

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RPAB

Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography (10 %)

A research proposal includes:

  • An inquiry question

Bad example: "Is X country better/worse than Canada?"

Keep in mind that you are doing this in preparation to writing a comparative essay!

  • A thesis statement
  • A short explanation of the cultural issue you wish to address
  • A description of what you wish to accomplish with your research

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Alternative News

Alternative News

The provincial elections will be held on October 1. Have you made a decision? If so, based on what information?

What does political alternative news and disinformation look like?

Sharing Alternative News

  • Information is spread over social media

(e.g. Facebook, Twitter).

  • Often contains information which will generate

intense reactions.

  • Information is easily accessible due to being shared by many fake accounts.

Spotting Fake Accounts

- A fake profile picture (the image was taken from the Internet and does not reveal the author's identity).

- No profile picture.

- Image or illustration used as a profile picture.

- The account is fairly recent.

- Contains a great amount of posts and comments.

- All publications (post and comments alike) defend one specific ideology.

You may be dealing with a fake account or a troll.

Analyzing Potential Alternative News

Before sharing information, thoroughly analyze all content.

Is it a reliable source? Is it from a partisan group?

"Les médias alternatifs et la désinformation"

Le bureau d'enquête: https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/08/04/des-medias-alternatifs-inquietent

Discussion Questions

1. What is the most common type of alternative news you have seen?

2. Have you ever shared information on Facebook and later realized it was alternative news or disinformation?

3. Have you recently seen suspicious information shared on Facebook, but are still unsure as to whether it's disinformation or not?

4. Why is there such an apparent increase of disinformation shared online? What can be done to fight against disinformation spread through social media?

Provincial Elections

The provincial elections will be held on October 1. Have you made a decision? If so, based on what information?

1. The regional candidates recently had a debate at our Cégep. Did you attend? If so, how has this helped you shape your opinion? If not, why not?

2. What are your predictions about election results?

3. What do you think people should look for in a political party? Is it generation-based? If so, what are your generation's priorities?

Lab (HC-2160)

No food or drinks!

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