Fall 2021 - ENGL 355 C100

Canadian Literatures (4)

Class Number: 8011

Delivery Method: Distance Education

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Distance Education

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Dec 13, 2021
    Mon, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    30 units or two 200 division English courses.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Study of selected works of Canadian literature, including Indigenous, diasporic, and settler texts. May draw from a variety of methods, critical debates, regions, and historical periods. This course may be repeated for credit if a different topic is taught.

COURSE DETAILS:

“Home, for me, was not a birthright, but an invention.... I want to talk about the problem of belonging, of home, both as a place and as an idea. ... when we speak ofhome we are speaking of several things... We say home and mean origins, we say home and mean belonging. These are two different things: where we come from, and where we are.” Award-winning Black Canadian novelist Esi Edugyan, who lives in Victoria, BC, writes about home and belonging in her lecture, Dreaming of Elsewhere, and puts her finger on some of the main themes of this course: how does one craft a sense of belonging? What relationship does a sense of belonging have to our sense of our origins? How does race, nation, gender, and class impact our sense of belonging to community? In this course, students will consider the dynamic interaction between place and displacement in a diverse array of literatures from British Columbia, including fiction, memoir, poetry, essay, visual art,performance, and film. Through our readings by writers such as Esi Edugyan, Jeannette Armstrong, Joy Kogawa, Fred Wah, Eden Robinson, and Wayde Compton, we will examine the reciprocal relationship between land and story, and consider itsconnection to memory, time, and history.

There are five units in this course:
1. Writing the Land
2. Writing for Justice,
3. Writing the Self,
4. Writing Vancouver, and
5. Writing the Future

We will ask how literature acts to claim territory, how stories can fight for ecologicaljustice, how authors can unearth buried histories of the land, and what kind of future speculative fiction writers have in store for us. Through our readings and discussions, we will consider questions relating to multiculturalism, diaspora, immigration, and Indigeneity in relation to gender and race. In addition, we will consider issues such as racialization of space, working-class spaces, spaces of consumption and production, the spaces of protest and resistance, and urban gentrification. Ultimately, the students in this course will learn that the literature of BC is a battleground in which many actors have struggled and continue to struggle to claim place, belonging, territory, and justice.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Thematic outcomes

Recognize the role that narrative plays in determining how we understand the contests over land in British Columbia.

Identify the various claims made on land through narrative.

Recognize how belief systems are embedded in different narrative forms - poetry, graphic novel, short story.

Distinguish literary forms and analyse their effects on interpretation of texts and issues.

Understand significant developments and movements in contemporary literatures of British Columbia.

Skills-based outcomes

Use close reading strategies to analyze the relationship between land and story.

Summarize an article and identify the thesis.Construct an argument and support it with evidence in a convincing manner.

Make links between current events and narratives about land in BC.

Analyze and interpret literary texts across a range of genres and media.

Synthesize and evaluate a range of critical approaches to literature.

Recognize complex relationships between texts and contexts (historical, social, cultural, literary).

Cite from multiple literary and academic texts and generate a critical conversation between them.

Grading

  • Position Paper (350 words) 10%
  • Essay 1 Critical Analysis (1000 words) 15%
  • Essay 2: Comparative Analysis (2500 words) 35%
  • Final Exam 30%
  • Position Paper Discussion 10%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Important Note: The SFU Bookstore is trying to get the required books as soon as they can but they may not be there on time. Please consider ordering the books from your local bookstore.

Eden Robinson, Monkey Beach (2000). Vintage ISBN 978-0676973228

Joy Kogawa, Obasan (1983). Penguin ISBN 978-0140067774

Fred Wah, Diamond Grill: 10th Anniversary Edition (2006). NeWest ISBN 978-1897126110

Edugyan, Esi. Dreaming of Elsewhere: Observations on Home (2014). U Alberta P. ISBN 978-88864-821-1 (also available SFU Library online)

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Centre for Online and Distance Education Notes:

All courses are delivered through Canvas.  Students will have access starting the first day of classes.   
https://canvas.sfu.ca

Required Readings are the responsibility of the student to purchase. Textbooks are available for purchase online through the SFU Bookstore's website. 

All courses have an Additional Course Fee of $40.This fee is not associated primarily with physical materials. This also supports developing tools and rich web resources embedded throughout the activities, assignments and videos.

Exams
If your course has a take-home exam, please refer to Canvas for further details. 

For information on exams : https://www.sfu.ca/students/exams


NOTE: This course outline was accurate at the time of publication but is subject to change. Please check your course details in Canvas.



*Important Note for U.S. citizens: As per the U.S. Department of Education, programs offered in whole or in part through telecommunications, otherwise known as distance education or correspondence are ineligible for Federal Direct Loans. This also includes scenarios where students who take distance education courses outside of their loan period and pay for them with their own funding, and attempt to apply for future Federal Direct Loans. 

For more information about US Direct Loans please visit and to read our FAQ on distance education courses, please go here: http://www.sfu.ca/students/financialaid/international/us-loans/federal-direct-loan.html


 

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2021

Teaching at SFU in fall 2021 will involve primarily in-person instruction, with approximately 70 to 80 per cent of classes in person/on campus, with safety plans in place.  Whether your course will be in-person or through remote methods will be clearly identified in the schedule of classes.  You will also know at enrollment whether remote course components will be “live” (synchronous) or at your own pace (asynchronous).

Enrolling in a course acknowledges that you are able to attend in whatever format is required.  You should not enroll in a course that is in-person if you are not able to return to campus, and should be aware that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes.

Students with hidden or visible disabilities who may need class or exam accommodations, including in the context of remote learning, are advised to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112) as early as possible in order to prepare for the fall 2021 term.