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Colonialism and the Literary History of Canada
The purpose of these pages is to offer an introduction to the political and cultural history of Canada. It is geared in particular towards those who are interested in the operations of colonial and postcolonial discourse in the literature of both European settlers and the various indigenous cultures. Canada is an interesting, and in many ways paradigmatic, example of the problems facing the modern nation state, with the opposite but parallel movements of a new, youthful culture trying to forge a stable, unified identity, while the native tribes try to retain ancient group identities that are constantly under pressure from the "other Canada".
History & Politics
- Canadian political timeline: Sketch of important dates and events in the formation of the Canadian nation state
- Canada - the problematics of national identity: Discussion of the cultural themes and conflicts that have recurred in Canadian history
- Canadian writing and the language of the colonizer
Literary Texts
- John Richardson's Wacousta : A discussion of these issues as they relate to Canada's first novel
- Ambiguities of Counter-Hegemonic Monologism in Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing
- Douglas Coupland’s Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture: an alternative voice
- William Gibson’s Neuromancer: the creation of a language
- Subverting from Within: Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace
- Colonialism in Margaret Atwood's Surfacing
Native Canadian Texts & Issues
- Colonial representations of Natives - the "Indian": European settler attitudes towards and images of Native people during the colonial period
- Native peoples in Canada today - cultural expression: General survey of the themes that have occupied and the techniques employed by Native writers in the twentieth century
- Thomas King's All My Relations: Discussion of these issues as they relate to this anthology of contemporary Native writing
- Native Peoples of Canada: rewriting the imaginary: Oral tradition, Community, Authenticity, Ethnicity, Postcolonialism
- 'Ecological Imperialism' and Thomas King's Green Grass, Running Water
General info.
- Annotated Bibliography: Further reading in this area
- List of related websites
This project was completed under the direction of Dr Leon Litvack as a requirement for the MA degree in Modern Literary Studies in the School of English at the Queen's University of Belfast. The site is evolving and will include contributions from future generations of MA students on other writers and themes.
Email Dr Litvack with your comments: L.Litvack at qub.ac.uk
