Canada: Past and Present

1. Canada: Past and Present Canadian Literature and Film: General Introduction 2003 S, Kate Liu

2. Outline • General Views • “Who Are We?” • National Identity: • History • Myths • Present Realities • General Themes of our Course

3. Which of the following are Canadians? Dan Aykroyd Jim Carrey MICHAEL J. FOX Keanu Reeve Captain Kirk Megan Follow asAnne of Green Gables ALANIS MORISSETTE k.d. Lang Pamela Ander-son Lee Celine Dion Paul Anka, Neil Young,Peter Jennings . . .

4. Internet Jokes on Cultural Differences • Aussies: Dislike being mistaken for Pommies (Brits) when abroad. • Canadians: Are rather indignant about being mistaken for Americans when abroad. • Americans: Encourage being mistaken for Canadians when abroad. • Brits: Can't possibly be mistaken for anyone else when abroad.

5. Internet Jokes on Cultural Differences • Americans: Spell words differently, but still call it "English". • Brits: Pronounce their words differently, but still call it "English". • Canadians: Spell like the Brits, pronounce like Americans. • Aussies: Add "G'day", "mate" and a heavy accent to everything they say.

6. Internet Jokes on Cultural Differences • Aussies: Are extremely patriotic to their beer. • Americans: Are flag-waving,anthem-singing, and obsessively patriotic to the point of blindness. • Canadians: Can't agree on the words to their anthem, when they can be bothered to sing them. • Brits: Do not sing at all but prefer a large brass band to perform the anthem.

7. Canadian History • 1534 --New France • 1670 -- Charles II of Englandestablished HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY • 1867 -- Canada become a confederation of former colonies (The British North America Act) • 1947-- the creation of the status of Canadian citizen • 1967-- expo '67 in Montreal • 1982-- The Constitution Act ended British control over amendments to Canada's Constitution. • 1988-- Canadian Multiculturalism Act

8. Canadian Identity • Compared with the States, it merged quite late, slowly and peacefully in the 20th century. • Defined in contrast with the Americans -- White North (but not the West), Irony (but not Innocence), victim mentality (but not heroism), Mounties but not cowboy, etc. • Characteristics (?): Gentleness + violent hockey, Two solitudes. • "As Canadian as possible, . . ., under the circumstances."

9. “The Canadian North”: Its Myths and “Realities” • The Group of Seven

10. Myth 1: Victim Mentality • “Garrison Mentality” • “Victim Mentality” vs. American individualism e.g. Atwood在Survival中視加人為自然力量的「集體受害者」，主張加拿大文學即是移民文學，哀悼「離家及失落」。 But who are the victims?

11. Myth 2: Two Solitudes • Duality -- caused by settler-colonization and neo-colonialism • French and English; • British, American & “Canadian”  The Other Solitudes

12. Myth 3: Mosaic and MulticulturalismImmigrants to Canada V e r t i c a l Mosaic • Early 20th century:Italians and Jews discriminated against • the postwar new-comers: at first mainly British, and then Dutch and German • in the 1960s -- Mediterranean peoples, notably Italians, Greeks and Portuguese, • in the1970s -- a steadily growing number of Asians--from India and China via Hong Kong especially and of people of ultimately African origin via the Caribbean. Ghettoized?

13. Present Realities • Depression  the reduction funding for social programs; • The government seen as ineffective and wasteful; • 1995 referendum  separation is no longer impossible. • Global culture

14. General Themes 1. Nation vs. Globalization 2. Gender relations and stereotypes in small towns and in a large city. 3. Voices from the Margins Other Recurrent themes: Memory; fragmentary identity; war; body and identity, language and identity, etc.