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“I think that literary analysis that attends to representations of specific places, or that connects itself to specific places, can help us to develop ideas about what is going on in the places where we live—what forces are acting on us, and how we might respond to them.” (Calder 114)

The Future of Canadian Literature Could Lie in Redefining our Relationship to Geography

In this course, we have used our collaborative platform to try and examine the ways in which Canadians relate to our literature. We have examined the gaps in our definition of what it means to be “Canadian,” examined institutional forces that historically and continue to promote whiteness in Canada, and examined our debate between defining a Canadian identity and recognizing the diversity that comes from living in a globalized, multicultural country. As Canada evolves, its literature needs to evolve with it. There’s been a trend in Canadian Literature to move away from regionalism and embrace the ambiguity of a globalized and diasporic sense of Canada. However, regionalism can also be used to ground our experiences in a consistent, tangible way: through place. Our group is looking at the ways in which regionalism and geographical understandings of Canadian literature can be reinvented to incorporate greater diversity, modern technology, and redefine borders and identities.

In her article “What Happened to Regionalism?” Alison Calder outlines an argument that in recent years, Canadian Literature has moved away from its groundings in place, geography, and region and has extended to an idea of Canada as “post-place” (Calder 113). Calder argues that as the world globalizes and technology, communication, and industry become further entrenched in our engagement with the world, regionalism can seem outdated, irrelevant, or too traditional both within the changing global landscape and within Canada’s own relationship with its people.

“The impetus behind a lot of globalization or transnational studies is a desire to resist homogenizing forces. But by thinking in generalized rather than local or specific terms, this scholarship sabotages its own agenda” (Calder 114)

However, Calder does not mean to say we need to embrace tradition; in fact, she argues that terms like “post-prairie” could be accurate in that we don’t currently write a lot of poetry about barnyards and grain silos, but to say we are “post-prairie” is inaccurate when it implies that we no longer exist in a world that is shaped by ideological structures and systems that ground Canada within its colonial histories (Calder 113). An understanding of Canadian literature within regional identities is an effective way of combining and addressing our relationship with the idea of origins and with each other, particularly when we are a part of a nation so known for it’s sprawling landscape and size.

A screen shot from the Native Land online mapping tool, showing the territories of Indigenous groups in Canada and the United States. Tools like this allow us to question the very static borders and boundaries that we have imposed on the land and what forces may have influenced the territorial reaches of Indigenous groups across North America. Click on the picture to visit the mapping tool.

Works Cited

Calder, Alison. “What Happened to Regionalism?” Canadian Literature 204, 2010, 113-114.

Starr, Mary Jane. “Mapping Books by Neighbourhood.” Canadian Geographic. 14 July 2014, https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/mapping-books-neighbourhood. Accessed 7 April 2019.

Temprano, Victor. “A Question of Borders.” Native Land. 30 Dec. 2017, https://native-land.ca/a-question-of-borders/. Accessed 7 April 2019.

Van der Marel, L. Camille. “Diaspora and Canadian Literature.” CanLit Guides. 24 May 2018, http://canlitguides.ca/l-camille-van-der-marel/diaspora-studies-and-canadian-literature/diaspora-and-canadian-literature/. Accessed 7 April 2019.

Last updated: April 7th, 2019 12:15PM
Originally created: March 25th, 2019 10:05AM