Canadian Postmodernism amp; Postcolonialism.ppt

“The Canadian North”: Its Myths and “Realities” The Group of Seven National 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」。換言之，加拿大文學的「後殖民」主題之一即是文化及地理上－－或內在與外在－－的流離失所. But who are the victims? e.g. “Can Lit.” by Earl Birney Myth 2: Two Solitudes Duality -- caused by settler-colonization and neo-colonialism French and English; British, American “Canadian” e.g. “Tricks with Mirrors” The victims are not necessarily powerless. Interactions between the victimizer and the victimized. Myth 3: Mosaic and MulticulturalismImmigrants to Canada 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 the 1970s -- 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? V e r t i c a l  Mosaic Is Canada “Postcolonial”? Depends – focus on Canada as a member of the British Commonwealth; focus on the vastly different histories of the countries in that Commonwealth; view Canada as both an invader and settler colony; view Canada as holding two solitudes and/or other solitudes; see Canada as a nation of immigrants; Is Canada “Postcolonial”? see Canada continuing the colonization of First Nations people; isolate Canada as a member of the G8 and a powerful player in globalization; isolate Canada as a country with pockets of poverty; define Canadian primarily as “not American”; think of a Molson “I am Canadian” identity; consider multiculturalism in Canada to be more than a series of folklore festivals; and/or consider Canada to be a nation of writers from widely diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds (Moss 7-8) M