Connections to Hist 3510: English 4470 (Aboriginal Literature (North America))

In one of my reading analyses, I looked at a book that was used for Engl 4470: Studies in Aboriginal Literature. It was very exciting that I was able to take an english book and apply it to the course material for a history class. Many of the readings for Engl 4470 were memoir type novels, short stories, or poems about the authors’ experience in a residential school. Others were fiction based on actual experiences. For our final exam, one of the potential essay questions was, “Formal education-whether at residential, reserve, or off reserve public schools-plays a role in several works we have studied. What themes emerge from an examination of the role of schools in these works?”. What was interesting when reading these works was that there was not one universal experience. Each author’s experience with education was unique. While one author’s parent was haunted by residential school and had become an alcoholic, another author’s friend went on to law school after graduating from an on-reserve school.

History 3510 helped me with this class because it gave me strong background knowledge on residential schools. It was easy to see history come through in the fiction writing. Also, in works that were autobiographical it was easy to make connections to the history from the authors’ lived experiences.

I suggested that my Engl 4470 prof to take a look at the readings on residential schools that we analyzed in Hist 3510. Because she is someone who focuses on Aboriginal literature, I think she would enjoy to read the entries in our text book and make connections to the course material.

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