Canadian Literature in English: Texts and Contexts, Vol. 2 [Paperback]

 

 

Create your own review

These anthologies were created as teaching texts for college and university-level Canadian Literature courses, however, they would be of considerable benefit at the secondary level for student independent studies in the academic stream in Canadian Literature, History, Art, or Aboriginal Studies. The two volumes are particularly useful because they combine literary narratives with historical documents that help to illuminate each historical period. As literary histories of Canada, the books help place the development of culture of Canada in social, political, and historical contexts.

Written and compiled within a postcolonial framework, the two volumes are sensitive to the early Aboriginal heritage of the continent and to the growing sense of cultural and ethnic pluralism evident as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century. The selections in the anthologies also show an awareness of the Eurocentrism and paternalism of the explorers, settlers, and nation builders. Further, there is an emphasis on the environment and resources that will be of interest to contemporary students. Extensive introductory essays and detailed headnotes for each of the selections provide students with background material to guide them as independent readers. Bibliographies provide primary and secondary resources and accompany each section of the book.

The first volume covers literary texts from the 'First Words' of Indigenous storytellers, to narratives of European encounter with First Nations and narratives of exploration. It also contains the emigration guides of Black Loyalists and settlers, as well as the fiction and journalism of Stephen Leacock, Nellie McClung, and L. M. Montgomery in the 1910s. It includes maps, historical woodcuts and engravings, and a variety of political and cultural texts not previously gathered in an anthology format (including the Chinese Immigration Act, the BNA, and the Indian Act). Each section is organized and introduced by an in-depth essay that positions the texts and maps in ways that will help students design independent studies topics. Such editorial commentary takes up a third of the textbook.

The second volume covers the rise of modernism in poetry alongside the growth in nationalism in art evident in the work of the Group of Seven painters; the explosion of experimental poetry in the 1960s and the debates about the nation in the 1970s; and the mainstreaming of multiculturalism over the past three decades. The volume includes excerpts from the 1951 Massey Report and the 1988 Multiculturalism Act, beside stories by Sinclair Ross, Margaret Atwood, and Madeleine Thien. It highlights contemporary discussions of race, gender, sexuality, and environmental issues alongside concerns over literary forms and content. Again, the introductory essays and headnotes provide detailed contextual information about art and society and the bibliography provides a resource for students to search for other secondary sources for independent studies.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See the customer review...

 

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Search Listmania!