William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest serving Prime Minister, once famously claimed that ”while other countries have too much history, Canada has too much geography.” If – as King’s remark would suggest – Canada is not burdened by a surfeit of history, there is certainly no dearth of narratives of historical fiction re-examining the country’s past. Indeed, it might well be argued that, in the absence of a long-established historical narrative, it has been Canadian writers who have been called upon to shape the national imaginary.
In this Hauptseminar (offered as a block seminar), we will examine a selection of contemporary works of historical fiction from Canada. Our goal will be to analyse these texts in the attempt to discern the ways in which history, narrative and nation interconnect. In reading these texts, we will be sensitive to the functions served by historical fiction, in particular the ways in which the representation of past historical events may serve contemporary understanding of the nation. To the extent that these texts offer alternate visions of Canadian history and the nation, we will observe how historical fiction may at once challenge and reconstitute understandings of the nation.
Tentative List of Required Reading:
Sky Lee, Disappearing Moon Café, 1990
Daniel David Moses, Brébeuf’s Ghost, 2000 (play)
Michael Crummy, River Thieves, 2001
Aimee Laberge, Where the River Narrows, 2003
Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes, 2007
N.B. Course Requirements: Oral presentation on a relevant topic of the student's choice and Hausarbeit |
