a first step, then. blogging, like most literary arts, germinates from self-writing, from a sort of public journal-keeping. despite its publicity, it seldom achieves communal status and remains the literary equivalent of flashing. one seldom learns much from such glimpses, whether subject, object, or auxiliary clause. it's a dinkus, or pudenda. surface.
blogs are more, now. they surpass even streaking. active, logging cultures and structures more massive and less accountable than selves. this space, perhaps, interstitial. academic, literary, political - all structures abutting and squeezing the fluid. all need lubrication. that shit is money, baby.
here's a space, then. it's linked to another: colinmart@blogger.com but doesn't forward to facebook or myspace like that other. it has a log component (today's investment in course thus far: 1:07:31) and a critical research component (a cursory look at the roughly 700 authors at http://quebecbooks.qwf.org/authors reveals only two authors of native canadian extraction and they do not write their communities) and a creative component. more on that to come, though ideas whirl.
enough. another 23 minutes invested and much more to do.
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Hi Colin-I think your decision to start a new blog is a good one. Being as this one is not forwarded to faceboook or the like, perhaps you may wish to allow people who do not belong to a particular blog community to respond to your postings without having to become a member. Some people do not like to join a community but would like to participate in a blog discussion. There is information in our Bb learning environment (Helpful Hints folder in the Blog area)that describes how blog permissions can be set so anonymous users can participate.
ReplyDeleteThe various sections of your blog sound interesting and I look forward to seeing how they develop. In terms of your critical research component, I am left wondering why only two authors of Native Canadian background were listed. Any thoughts?
Have a good weekend,
TW
Colin: Interesting take on blogs as genre. I agree and disagree, find them often just a form of private performance (like videologs), but also liberating from some confines and conventions and a good sharing genre as well, if people (of course) take the time. I find myself very impressed by what people do on blogs for classes, far more than by any other form of academic writing. When you have time, check the academic blogs site we have linked; some quite exciting stuff out there. Of course, we can get delightfully sidetracked, as I did today, visiting blogs on sloths.
ReplyDeletei found that limited number of Native Canadian authors odd also, especially given the breadth of the Native communities in Quebec. there could be more - many of the authors listed do not have their personal details made public and the two authors i found do not write books with Native subject matters. a theory? i'll posit this: Quebec's official pluralist program (vs Canada's multiculti one) does not allow for cultural and linguistic differance. even as anglophones are generally required to send their kids to francophone schools, native languages are also being subordinated, especially in rural communities. thus cultural production from Native subject positions is undercut at the root.
ReplyDeleteanother theory: as Native groups appropriate the language of nationalism in their fight for reclamation of land and civic rights, the Harper apology weakens their position by offering a primary National identity to pure laine Quebecois, strengthening their justification of racial bias - brown people fare poorly in Quebec, where there can be only one legitimate distinct nation and culture (regarless of erstwhile pluralist assimilation) - a white one founded on the bodies of la Filles du Roi. Thus, despite having the largest culture-production industry in Canada, i expect close scrutiny would reveal a paucity of support for Native culture production in Quebec.
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