English (ENGL) 308
Native Literature in Canada

This version of ENGL 308 closed Sept. 19, 2005. To current version.

Delivery mode: Individualized study
Credits: 3 - Humanities
Prerequisite: ENGL 211 and ENGL 212 or equivalent first year English course(s).
Centre: Centre for Language and Literature
Challenge for Credit: This course has a Challenge for Credit option.

>> Overview | Outline | Evaluation | Course Materials | Course Fees | Course Availability


Overview

ENGL 308 explores the oral and written tradition in Native Canadian literature, from the early Inuit and Indian stories and myths to the orations of Pontiac and the drama of Tomson Highway. It examines Native history and community values in contemporary poetry and prose, and topical social issues through the words of Native storytellers including Thomas King, David Moses, and Ruby Slipperjack.

Outline

  • Unit 1 Introduction
  • Unit 2 Myths and Legends
  • Unit 3 Songs and Chants
  • Unit 4 Orations
  • Unit 5 Short Fiction
  • Unit 6 Novels
  • Unit 7 Poetry
  • Unit 8 Essays and Memoirs
  • Unit 9 Drama

Evaluation

To receive credit for ENGL 308, students must achieve a composite course grade of at least "D" (50 percent). The weighting of the course assignments is as follows:

Diagnostic Essay 1 Essay 2 Final Exam Total
10% 25% 25% 40% 100%

Course Materials

Textbooks

Gedalof, Robin, ed. n.d. Paper Stays Put: A Collection of Inuit Writing. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers.

King, Thomas. 1991. Medicine River. Toronto: Penguin.

King, Thomas, ed. 1990. All My Relations: An Anthology of Contemporary Canadian Native Fiction. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.

Petrone, Penny, ed. 1983. First People First Voices. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Slipperjack, Ruby. 1987. Honour the Sun. Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications.

Tomson Highway. 1988. The Rez Sisters. Saskatoon: Fifth House.

Other material

The course materials include a study guide and a student manual.

Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice.
Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized-study counterparts.

[AU Home Page]
Athabasca University
1 University Drive
Athabasca, AB T9S 3A3
(780) 675-6111, (800) 788-9041
Ask AU
This page was updated by G. Zahara