Northern Experience and the Myths of Canadian CultureBy investigating mutually dependent categories of identity in literature that depicts northern peoples and places, Hulan provides a descriptive account of representative genres in which the north figures as a central theme - including autobiography, adventure narrative, ethnography, fiction, poetry, and travel writing. She considers each of these diverse genres in terms of the way it explains the cultural identity of a nation formed from the settlement of immigrant peoples on the lands of dispossessed, indigenous peoples. Reading against the background of contemporary ethnographic, literary, and cultural theory, Hulan maintains that the collective Canadian identity idealized in many works representing the north does not occur naturally but is artificially constructed in terms of characteristics inflected by historically contingent ideas of gender and race, such as self-sufficiency, independence, and endurance, and that these characteristics are evoked to justify the nationhood of the Canadian state. |
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aboriginal adventure American anthropological Arctic argues attempt authentic authority becomes boys calls Canada Canadian Canadian literature character characteristics civilization claim collective concerned construction contemporary continue conventions creates criticism defined describes desire developed difference distinct Dreams Eskimo especially ethnographic example experience exploration fiction Franklin frontier gender genre give Group hero ideas identity imagined important Indian individual influence initiation interest Inuit culture issues Jenness John land landscape literary literature living male masculine means myth narrative Native nature northern notes novel observes passage play poems poetry political postmodern present Press provides quest race reading realism reality refers reflects relationship representation represented Robert role Romantic seems sense shows social society speak stories suggests takes things tion Toronto traditional true turn University voice Wiebe wilderness woman women writing