The One On Jewish Canadian Writers

And now it's time for my final class review of the Fall: Jewish Canadian Writers. So this class kind of appeared out of nowhere. Basically, I figured I couldn't really get away with the first year course The Making of Canada and fancied the look of a couple of English modules. There was no space on my first choice, which meant I'm not one of 19 special people taking Jewish Canadian Writers. And one of 19 lucky lucky people who gets a three hour class on a Wednesday evening from 5.30-8.30 in a classroom with the most uncomfortable chairs ever!

Reaction to this class from my British friends has been mainly,

'Are there any Jewish Canadian writers in Canada?'

Yes. A lot. It's an enormous part of Canadian culture and literature, particularly on the East Coast and the Montreal-Ottawa belt. For an extensive list of Jewish Canadian writers, click here to open the most important website ever (after this blog)!

It's probably my most challenging class in terms of content and what is expected of me. (Multiculturalism is my most challenging in terms of enjoyment). The texts, poems and novels I have to read require a lot of background research on Jewish theology and culture; furthermore, there is, inevitably, a prevelant Holocaust strand in pretty much all of the texts.

But, I think it will also be a hugely rewarding class. The prof is one of the highest regarded in the university and is a celebrated author and esteemed academic - what more could you want in an educator? He's one of the people whose student I feel privellaged to be, much like with Tim Gorringe at Exeter. I was in a tutorial with him today; he's funny and wise and helpful and really wants to push his students which is something I completely thrive on. I even had to out myself as an English theology student, and he was really receptive to it, encouraging me to bring in my theology to my work and the seminar presenation the tutorial was about.

Although it's probably the hardest course, it is one of the ones I enjoy the most because of the small class size; the fact there's only one obnoxious girl in it; and because Lydia is in the same class and I've made a new friend in it too, called Samantha! Look, I've made friend! Three hours on a wednesday evening is intense though, especially as my day begins at 8.30am with a class - definitely a full on day!



So right now, I'm working on a presenation with Samantha and Lydia on A M Klein's 'The Second Scroll' which is a book I'd wholly reccomend you read, and I'm quite excited to look at it from a theology perspective; especially as I wrote an essay on the Holocaust in Esther's module in first year. Jewish Canadian Writers; not a class I'd normally pick, but one I reckon I shall look back on and be so enriched by it that I could never imagine not having taken it!