Exclamations of affect punctuate this class, have you noticed? Almost every day there is some topic that will set us galloping merrily down one tangent or another, eagerly shouting out our experience, our feelings. It began with hockey -- fierce declarations of love or hatred -- and lately our meanderings have included traffic here and elsewhere and the worthiness of Edmonton as a place to live.
Most of us are in at least our third year of university and, one would imagine, sufficiently educated by this point to feel a sense of ownership over the stuff packed in our heads. But I don't think that's the case. I think we sound out so much in this class because we are finally in a class in which we do know what we're talking about, and the novelty of it is overwhelming. Despite having learned so much, and perhaps because we're constantly in subordinate positions in our classes where we couldn't possibly be the expert on anything, we don't own our knowledge.
I know I know Edmonton. I know 167 Ave turns into Castle Downs Road and then into 113 A Street before running into the dead end of the rail yards; I know that the 9 bus to Southgate carries old grandmas going shopping at Kingsway or downtown, teens on their way to Vic Comp, middle agers heading to their office towers and desk jobs, the odd drunk, lots of moms and dads with strollers and me going to work or home or who knows. I know the petty rivalries of West Side and North Side with their silly, contorted hand signs signaling membership. I know I miss out on a parts of the city familiar and beloved by some because of my particular background, and I know those others miss out on things I love too. I know these things because this is my city, the place I grew up, the place I choose to call my own.
I'm not an Edmonton booster. A lot of the time I think this city is so mediocre, so average, I wonder why people choose to live here. But I know it and it's mine, and the opportunity to speak on a subject I know, with a knowledge I own, is exciting.
I know not everybody feels Edmonton this way, but we all feel this way about some place, the place(s) we call home. Edmonton is enough of a wallflower city that it can stand in for those other places too.
This class is about getting to know this city through the the literary lens. We're learning new things, yes, but for once we're all experts.
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Hey Debrah!
ReplyDeleteI am really intrigued by your post and I totally agree about the atmosphere in the classroom, people who normally skate through classes unannounced are speaking up about the issues that really matter to them, the issues that really hit home. As I said on the first day of class I am sort of an outside in this dynamic city. I was born and raised in Medicine Hat. Having lived in Edmonton now for approximately a year and a half, I would say I do consider it home (or maybe a second home). I don't know when that feeling emerged. When I first moved here I didn't know one street or one face from another. In the beginning I was not willing to give Edmonton the honourary title of home. It was enchanting and adventurous, but not home. We've grown much closer though, this city and I. It's more than fondness but in no way is this relationship settled. Perhaps our relationships with the cities we live/ have lived in are never truly determined.
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude. Whooooooa how did you do that "reactions" thing on your blog. I wanna dude it up! Sorry I read your blog I am just too blown away by the dudeness to comment with substance.
ReplyDeleteDUDE
Composure.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your take, your attack on our colleagues, though I like to think that I try my hardest to direct comments from "oh I know that street" towards the "macro and micro view" of roads, or Darrin Hagen's reverse-psycological self-argument littered with contradictions. Readings-analysis and insight, I try!
I too try hard to keep my comments to the constructive, but it's so tempting to speak out to the personal. I don't think it's always bad put the personal out there - it can add texture to the discussion. But if everybody does it all the time - and I'm not saying we do - then it's hard to focus on the literary aspect of the course.
ReplyDeleteIf you go to Customize>Layout>Page Elements, click on Edit under Blog Posts, and scroll through the options. You can customize the reactions, although I would recommend "dude" as a reaction everybody has once in a while.