English 9186

Testimony and Indigenous Writings

Instructor: Professor J. Emberley.
Summer Full Course Equivalent.

Tentative schedule: Starting May 6, running Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 10:30-1:30, until June 19. This course will run remotely via OWL and/or Zoom.


Students will read Indigenous critical and literary approaches to testimony and trauma studies. In Canada, events such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Murdered and Missing Women and Girls have opened up debates about the role of testimony in the contexts of human rights truth commissions and historical accountability. Students will read Indigenous storytelling and writings that address the Indian Residential Schools and their damaging effects on generations of Indigenous communities. Students will also examine traumatic, testimonial and healing texts related to sexuality and gender, racism and genocide. They will also explore the meaning of “revitalization” for Indigenous writers today and how Indigenous peoples are determining their own futures through literature and literary scholarship.

View/download the course syllabus here: English 9186. PDF download