I think it was a fun, interesting course--the order in which we read the books was good, challenged us a lot. Heavy work and reading load but engaging material.. I learned a lot that I really knew nothing about before. I knew very basic info about the Native people and now know much more heavy detail about their lives, and of the First Nations writers/writing. I will never forget some of those books that we read.. very moving pieces. Thanks!

I really enjoyed this class. With the exception of a couple books that were a little slow going for me, i really enjoyed these books. I'm a slow reader so somtimes it would take me a while to get into them, but once i was pulled in i took them with me wherever i went to read if i got the chance to.Paul were you were an awesome teacher, thanks so much for a great class!

This class was a really great way to finish my english major; I was getting so tired of the usual Brit Lit or American Lit options, and this gave me a chance to read not only contemporary works but literature on a subject that I was unfamiliar with. The books were great...I especially like Thomas King and Eden Robinson and hope to read some of their other novels before too long. This was overall a great experience, and your enthusiasm encouraged me to get through all the books during a semester that was very tough for me! Thanks for everything, Paul!

I thought the course was really well planned with all the books relating strongly to each other and to "The Truth About Stories". It sheds light on an important aspect of American history that seems to only be taught (at least in history courses) as something like a great tragedy that happened and is over. More honestly, the story of the Native American is not over yet and the stories we read really show that.

I liked this class a lot and have already signed up for another Canadian Lit class with Martin next semester. I enjoyed it most because i don't think i would have ever sought out Canadian authors on my own and this class in a sense forced me to. I had taken Native American Lit last semester and so this semester i basically continuted that theme.I would write more but it is crunch time so i will leave off saying this is a great class and i hope the final isn't brutal.

I really like the style of lecture, I feel that it is a comfortable atmosphere for all to talk and express their different views. In Search of April Raintree was by far my favorite book in the course, and possibly one of my favorite books in general. I wish we had spent more time on Contact Sports and Blood Sports, but other than that great class!

This was unlike any class I've had at UVM. I really enjoyed the open discussion format of the class, the way nearly everybody was able to participate. It did not feel like I was in a class, as in I often times felt like we were comfortably sitting and conversating about the books, instead of the rigid structure of a normal class - so kudos to P. Mart for that aspect of the class, it was definitely a strength.
I also enjoyed the readings immensely. I signed up for the class partially because I knew little of the subject of native writers and the class definitely served to inform me of Native Canadian writers and the historical struggles they write about. I am very glad I took this class.

This class TOTALLY changed my perspective on native culture/literature. I never really thought of myself as being someone who stereotyped, and I don't think that anybody ever wants to admit their own ignorance, but I think that a lot of us have certainly fallen victim to the notion of the romantic indian. (I can remember playing "indians" in the woods when I was little, coming up with all of those "indian" sounding names in kindergarten near thanksgiving.) I feel like I'm so much more tuned into picking those things out now, and just the other day I was in a shoe store and someone pointed to a pair of moccasin-type shoes and said, "Where would you wear those? On the reserve?" So much for progressive Vermont!

Also, I am a little embarassed to admit that when I first found out that the class was going to be about Canadian First Nations I was thinking....Canada? Oh, God....Sorry, Paul! I guess I had just never really even thought about Canada before. How very George Morningstar of me! Never fear. I did learn a lot, and one of the things that I learned was that Canadians are pretty cool and that they are up to some things other than forrestry and speaking francais in montreal.

Also, Paul is a very good professor. Very cool, very much the man. Thanks for making me feel like my time at this University is well spent.

I'll be honest, I didn't actually look at the course description when I registered for this class, so on the first day when I learned the class was about Canadian literature, it was all news to me. It doesn't really matter now, because I really enjoyed the course. I felt we were able to have some really good open ended discussions that brought a lot of great ideas to the table. The books were also enjoyable. I'm definately glad I took this course.

I pretty much agree with everyone else on a variety of things... like most people said, First Nations and Native American literature is compelling in a lot of ways.. the stories tend to involve heavy themes of conflict and nature (nice).. and we get to hear the TRUTH.. when we were in elementary school they taught us about "Indians" and how great Christopher Columbus was, yada yada, then in later school years we find out that it was all a bunch of bold-faced lies.. it's refreshing to hear the other side of the story.

The text selection was great for several reasons: the books all did their job in educating us about First Nations writing and history, they were all very readable (however I found GGRW, while whimsical, to be tough to get into)... I thought In Search Of April Raintree was outstanding, an instant favorite.. Contact&Blood Sports were impossible to put down.. so thank you for requiring them (and smuggling into the country).

Paul, keep up the quality professing, thanks for providing a pleasant learning environment and generally being the man ...go BRUINS!

This class really expanded my knowledge of First Nations people in two different ways. First, by reading novels which discussed the numerous hardships facing First Nations people. Secondly, by learning more about the First Nations authors behind the novels we read. Learning about the lives of these First Nations authors gave me a greater understanding of why they chose to write about certain stories and topics, and taught me even more about a culture i knew very little about.
Also, one of the stories I initially thought I wouldn't like, Three Day Road, because it was a 'war story' turned out to be one of my favorite novels of the class. I guess never judge a book by its cover.

Aat first i was really unsure of which direction this class would take. I found however that Paul had a very clear vision of what he would like the class to learn. The books we read complemented each other nicely and the discussions we a great help to clarifying them. Thank you Paul and everyone else in the monday night class, have a good summer.

The course was surprisingly very entertaining and interesting. All of the readings somehow were engaging to read even though I was skeptical in the beginning. Reading the literature of first nation people has given me a perspective into first nation culture and issues that I would never have gotten other wise.

somehow I completely forgot to mention Three Day Road when discussing my favorite books... anyhoo it's definitely a keeper.

I really enjoyed taking this course; the combination of unique pieces of writing about a topic not conventionally discussed/exposed in the general mainstream and an instructor who actually cares about what he's teaching, and the opinions of his students. I also really appreciated the open discussion format of the class...most instructors don't like to put the direction of class discussion in the hands of their students. I felt that this aspect of the course in of itself was one of the strongest; I personally felt that it motivated me to be more engaged and focused on the topics at hand. Overall, thank you very much Paul for teaching a course I can say I truly did enjoy and get a lot out of.