Discussion Question 1: In what ways do you think the narratives from the first European explorers of Alaska and the Yukon are driven by their origins? Are some of the things they see skewed by their own cultural backgrounds? Look at the bookplate above and think about how writers and […]

Hey folks, I just want to let you know that last week’s discussion went great. Sometimes I can’t join in until later, but you all did a great job talking to one another and sharing resources. Just a brief reminder that referring to your reading assignments from this week is […]

 Elmer Rasmuson Discusses Alaskan Identity Watch this very short video of Elmer Rasmuson talking to school children about “what it means to be an Alaskan.”   Think about Rasmuson’s comments in context with some of the essays you’ve read this week.   Which of the writers you’ve read so far […]

    Take a look through the Alaska Digital Archives at some of the photos surrounding Alaska’s natural resources. Each of the writers we’ve read thus far seems to think differently about the use of natural resources in Alaska. Choose two writers and explain how each discusses Alaska’s natural resources […]

Hiya folks, I just want to remind you all that you should be posting to your personal blogs regularly. I usually try to give some feedback on the writing and the overall shape your blogs are taking and some of you only have one post on your site! Do a […]

MTV Cribs, Fairbanks style… This is the Alaska I’m a little more familiar with. Not the Alaska of post cards in Fred Meyers, not the Alaska you see in paintings with grand vistas of Denali and a moose standing in the mist, not the Alaska of Northern Exposure, but this […]

Ok, a short question this week, but one that you should spend some time thinking about. We’ve been looking backwards all semester… reading historical accounts of exploration in Alaska. What’s in our future? You can think about this in ecological terms, economic, cultural, or numerous other ways. Explain what you […]

This week, let’s discuss the visual storytelling experiment undertaken by Jonathan Harris, an artist and writer who combines “elements of computer science, anthropology, visual art and storytelling.” Go to The Whale Hunt and explore the site. There is no right way to enter or progress through the site; you should […]

                  Last week I was in Bethel, Alaska, and was surprised to find out that there is a large population of Korean folks and (lucky for me) Korean/American restaurants. Virtually all of restaurants in Bethel offer some form of Korean food and […]

Blizzards, floods, volcanoes, earthquakes… Alaskans have seen it all, and very often the weather is a central focus for writing about Alaska and the Yukon. As a final discussion, lets talk about the ways that severe weather or climate conditions play a role in the authors we are reading or […]