Course Description
The history of Canada from European settlement to the present day. Special attention will be given to political, constitutional, and economic developments.
Athena Title
HISTORY OF CANADA
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course will provide students with an overview of the political, economic, and social history of Canada since the late sixteenth century. Although comparisons with American developments will be noted--such as patterns of colonial settlement, relations with native peoples, settlement of the west, development of industrializa- tion and urbanization, patterns of immigration, and the like--Canadian history will be present on its own terms. Students will thus acquire both a new perspective on American history and a deeper understanding of Canada's national past. The principal objective of the course is to teach students to think critically for themselves about the relationships between the past and the present, to learn to ask questions of the past that enable them to understand the present and mold the future, and to become attuned to both the limitations and possibilities of change. The course seeks to acquaint students with the ways in which past societies and peoples have defined the relationships between community and individual needs and goals, and between ethical norms and decision-making. In general students will be expected to: 1. read a wide range of primary and secondary sources critically. 2. polish skills in critical thinking, including the ability to recognize the difference between opinion and evidence, and the ability to evaluate--and support or refute--arguments effectively. 3. write stylistically appropriate and mature papers and essays using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished papers.
Topical Outline
1. Geography and the land 2. Native cultures on the eve of European contact 3. European explorations and competitions 4. The Creation of New France 5. Colonial Rivalries and Economic Development 6. Eighteenth-century Wars of Empire 7. From New France to British North America: Loyalism 8. Birth of Responsible Government 9. Economic Development, Expansion West, and "the French Problem" 10. Confederation: The British North America Act of 1867 11. Railroads and Native Peoples 12. Immigration and the Wheat Boom 13. The Great War and Canada 14. Canada between the Wars: Dust Bowl and Great Depression 15. Canada and the Second World War 16. Post-War: Economic development and Cold War 17. The Quiet Revolution and the Quebec Problem 18. Contemporary Canada
Syllabus