Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A survey of major themes in Canadian social history from the arrival of Europeans to the present day. Particular attention will be paid to the effects of gender, race and class on the experience of Canadians over time. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course offers a selective survey of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Canadian history through the lens of social history. Often described as history “from below” or “from the bottom up,” social history has traditionally aimed to recover the experiences of non-elite members of society, including (but not limited to) women, members of the working class, ethnic minorities, and Indigenous peoples. To avoid being overwhelmed by the sheer scope of this historical project, we will focus upon a handful of social spaces in which Canadians have lived, worked and played over the last two centuries. These will include courtrooms, taverns, Chinatowns, residential schools, parks, and playing fields. We will learn how these spaces materially and imaginatively shaped how people conducted their lives, what kinds of choices they were able to make, and what effects their actions had on others and on the times in which they lived.  

As we move through these spaces, we’ll encounter and practice using some of the key concepts and methods of social history. These include the intersecting categories of gender, race, and class, which people have understood and performed differently in different times and places. We will grapple with an array of primary sources in order to understand how social historians extract meaning from sometimes unlikely records and objects. We will also touch upon philosophical questions concerning agency, representation, and the limits of knowledge in the historical enterprise. Do we make history, or does history make us? Who has the right to speak for whom? How can we produce accurate histories from fragmentary or otherwise problematic evidence? Finally, wherever relevant, we will connect our knowledge of Canadian social history to contemporary social issues in this country, particularly those of equity and justice.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

By the end of this course, you will be able:

• To describe how specific social spaces shaped everyday historical experiences in Canada
• To identify different expressions of gender, race, and class across time and space, and to situate them in their historical and cultural contexts
• To discuss social historical issues concerning agency, representation, and knowledge with reference to course content
• To practice critically reading and analyzing primary and secondary historical sources in oral and written form
• To relate course content where relevant to contemporary social issues in Canada.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: