Trent @ Oshawa
CAST-HIST-1002H – Winter 2009
CANADIAN LIVES
Course Instructor:
Helen V. Bajorek MacDonald
helenmacdonald@trentu.ca
PREFERRED METHOD OF COMMUNICATION
is within WebCT Mail option
Secretary:
Patricia Heffernan-Frost
Lady Eaton College, S101.3
(705)748-1011, ext. 7706
history@trentu.ca / pheffernan@trentu.ca
Course Description
Canadian Lives takes an innovative approach to the social, political, and cultural history of Canada. Each
week, the lives and experiences of Canadians will be examined and interpreted to reveal a snapshot of
Canadian society, largely through the twentieth century. The course explores the lives of the famous, the
infamous, and sometimes the ‘ordinary.’ While not a ‘survey’ of Canadian history, the course will
provide context for the lives of those examined through lectures, readings, and film. The development of
critical consideration of a range of texts as well as [history] writing skills is a key objective of the course.
Students who do not enjoy reading, and who do not feel a responsibility to their peers, should not take
this course.
The class meets Thursdays, 11:10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a 1.5-2 hour lecture followed by a 40-minute
tutorial. Alternating online tutorials are a component of the course.
~~~
Access to Instruction: It is Trent University's intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a
student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that s/he may need accommodations to succeed in
this course, the student should contact Craig Cameron at the Disability Services Office. Email:
ccameron@trentu.ca. Phone: 905-721-8668 ext. 2050, as soon as possible. At main campus: Disability
Services Office (BL Suite 109; 748-1281; disabilityservices@trentu.ca).
Required Texts
1) Helen V. Bajorek MacDonald (ed.) (2009). Coursepack: Canadian Lives CAST-HIST-1002H.
Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press.
2) J. M. Bumsted (2007). A History of the Canadian Peoples. 3rd ed. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
3) Mary Ann Armstrong, et al. (2001). Notes on the Preparation of Essays in the Arts and Sciences. 5th
ed. Peterborough: Academic Skills Centre at Trent University.
Readings in the coursepack will provide the basis for tutorial discussions, as indicated below in the
schedule of tutorials and readings. Bumsted’s A History of the Canadian Peoples should be used to
provide historical background as supplement to lectures and Coursepack readings.
In their writing, students are expected to conform strictly to the citation conventions of
footnoting/endnoting described and explained in Notes on the Preparation of Essays in the Arts and
Sciences.
Lecture, Tutorial and Readings Schedule
January 08
Introduction to the Course. Immigration Policies and Patterns: An Overview
• Essay Proposal/Annotated Bibliography Assignment
• Canadian Peoples, Chapter 8
• Daniel Stoffman, “The Illusion of Multiculturalism,” Coursepack
FILM: Our Grandmothers, Ourselves
Helen V. Bajorek MacDonald –CAST-HIST – 1002H Winter 2009
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January 15
Historiography of Children and Youth in Canada
• Marjorie Kohli. Ch. 1 in The Golden Bridge. Young Immigrants to Canada, 1833-1939:
“Conditions in the United Kingdom Which Led to Emigration,” Coursepack.
• Dominique Marshall. “Reconstruction Politics, the Canadian Welfare State, and the
Ambiguity of Children’s Rights, 1940-1950,” Coursepack.
• Robbie Waisman. “Holocaust War Orphans – A Scrap Book Set,” Coursepack.
• The Geneva Declaration of The Rights of the Child (1924), Coursepack.
• The Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959), Coursepack.
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Visit:
http://www.unicef.org/crc/
January 19
Blackboard WebCT Library Skills Test – 5 p.m.
January 22
Albert Johnson
• Canadian Peoples, Chapter 8
• Janice Cavell. “The Second Frontier: The North in English-Canadian Historical Writing,”
Coursepack
• John Jennings. “The Mad Trapper in Literature and Film,” Coursepack
• Brian Bergman. “Wings of A Hero,” Coursepack
FILM: Wop May story
January 29
The Dionne Quintuplets
• Canadian Peoples, Chapter 8
• Katherine Arnup. “Raising the Dionne Quintuplets: Lessons for Modern Mothers,”
Coursepack
• Janet Golden. “From Commodity to Gift: Gender, Class, and the Meaning of Breast Milk in
the Twentieth Century,” Coursepack
FILM: The Dionne Quintuplets
February 05
Labour History
• Canadian Peoples, Chapter 8
• Dionne Brand. ““We weren’t allowed to go into factory work until Hitler started the war”:
the 1920s to the 1940s,” Coursepack
• Ross Lambertson. ““The Dresden Story”: Racism, Human Rights, and the Jewish Labour
Committee of Canada,” Coursepack
ESSAY PROPOSAL / ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
February 12
WWII on the Homefront
• Canadian Peoples, Chapter 9 and Chapter 12
• Graham Broad. “Shopping for Victory,” Coursepack
• Rosemary Neering. “Ration Books and Knitting Socks: Housewives on the Home Front,”
Coursepack
• Peter Ward. “Evacuation,” Coursepack
FILM or Guest Lecture
February 16
READING BREAK
MID TERM TEST – online – to be completed by Midnight, February 25
February 26
After the War… Displaced Persons
• Lubomyr Luciuk. Ch. 4 in Searching for Place: “‘Saskatchewan’s Son’: Ukrainian
Canadian Soldiers Encounter the Displaced Persons, 1941-1945,”
• Milda Danys. Ch. 15 in DP. Lithuanian Immigration to Canada After the Second World
War: “Lithuanians in Canada: Thirty Years Later,” Coursepack
• Howard Palmer. “Social Adjustment of Immigrants to Canada: 1940-1975,” Coursepack.
Helen V. Bajorek MacDonald –CAST-HIST – 1002H Winter 2009
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March 05
Post-WWII Crises: Communist Fears and the Cold War
• Canadian Peoples, Chapter 10
• Joan Sangster. “The Polish ‘Dionnes’: Gender, Ethnicity, and Immigrant Workers in PostSecond World War Canada,” Coursepack
• Reg Whitaker and Gary Marcuse. “The Dog That Never Barked: Anti-Communist
Legislation,” Coursepack
FILM or Guest Lecture
March 12
ESSAY DUE
A bit about sport in Canada
• Canadian Peoples, Chapter 11
• Michael Robidoux. “Imagining a Canadian Identity Through Sport: a Historical
Interpretation of Lacrosse and Hockey,” Coursepack
• Ken Dryden. “Soul on Ice: a Century of Canadian Hockey,” Coursepack
• David McDonald, “The Golden Age of Women and Sport in Canada,” Coursepack
FILM: Natural athlete: Fanny “Bobbie” Rosenfeld
March 19
William Kurelek
• James C. Harris. “The Maze,” Coursepack
• Joan Murray. “Kurelek’s Vision of Canada: Picture Making by the Seat of His Pants,”
Coursepack
FILM: Kurelek or The Maze / OR: Guest Lecture
March 26
Pierre Elliott Trudeau
• Canadian Peoples, Chapter 11, Chapter 12 and Chapter 13
• Michael Bliss. “Guarding a Most Famous Stream: Trudeau and the Canadian Political
Tradition,” Coursepack
• Paul Litt, “Trudeaumania: Participatory Democracy in the Mass-Mediated Nation,”
Coursepack
FILM: TBA
April 02
EXAM – In class
Assignments
1) Students will complete an online Blackboard/WebCT library skills test customized by the
university librarians for CAST-HIST-1002H. This online course will be available to students
after the first class and must be completed by January 19. Worth 5% of final grade.
2) Students will submit an essay proposal and annotated bibliography for their term essay. The
essay proposal/annotated bibliography is due, in class, February 05. This assignment will
provide your instructor with an important opportunity to give you feedback and direction in the
development of your argument and research, as you prepare the final draft of your term paper.
Students must consult with course instructor before choosing a topic related to Canadian Lives
and are encouraged to consider the course topics listed in the weekly outline as a potential
starting point for your paper and then narrow to a more specific focus. Worth 15% of final grade.
3) Term paper due in class on March 12. The essay will be 1500-1750 words in length
(approximately 6-7 pages). Worth 25% of final grade.
4) Students will lead, with a team of peers, one tutorial seminar during the term; worth 15% of final
grade.
5) Students will complete a mid-term online test, February 25. Worth 10% of final grade.
6) Students are required to actively and meaningfully participate in tutorials held in class and online.
Worth 20% of final grade.
7) Final Exam in class April 02. Worth 10% of final grade.
Helen V. Bajorek MacDonald –CAST-HIST – 1002H Winter 2009
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** RE-READ ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES – AND YOUR WORK – BEFORE SUBMITTING FOR GRADING.
Work must be submitted as hard copy, in class. Electronic submissions will not be accepted. **
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Any assigned work that does not meet assignment criteria, will be returned ungraded.
A re-do may be negotiated with the instructor; late penalties will apply.
Examples of unacceptable papers:
- papers that show no evidence of contemporary scholarly research and methods relevant to the
discipline of history;
- papers that are under, or that exceed, the length criteria;
- papers that do not include footnotes or an appropriate bibliography in accordance with history
standards as outlined in Notes on the Preparation of Essays in the Arts and Sciences;
- papers that do not meet History Department and Trent University criteria for original work
produced by a student for this course alone.
Participation
Participation is a significant component of the final grade and will be determined by the quality and consistency of
active participation in tutorials and in Blackboard (WebCT) discussions. In contributions to discussions, students
must demonstrate that they have done the readings. In their writing in WebCT students are expected to use
clear, concise and correct conventions of the English language, as well as communicate their ideas and arguments in
respectful tone and language.
Dynamic, stimulating and challenging discussions will be the result of careful, thoughtful and wide reading by all
members of the group. Students who do not enjoy reading, and who do not feel a responsibility to their peers,
should not take this course. There is no alternative for oral participation, nor is there any opportunity for
make-up of participation for tutorials/discussions missed.
Deadlines and Penalties
All work must be produced by you for this course alone. Because assignments sometimes get lost and because
questions of authorship sometimes arise, for your protection it is essential to keep your research notes and rough
drafts for all of your assigned work, even after it has been returned. If working on a computer, be sure to back up
material regularly.
All deadlines are firm. Late assignments will be penalized 5% for the first day and 2% for each day thereafter,
unless there are exceptional circumstances and a prior arrangement has been negotiated – in writing – with your
instructor. Students should be aware that failure to organize time will not be accepted as a reason for submitting late
work.
There are no options for alternative assignments in this course. Do your best work first time round!
Grading Scheme
January 19
February 5
February 25
March 12
... sign up ...
... ongoing ...
April 2
Library Assignment – WebCT Course
Essay Proposal and Annotated Bibliography
Midterm Test
Essay
Tutorial Presentation
Tutorial Participation
Final Exam – in class
5%
15%
10%
25%
15%
20%
10%
Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely serious academic offense and
carries penalties varying from failure in an assignment to suspension from the University. Definitions,
penalties, and procedures for dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in
Trent University’s Academic Dishonesty Policy which is printed in the University Calendar and on the university
web site at: http://www.trentu.ca/deansoffice/policies_dishonesty.php. It is the student’s responsibility to be
familiar with this policy.
Helen V. Bajorek MacDonald –CAST-HIST – 1002H Winter 2009
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