Course

Immigration, Diversity and Multiculturalism in North America

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
History
Course Code
HIST 3325
Credits
3.00
Semester Length
15
Max Class Size
25 (writing intensive)
Method(s) Of Instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Course Designation
Certificate in Global Competency
Industry Designation
None
Typically Offered
To be determined

Overview

Course Description
HIST 3325, Immigration, Diversity and Multiculturalism in North America considers immigration and nation-building in a comparative North American context, exploring concepts of race, ethnocultural identity, diversity, and multiculturalism chronologically and thematically. Major themes include: identity formation and identity politics; displacement of Indigenous peoples; immigration and resettlement experiences; immigration and nation-building; and evolving definitions of national identity and citizenship in global and transnational contexts. The specific thematic focus of the course will vary by term and instructor.
Course Content

A sample course outline may include the following topics.
Note: Content may vary according to the instructor’s selection of topics.

  1. Introduction
  2. Indigenous Peoples and Migration in Early North America
  3. Settlers, Servants, and Slaves in Colonial North America
  4. Empires and Global Migrations During the Long Nineteenth Century
  5. Immigration, Nativism, and North American Expansionism
  6. Mass Migration and the “Immigration Problem”
  7. Ideologies of Race: Exclusion, Deportation, Eugenics, and Miscegenation
  8. World War II, “Enemy Aliens,” and the Politics of Resettlement
  9. Segregation, Integration, and Civil Rights Movements
  10. Paradigm and Policy: Melting Pot and Mosaic
  11. Immigrant Lives: Families, Gender and Sexuality
  12. Immigration Reform, Citizenship, Border Anxieties, and Global Economies
  13. Refugees and Asylum-Seekers
  14. Reparation, Reconciliation, and Public Memory
Learning Activities

Classroom instruction will include both lectures and seminar discussions. Lectures will provide instruction on weekly topics with opportunities for student inquiry and discussion. Seminars will encourage active class participation in the analysis of assigned primary and secondary readings. Classroom instruction may also include student presentations on specific readings and/or topics, and other types of student-led activities. Classroom instruction may also include tutorials and workshops on transferrable skills, including research methods, academic citation practice, and presentation skills.

Means of Assessment

Assessment will be in accordance with the Douglas College student evaluation policy. Students may conduct research with human participants as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans.

Students will have opportunities to build and refine their research capacity and historical thinking skills through assessments appropriate to the level of the course. There will be at least three separate assessments, which may include a combination of midterm and final exams; research essays; primary document analysis assignments and essays; quizzes; map tests; in-class and online written assignments; seminar presentations; student assignment portfolios; group projects; creative projects; class participation.
The value of each assessment and evaluation, expressed as a percentage of the final grade, will be listed in the course outline distributed to students at the beginning of the term. Specific evaluation criteria will vary according to the instructor’s assessment of appropriate evaluation methods.

Note: This course is writing-intensive.

An example of one evaluation scheme:
Participation 15%
Seminar presentation and reading journal 20%
Primary document analyses 20%
Media analysis 10%
Research proposal and annotated bibliography 10%
Research essay 25%

Total 100%

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of the course, successful students will be able to demonstrate historical thinking skills, research skills, critical thinking skills and communication skills appropriate to the level of the course by:

1. Locating, examining, assessing, and evaluating a range of primary sources and secondary scholarly literature critically and analytically (reading history).

2. Constructing historical arguments, taking historical perspectives, and interpreting historical problems through different types of writing assignments of varying lengths (writing history).

3. Participating in active and informed historical debate independently and cooperatively through classroom discussion and presentation (discussing history).

4. Independently and cooperatively investigating the ways that history is created, preserved, and disseminated through public memory and commemoration, oral history, community engagement, and other forms of popular visual and written expressions about the past (applying history).

Textbook Materials

Textbooks and Course Readers may be chosen from the following list, to be updated periodically.

An instructor’s custom Course Reader may be required. Additional online resources may also be assigned, and bibliographies of additional readings and links to specific resources may be provided in the course outline or online.

Daniels, Roger. Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life. 2nd ed. New York: Harper Perennial, 2019.

Day, Richard F. Multiculturalism and the History of Canadian Diversity. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000.

Epp, Marlene, and Franca Iacovetta. Sisters or Strangers: Immigrant, Ethnic, and Racialized Women in Canadian History. 2nd ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2016.

Gerber, David. American Immigration: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Kelley, Ninette. Making of a Mosaic: A History of Canadian Immigration Policy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010.

Knowles, Valerie. Strangers at our Gates: Canadian Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1540-2006. 4th ed. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2016.

Nellis, Eric. Shaping the New World: African Slavery in the Americas, 1500-1888. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013.

Ngai, Mai, and Jon Gjerde. Major Problems in American Immigration History. 2nd ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2011

Omi, Michael, and Howard Winant. Racial Formation in the United States. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.

Requisites

Prerequisites

One 2000 level course in History, or permission of the instructor

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer Details for HIST 3325
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU HIST 3XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU HIST 3XX (3)
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU HIST 3XXX (3)
Trinity Western University (TWU) TWU HIST 1XX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO HIST_O 2nd (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV HIST_V 3rd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC HIST 3XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV HIST 430 (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC HSTR 3XX (1.5)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025