Class sessions will be divided between lectures and discussions. The discussion sessions will serve as a forum for the exchange of student reactions and criticisms and as a testing ground for student hypotheses. By acting as referee and devil’s advocate, the instructor will encourage the student to elaborate, refine, and revise his/her ideas. Participation in class discussions is therefore essential.
Syllabus Note: Content may vary according to the instructor’s selection of topics.
Introduction to Historical Method
- Review of Historical Terms and Methods
- Research Strategies for a Major Paper
- Historiography
Native History and the Fur Trade - Prairie First Nations
- The Fur Trade
- Selkirk’s Colony and the North West Company
- Red River Settlement: Growth, Conflict, and Canadian Invasion.
Settlement and Politics to 1905 - Manitoba, the First Western Province
- The National Policy and the West
- Settlement: Homestead and Family Farm
- The Northwest Rebellion
- Mid-term Examination
The West in a Cycle - The emergence of two new provinces: Saskatchewan and Alberta
- Building infrastructure – Railways
- Urbanization - Winnipeg
- Immigration and Nativism
1914 - 1945 The West: Politics and Society - The Great War
- White Women, the Farm and the Vote
- Labour and Strikes
- The Depression
- Social Credit in Alberta
- World War II
- Democratic Socialist Experiment in Saskatchewan
The West Since 1945 - Oil
- Northern Development
- Intergovernmental Relations - Energy Policy
- Prairies as Region and Western Regionalism
- Review and Revision
- Final Exam
At the end of the course the student will have demonstrated the following skills:
- The critical examination of historical sources (reading history). These sources include not only survey texts and articles but also short monographs and extended primary sources.
- The creation and communication of personal interpretations of historical problems (writing history). Forms for communication of personal interpretations include annotated bibliographies, medium-length essays (from 1500-3000 words), comparative book reviews, and three-hour final examinations.
- The independent analysis of the ideas of other students and the instructor in class in both tutorials and seminars (discussing history).
The evaluation of this course follows Douglas College policies as outlined in the current calendar. During the first week of classes the instructor will provide students with typed course outline handout setting out the evaluation scheme of the course. A copy of this handout will be filed with the History discipline Chair. A sample evaluation scheme follows.
SAMPLE EVALUATION
| Written/oral analysis of article | 10% |
| Bibliography - Review Analysis | 10% |
| Midterm exam | 10% |
| Research essay | 30% |
| Final exam | 25% |
| Class/seminar participation | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students
Texts will be chosen from the following list, to be updated periodically:
Campbell, M. Halfbreed. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1973.
Carter, S. Aboriginal People and Colonizers of Western Canada to 1900. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999.
Fisher, R. and K. Coates, eds. Out of the Background: Readings on Canadian Native History. 2nd edition
Toronto: Copp Clark, 1996.
Francis, D. and H. Palmer, eds. The Prairie West: Historical Readings. 2nd ed.
Edmonton: Pica Pica Press, 1992.
Friesen, G. The Canadian Prairies: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984.
Laurence, M. The Stone Angel. Toronto: M & S , 1998.
Peterson, J. and J. Brown. The New People: Being and Becoming Metis in North America.
Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1985.
Thompson, J.H. Forging the Prairie West. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1998
Boisey, Paul Leonard. Vulcan: The Making of a Prairie Community. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988.
One 1000-level History course