Class sections will be divided between lectures and seminar discussions. The seminar discussion sessions will serve as a forum for the analysis and discussion of scholarly literature and as a testing ground for student hypotheses. The instructor will encourage students to elaborate, refine and revise ideas. Discussion sessions will also include tutorials in conducting historical research, the exploration of primary source documents, and practice in oral presentations. Participation in both lectures and seminar discussions is required for the successful completion of the course.
A sample course outline would include the following topics.
Note: Content may vary according to the instructor’s selection of topics.
- The Northwest Before Contact
- First Encounters
- Impetus to Settlement
- Colony into Province
- Resource Economies in the Young Province
- Population Explosion
- Reproducing Home in Settler Spaces
- The Impetus to Social Reform
- Radical Politics, Resource Extraction and Company Towns
- Aboriginal People and the State
- The Best and Worst of Times
- Boomtime, Environmental Change, and the Rise of the Suburbs
- Equality Revolution
- A New British Columbia
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Examine historical sources critically and analytically (reading history). These sources include not only survey texts and scholarly articles, but also short monographs and extended primary sources.
- Create and communicate personal interpretations of historical problems (writing history). Forms for communication of personal interpretations include medium-length essays (from 1500-3000 words), comparative book reviews, short interpretive essays, primary source studies, and final examinations.
- Independently analyze the ideas of other students and the instructor in class in both tutorials and seminars (discussing history).
Assessment will be in accord with the Douglas College student evaluation policy. Specific components of evaluation will include some of the following: mid-term and final exams consisting of short answer questions and essay questions; in-class written work, quizzes, research paper; seminar presentations; short debate/position papers; participation in class discussions.
Specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester and will vary according to the instructor’s assessment of appropriate evaluation methods.
An example of one evaluation scheme:
Any combination of the following totalling 100%
|
Primary document analyses |
15% |
|
Historiographic paper |
15% |
|
Seminar presentation x2 (10% each) |
20% |
|
Attendance, Participation, in-class work |
15% |
|
Research proposal and annotated bibliography |
15% |
|
Final summative assignment and presentation |
20% |
Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:
Texts will be chosen from the following list, to be updated periodically:
An instructor’s Course Reader of primary source materials and current journal articles will be required.
Barman, Jean. The West Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia. 3rd. ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007.
Roy, Patricia, and John Herd Thompson. British Columbia: Land of Promises. The Illustrated History of Canada. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press, 2005.
ONE 1000-LEVEL HISTORY COURSE