The aim of this course is twofold : first, to learn some basic historical, geographical and political facts about a very large, complex nation that is little known by students. Second, to make sense of the complexities of multi-ethnicity, immigration and diversity in a major Western democracy.
Primarily, the seminar presents, in broad strokes, how the British and French empires struggled to control this large land-mass, thus creating an officially bilingual space divided into Francophone Québec and the English-speaking rest of the country.
Then, this seminar investigates the post-colonial realities of Canada today, from language controversies in Québec to the contemporary, national trauma around residential schools, where thousands of first-nation pupils died.
Also, the seminar tackles issues of immigration policies and multicultural policies in a country that welcomes (mostly) highly-qualified immigrants but struggles with questions that beset other Western countries : racism, welfare chauvinism, Islamophobia.
Altogether, four major social or ethnic groups are analysed : 1/ Anglophone Canadians ; 2/ Francophone Canadians ; 3/ first-nation Canadians and Metis ; 4/ Canadians of second-generation immigrant background or immigrants. (the order given here is random).
Assignment :
The exam will be on a written or video document with 6-7 questions altogether, this will be a home work with many weeks to prepare it.
Bibliography (excerpts from the books below will be studied) :
Neil Bissoondath, Selling Illusions : The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada, London : Penguin, 1994.
Robert Bothwell, The Penguin History of Canada, London : Penguin, 2007.
Margaret Conrad, A Concise History of Canada, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2022 [2nd edition].
Catherine Dauvergne, The New Politics of Immigration and the end of Settler Societies, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Raquel Fletcher, Who Belongs in Quebec ? Identity Politics in a Changing Society, Montreal : Linda Leith Publishing, 2020.
John S. McCoy, Protecting Multiculturalism : Muslims, Security and Integration in Canada, Montreal : McGill University Press, 2018.
John S. Milloy, A National Crime : The Canadian Government and the Residential School System, 1879-1986, Winnipeg : University of Manitoba Press, 2017 [1999].