CDN1100 A – INTRODUCTION TO CANADIAN STUDIES
Professor: Mark Bourrie MJ PhD
Wednesday
10:00-11:30
Friday
8:30-10:00Room: DMS1140
Office
Hours: Friday 10:00 to Noon, Rm. 203-52 University Street
Course
description:
This
course is designed to approach the study of Canada from a wide variety of
disciplines, notably history, economics, sociology, political sciences,
geography, literature and anthropology. There will even be some geology in the
mix. Anything that has shaped Canada, and Canadians, is fair game. The
complexity of Canada in terms of regions, languages and communities is thus
reflected in this interdisciplinary perspective which seeks to provide students
with several tools to understand an already multifaceted reality.
This overview of Canadian society
through time, space and cultures will lead to an informed discussion of
contemporary issues as faced by the country today and in the immediate and far future.
In a comparative vein, students will also be asked to form an opinion of what
is specific about the country as it now stands, and how it can best solve its
internal contradictions and most pressing social, political and economic
problems.
The course will also offer for each
theme selected the necessary skills to identify, retrieve, critique and analyze
information about Canada. Special attention will be given to the use of
information technologies and to data available currently in sites maintained by
governments, libraries, archives and communities throughout the country.
Guest speakers will be an important
part of the curriculum for this course.
Course
objectives:
- to
develop a wide and diverse understanding of Canadian reality
- to
achieve an ability to think critically about Canada
- to
better understand the interdisciplinary approach in the study of Canada
and the importance of realizing issues and topics are often more complex
and nuanced than they might appear at first glance
- to develop
and strengthen students’ ability to locate and retrieve information about
Canada in an efficient way using different research methods
- to
effectively present findings in clear, well-organized writing and in
discussions
Course
requirements:
- 3 short assignments in written form spread throughout the semester (10%
each). The short assignment is a 2 to 3 double-spaced analysis and is due
the following week.
- A
2500-word paper due on the Wednesday morning of the eighth week of class.
(30%)
- A
final exam (40%). A choice of questions will be presented to the student
based on lectures and required reading material.
Reading a Canadian newspaper every day
of the semester, either online or hard-copy.
Guest Lecturers
Guest
speakers will visit the class regularly, usually on Wednesdays. You are
expected to attend, and the material that is covered in these classes will be
included in the final exam and can be used in term papers.
Plagiarism:
Students
should be aware of the University of Ottawa policy on plagiarism. Reproducing
another student’s work or paraphrasing directly form a source without proper
citation, whether printed or electronic,
is a serious academic offense. While students are strongly encouraged to
consult one another and share ideas, they must submit completely independent
works. On this, please consult the following University of Ottawa site:
Term Papers and
Assignments:
The
assignments are designed to give students a good idea of their progress in the
course and a chance to sharpen their research and writing skills. They are
supposed to be brief but will require some research, analytical thought and
writing skills.
These
are pretty standard expectations in university, both in this and other courses.
Please
- Standard 12 point font (most
writers use Arial those days, but fonts go in and out of style. Use 2.5 cm
margins, 11” X 8 ½” paper, double-spaced. If this mix of metric and
Imperial units is confusing, let the instructor know.
- Pages must be
stapled (no binders of any kind or paperclips), paginated,
and submitted with a cover page containing no art or decorative elements.
Do not attempt to submit unstapled pages. Unstapled or paper clipped or
folded essays will be turned away and late penalties applied
until submitted per requirements.
- Unless quoting original American
sources, essays will be written in Canadian English not American.
("centre" not "center"; "armour" not
"armor"; "labour" not "labor";
"colour" not "color", the "Second World War"
not "World War II or WWII", etc.)--set your dictionary to
"English (Canada)" in your spell checkers.
- The cover page must
have: your name, student number, course number, section
number, and essay title. The essay should
have a single descriptive title or a creative title with a descriptive
subtitle. For example: Explosive Challenge: Diplomatic
Triangles, the United Nations, and the Problem of French Nuclear Testing,
1959–1960; Allied Relations in Iran, 1941-1947: The Origins of
a Cold War Crisis; Public Diplomacy during the Cold War: The
Record and Its Implications. Be creative. “CDN 1100 Essay”
is a poor title. Marking dozens of papers is a tiring process, and
creativity will be rewarded even if it falls flat a bit.
Essays not conforming to any one or more of these
above standards will either have marks withheld or not be accepted at
all and late penalties imposed until resubmitted in the required
format.
Paragraphs
are to be indented without any additional spaces between paragraphs, unlike in
this course outline, for example. If your computer creates spaces
automatically, the instructor or TA can help you change the settings. Any
relevant images, maps, graphs included in the essay are to be placed into an
appendix at the back.
Reference Citations (read carefully)
A
history essay is like a courtroom argument. It is based on the presentation of
proof conforming with the rules of evidence in an expositive
argument. The way hearsay is not admissible in court, Wikipedia for
example, is likewise not admissible as evidence in historical
discourse. Court evidence is presented in a disciplined
system: Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, etc. In a written academic
argument, the Chicago Style footnoted citation is used to lead
and guide the reader through the evidence backing the persuasive discourse of
the text above it.
Why
Chicago Style Footnotes? http://writing.yalecollege.yale.edu/why-are-there-different-citation-styles
Some
of the journal readings for CDN 1100 will be pointed out to you as appropriate
models for the citation style required for your essay and assignments.
Essays
must have a bibliography and have footnoted citations in
the Chicago style (at the bottom of the page). Parenthetic
in-text or inline style citations (APA for example) are not acceptable
for a history essay. A well-researched essay integrating multiple
sources into its argument contains on average four to five
citations per page -- approximately 40 to 60 citations per essay. It may have a
few more, but it should not have a lot less. Reliance on one or two sources
will reflect poorly on your grade.
As
a general rule, references should be given for direct quotations, summaries or
your own paraphrases of other people’s work or points of view, and for material
that is factual, statistical, controversial, assertive or obscure. You
must cite more than just direct quotes. WHEN IN DOUBT, IT IS BETTER
TO PROVIDE A REFERENCE. You do not need to cite items of general
knowledge like, for example: water is wet, fire is hot, the sun
rises in the east or Elizabeth II is the Queen of England.
Essays
submitted without specific page references in each citation
will be automatically failed without any further opportunity to resubmit.
Basically,
the first citation of a source should have the full bibliographical data in it,
while in subsequent references to that source, just the name of the author and
page number(s) will suffice. (If more than one source by the same
author is used, then include the title as well.) This is an example of the
basic required style for citations which are to inserted at the bottom of each
page:
1 Jane Doe, The ABC's of History (Toronto: Ontario Publishers, 1997), pp. 20-21
2 Jane Doe, p. 43
1 Jane Doe, The ABC's of History (Toronto: Ontario Publishers, 1997), pp. 20-21
2 Jane Doe, p. 43
To
create numerically sequential footnotes in MS WORD 2007 and
newer go to the “References” ribbon and select [Insert Footnote]; in earlier
version of MS WORD, go to the “Insert” menu and then select
[Footnote]. The citations should be formatted to “Arabic numerals
(1,2,3, etc.)”
It
is not necessary to use archaic citation terms like ibid or op
cit. and they are even discouraged as word processing drag or
cut-and-paste editing can easily displace the logic of these citation terms as
you edit your work.
Titles
of books are to be put into italics or underlined.
Journal article titles are put in “quotation marks” while the journal titles
are in italics or underlined. See
the below web pages for further details and formats as to how to cite journals,
multiple authors, collections, etc. or search “Chicago style footnotes” on
Google.
Essay Style and Footnote
Examples
Chicago
Manual of Style
Chicago
Manual Of Style
See
Also
Bibliographies
Essays MUST provide alphabetically ordered by author’s surname, bibliographies of all works consulted, whether or not they have been quoted directly in the citations. An adequate bibliography for this assignment will contain no less than six books or journal articles related to the topic. General books, dictionaries, atlases, textbooks and/or encyclopedias DO NOT count towards this minimum number of sources, and their inclusion in citations will NOT be considered as constituting research. Seminar readings are acceptable as citable sources. Essay bibliographies do not need to be annotated.
Essays MUST provide alphabetically ordered by author’s surname, bibliographies of all works consulted, whether or not they have been quoted directly in the citations. An adequate bibliography for this assignment will contain no less than six books or journal articles related to the topic. General books, dictionaries, atlases, textbooks and/or encyclopedias DO NOT count towards this minimum number of sources, and their inclusion in citations will NOT be considered as constituting research. Seminar readings are acceptable as citable sources. Essay bibliographies do not need to be annotated.
An
example of a bibliographic entry is as follows:
Smith,
John, History of Canada (Toronto: Ontario Publishers, 1997).
Helpful
Websites on How to Write History Essays
The
History Student's Handbook on Essay
How
To Write A Good History Essay
What
is A Good Essay
How
To Write Essays
History
Essay Guide (old but not out of date)
Submission
of Essays
Essays
are to be submitted to the instructor or TA on the due date at the beginning of
the lecture in hard copy. Only in the most dire emergency may they be submitted
electronically. Electronic submissions easily get lost, causing heartache and
trouble for everyone.
Electronic
Submission of Assignments
IMPORTANT: If you find it necessary
to submit an essay by e-mail, the following naming protocol is
to be used for naming your attached file and should be repeated in the subject
line:
"Last Name_First Name_CourseNumber_SectionNumber _Proposal [or essay, etc]"
Any attached file not using this exact naming protocol will not be accepted and a penalty of a five percent mark deduction will be applied for every instance I have to request that an e-mailed assignment be resubmitted as per instructions herein.
Only MS Word files (preferred) in .doc or .docx format or PDF files will be accepted. No WordPerfect or other files immediately compatible with MS Word or PDF will be accepted.
The
submission of files by e-mail will be usually acknowledged within three days.
It is your responsibility to ensure I have received your assignment.
A
hard copy of the essay is to be submitted at the next opportunity either
directly to me or to the Administrator at 52 University St. If the
administrator is not there, slip the paper under my office door. Indicate on the
front of the hardcopy the date you had e-mailed the essay to me previously. The
e-mailed essay will secure your submission date. Obviously the hard
copy is to be exactly identical with the e-mailed copy. Hard copies
of previously e-mailed essays not indicating the e-mail date on the cover will
be assigned the date of the submission of the hard copy with stipulated mark
deductions with no appeal. It is your responsibility to indicate to me on a
hardcopy assignment being submitted late to me, when the electronic version was
e-mailed to me.
Late
Penalties and Extensions
Extensions
may be granted on medical or compassionate grounds. Students requesting an
extension should submit an e-mailed request to me before the
deadline specifying precisely the date to which they are requesting the
extension. After the due date, students need to provide appropriate
documentation relating to the extension request (i.e. doctor’s note; death
certificate, obituary or convincing story of the death of a relative; police
report on their stolen laptop; repair bills for their crashed hard disc,
veterinary reports on the contents of Fluffy’s stomach; Fluffy’s actual corpse,
etc). Essays submitted under an extension must have my
written response to the extension request attached to the
front of the essay or they will be treated as late with no
appeal. No late work will be accepted after the last day of lectures or
extensions granted beyond the last lecture day except in the most dire and
unusual circumstances.
Computer problems are a poor excuse for an extension. Throughout your academic and work career, you need to be in the habit of backing up your data. (You’ll also be wise to make e-copies of everything of real or sentimental value. Best to start now, if you don’t already do this.) All assignments must be backed-up regularly to a safe storage area on the cloud or physically away from your main computer.
Five (5)
marks per/day are deducted from your essay mark for late submissions, weekends
included, until the day the essay is submitted to me. In the very off-chance
that I accept an e-mailed assignment, do not take for granted that I have it
until you receive a confirmation e-mail from me. Keep that e-mail as a receipt. Keep
copies of all work, including marked assignments returned to you and e-mails of
your submissions until your final course mark is released. .
Only
those essays submitted on the due date, in hardcopy, in lecture, will be returned
with comments, if any, by the day of the final exam.
Absence
from final exam:
§ Instructor
must be notified by e-mail before the examination.
§ Documentation
must be presented to the instructor, within three working days.
§ It
is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor at least two
weeks prior to the end of the following academic term to arrange to
write the final exam.
Earning
Marks
You
have to complete the essay and write the exam to pass the course. Skipping an
assignment would be unwise, and would mean the automatic forfeiture of 10% of
the available course marks. It’s also a sign of trouble that should be a red
flag to you that you need to be more organized and focused on school work, if
you want to get anything of value out of the investment of time and money. The
evaluation of your research, content, evidence, originality and argumentation
is of primary concern in marking as is the quality of your sources as described
above. Equally important is care you put into your writing: the syntax, style
and structure. Marks will be deducted from work containing excessive
grammatical/spelling mistakes, lost typographical errors, from essays that are
excessively long or inadequately short, or which fail to provide
properly formatted footnoting/bibliography as specified above. Essays that
consist of a frequently quoted passages or sentences, even if footnoted, will
be severely penalized. Be selective in direct
quotations. Ask yourself, “can this be said in my own words and then
cited?” Is there a stylistic or argumentative reason for quoting the source
directly? Be sure to edit and check your work carefully. Do not simply rely on
your computer’s spelling or grammar checker. Remember that, when, say, you’re
wring about ducks, the “f’ and “d” keys are side-by-side, and profanity, when
spelled right, is not judged and condemned by spell check software.
Grounds
for Assignment Failure
Assignments
and essays which do not supply proper and adequate references with specific
page numbers and bibliographies as specified above or submitted after the final
day of lecture will be failed. Essays based entirely on websites (without
the instructor’s permission), will be failed. Any written work that
quotes directly from other material without attribution, or which paraphrases
extensive tracts from the works of others without accurate citations, is
plagiarized and will be failed with no opportunity to re-submit and will result
in additional severe academic consequences. Please consult the University of
Ottawa academic calendar or the link I’ve provided for further information on
plagiarism. It is extremely easy to
mix other people’s words in with notes you’ve made, especially in computer
files and have them end up as your words in your writing, This practice has
damaged the careers of some very famous authors, so stay organized. For
example, keep clipped material in an oddball font until you’ve used and cited
it.
Checklist
of some of the elements your Essay must include:
|
Guidelines for All Assignments
Finding Material
1.
Get an over-view of the topic with a Google search. Don’t limit yourself to the
main Google page. Look at Google Scholar and Google books.
2. Look
for a recent work on your topic and consult its bibliography.
3. Use
the Library On-Line Catalogue to search by subject.
4. Follow
directions on the Library Home Page to search databases for articles or books.
6. Search
other library catalogues (i.e. university libraries, public libraries,
Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library). Remember that both the University of
Ottawa and public libraries can order books for you through inter-library loan.
You also have fairly easy access to Library and Archives Canada, the city
library at Laurier and Metcalfe Street, and the Carleton University library.
Finding
reputable, factual sources is part of the exercise of writing papers and
assignments, and it will greatly enhance your work. Be exhaustive
and be critical. You are certainly encouraged to use your facility
in any language while doing research, provided that you indicate any
translations (including by you) and use them with the same rules regarding
academic honesty discussed above.
READINGS:
Lecture Topics
Week One:
Intro and Canada
underfoot - the geography and geology that drives the nation (Wednesday and
Friday lectures)
Out-of class assignment/reading:
Download and use Google Earth to take a very good look at Canada.
Week Two:
Week Two:
Canada’s
First Nations and the human ability to adapt. Why no wheel, no iron? The
adaption of technology to fit the environment.
Contact... What really happened? Telling Canada to the world through the Jesuit relations.
Contact... What really happened? Telling Canada to the world through the Jesuit relations.
Week
Three:
Innis, the
staples theory of Canadian history, the fur trade and now.
Hinterland
and city (far north, coasts, small towns). First assignment due in Friday class
Week Four:
How Canada
sees war. (Guest speaker)
Week Five:
Survivance
and Quebec identity
Is English Canada a myth?
Week Six:
How we talk
to each other. (Guest speakers)
Week
Seven:
A community of communities?
A community of communities?
The
mathematics of Canadian politics. Major paper
due in Friday class
Week
Eight:
Who Runs the
Canadian Government Part 1 (Internal dynamics)
Who Runs the
Canadian Government Part 2 (External
forces)
Week Nine:
The Selling
of Politicians: Polling, Political Strategies, The Never-Ending Election
Campaign. Second Assignment Due in Friday class
Week Ten:
Canada and the US ... The mouse and the elephant
Are we an honest people?
Canada and the US ... The mouse and the elephant
Are we an honest people?
Week
Eleven:
Does Canada
have a history? How is it told? Third
Assignment Due in Friday class (Oct. 25)
Does Canada
Have a Future?
Week
Twelve:
Essay writing
lab – bring your essay
Review
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