HIST 1301A: Conflict and Change in Early Canadian History

HIST 1301A: Conflict and Change in Early Canadian History
Fall 2025

Introduction: This course explores the diverse peoples and places of early Canada through the themes of conflict and change. We will examine these themes through the frameworks of sovereignty, Indigeneity, colonialism, and diplomacy. The course will cover New France, imperial rivalries, British North America, the rebellions of 1837, the fur trade and westward expansion, Confederation, and other important topics in early Canadian history. We will also pay close attention to how historians ’make’ history and to different ways of doing history (e.g. podcasts, films, graphic novels, and plays). A related focus will be on Indigenous histories and the possibilities for decolonizing Canadian history.

Class format: We will meet in a three hour block every Friday afternoon. Each meeting will consist of a mixture of lectures, small group activities, and workshops. You are expected to come to class having completed the readings and to be an active participant in the small group activities.

Aims and goals: The objective of this course is to get you to think critically about early Canadian history. The course will introduce you to the methods, narratives, and debates that have shaped the study of early Canadian history in the past and up to the present. You will be given the opportunity to develop skills in reading primary sources like a historian and evaluating the strength of historical arguments. A related objective will be to explore different ways of doing history inside and outside of the university (e.g. podcasts, films, and blogs).

Assessment: The assessment for this course will consist of a mix of participation, weekly short reflections, primary source assignments, and a midterm quiz.

Textbooks: The required textbooks for this course are open access and all supplementary materials can also be accessed free of charge. Links to the supplementary learning materials will be provided in the course outline and on Brightspace. The two open access course textbooks are:

Belshaw, John Douglas. Canadian History: Pre-Confederation – 2nd Edition. Victoria, BC: BCcampus, 2020. https://opentextbc.ca/preconfederation2e/

Kheraj, Sean and Thomas Peace. Open History Seminar: Canadian History. Toronto: eCampusOntario, 2018. https://openhistoryseminar.com/canadianhistory

Questions? Please send me an email at samuelmickelson@cunet.carleton.ca