History Courses

HISTORY COURSES Dr. Sylvie Beaudreau

HIS171 History of Canada to the 1860s

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Examines First Nations of Canada, European contact, the fur trade, the role of Indian and mixed-blood women in the fur trade, the societies of Newfoundland, Acadia, Louisbourg, and New France, women in New France, the Acadian deportation, the Conquest of New France, the impact of the American revolution, the Loyalist migrations, colonial British North America, the Rebellions of 1837-38, Métis and mixed-blood societies of Western Canada, the beginning of industrialization, Canadian regionalism, and the coming of Confederation. (Offered Fall semester)

HIS172 History of Canada from the 1860s

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Examines the relevance of Canadian history, the National Policy, industrialization and urbanization, temperance and Prohibition, the Canadian trade union movement, Imperialism and Continentalism, Canadian nationalism, women and social reform, reciprocity and the 1911 election, Canada's participation in the two World Wars, the Depression experience, the rise of third parties, Canadian foreign policy, Canadian-American relations, Canada since the 1960s, the rise of Quebec nationalism, the North American Free Trade Agreement and Canada's current constitutional crisis. (Offered Spring Semester)

HIS300AA Plattsburgh's French-Canadian Heritage

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HIS306A History of New York State

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Go local! What does our unique borderland location tell us about New York history? In this course we will look at how local history can be used to illustrate regional, national and international themes. Focusing on the North Country, we will deal with Native Americans, explorers like Henry Hudson and Samuel Champlain, the Dutch, English and French influences in New York state, early European settlement of the region, life in colonial New York, the impact of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, slavery, the Underground Railroad, and the Civil War, transportation and technological changes which allowed for the economic development of the state, resource extraction in the Adirondacks, the impact of prohibition, tourism and recreation, rural to urban (and suburban) migration patterns, immigration history, family history, religious, social, and cultural history. Historical commemoration of events like the discovery of Lake Champlain, the Battle of Saratoga and the War of 1812 will be covered. Students will be expected to use maps, charts, tables, diagrams and other visual sources to illustrate the history New York state. This course will involve primary source research in local archives and Special Collections (Feinberg Library). We will also be taking a number of field trips and walking tours.

HIS327 North American and the World

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This seminar is designed to introduce students to the idea of North American studies. Students will be encouraged to consider the history of North America as a whole, and to widen their perceptions to encompass the "other" North American experiences – that of Canada and Mexico. The class will meet twice a week and students will be responsible for coming to class having done the assigned readings and prepared to discuss them. (Offered Spring 2008)

HIS370 History of Canadian Women

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Examines native women, women in the fur trade, Métis and mixed-blood women, French women in the New World, pioneer women of colonial British North America, women in the Industrial Revolution, women and public order, maternal feminism and the female suffrage movement, the modern "working girl", women and mass consumption, the women's liberation movement, immigrant women, contemporary Canadian feminism in English and French Canada. Prerequisite: HIS171, HIS172, CAS111 or WMS101 or POI (Permission of Instructor).

HIS373 Twentieth Century Canada

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This course takes an innovative approach to the teaching of twentieth century Canada. Instead of taking a chronological approach to Canada’s history, the course uses the “backward linkage” approach which entails looking at what Canada is like now, in 2004, and then going backward in time to figure out how it got that way. The focus of the course will be to give students an idea of what Canadian identity is all about. In fact, it offers, as a theme, the idea of Canadian cultural nationalism. What makes Canada different from the United States? In this course we will examine the many historical traditions which, as we shall see, account for the existence of a dramatically different nation to the north of the United States. What makes Canada tick? Is it only beer, hockey, bacon and the T-Hip? This course will offer students a sophisticated introduction to a nation which is largely misunderstood in the United States. In the weeks that follow, we will be traveling on a fascinating odyssey, and by the end of the course, you will feel that you know what it means when someone says “I AM CANADIAN." (Offered Fall 07)

HIS385 Junior Seminar: Commemorating Champlain

This research seminar will be an in-depth treatment of the Champlain Tercentenary, a spectacular week-long celebration organized in 1909 by the state of New York to commemorate the discovery of Lake Champlain. After studying Champlain and his world, students will be introduced to the theoretical literature concerning public commemorations. Following this we will explore how and why the Tercentenary celebration was organized and how this provides insights into New York society of 1909. Primary source materials will be used to discover the significance of this celebration on a local, regional, state-wide, national and international level. This public commemoration was transmuted into words and pictures, and an important part of the seminar will focus on recapturing the possible significance of these representations for the audience of 1909. Students will be involved in creating a website concerning the Tercentenary celebration using resources from local libraries and archives. In the process of collecting and interpreting materials, we shall discover how the past on display in the parades and pageants was a highly selective one. An important part of the project will be to look at how the Champlain story could be interpreted by different audiences. What did the Champlain Tercentenary mean to native-born New Yorkers? To the French Canadian immigrant population? To the Mohawk of Kanawake? Finally, we will also ask the question: Did the celebration leave a lasting legacy? (0ffered Spring 06)

HIS385 Junior Seminar: Theme: History of the Modern Family

Seminar introducing the major themes of family history, with an emphasis on theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches, including historical demography, the "attitudes and sentiments" school, the "household economics" emphasis, and the "hegemonic-institutional" approach, as well as family behavior from the early modern period to the present. The geographical focus will be Europe and North America, with a strong emphasis on France, England, Canada, and the United States. Readings will highlight the importance of class, gender relations, ethnicity, race, region, and religion, to an understanding of the ways in which the family has evolved over time. At the core of this enterprise is the pursuit of a larger model of historical change, as we trace the family's interaction with economic, political, social and technological and ideological developments. Prerequisite: HIS111, six 300/400 level credits in history, junior standing; or POI.

HIS401 Topics in Area Studies: Canadian-American Relations

Reading seminar in Canadian-American relations. Themes examined include exploring the role of the United States in creating the Canadian identity, economic and cultural nationalism in Canada, bilateral and multilateral trade issues, social policy, multiculturalism, bilingualism, North American regionalism, environmental issues and continentalism.

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