Teaching Labour History

History 2222B

Winter, 1999

Rough Justice, 1890-1999

Under Construction

Professor:

Michael S. Cross
1435 Seymour St., Room 3
Ph:494-3643 (Office)
457-2071 (Home)
E-Mail: mcross@is.dal.ca

Readings:

A binder is available from the department office.

Assignments and Evaluation:

Essay, first draft, 1000-2000 words, due 16 Feb. 15%
Essay, final draft, 3000 words, due 2 April 30%
Test, 25 March 35%
Class Participation 20%

Lecture Schedule:

January

5
Introduction and organization
7
Canadian population and society, 1890-1929
12
Moral and racial ideas in Canada
14
Disreputable pleasures
19
Social reform and social purity
21
Drink and Drugs
26
Canadian society, 1930-1950
28
The dirty thirties

February

2
Protest in the depression
4
New criminals and organized crime
9
Popular culture and the multimedia
11
Popular culture and the multimedia
16
Sport
18
A nation at war
February 23-25 - Study Break

March

2
Canadian society since World War II
4
The changing shape of family and community
9
Multimedia and American culture
11
The Sixties
16
The new world of women
18
Changing patterns of crime and deviance
23
Punishment
25
TEST
30
Native peoples: culture and protest

April

1
Quebec: nationalism, terrorism amd dissent
6
Values and conflicts in the cyberage
8
Conclusion


Tutorials

January

5-7: NO GROUPS

12-14: Organizational meeting

19-21: Sexuality, morality and social purity:
J. M. Bliss, "Pure Books on Avoided Subjects"
- what was the source of 'Victorian' sexual ideas?
- what concept of women is embodied in the ideas?

26-28: The clash of pleasure and authority:
C. S. Clark, Of Toronto the Good
Carolyn Strange, "Ruined Girls and Fallen Women"
- why were 'blue laws' adopted?
- what view of society do they embody?
- why were moral rules maintained if so many people broke them?

February

4-6: Rough communities:
Peter de Lottonville, "Joe Beef of Montreal"
Keith Walden, "Respectable Hooligans"
- were the transgressions by Joe Beef's patrons and by college pranksters essentially the same in purpose? How did they differ?
- how did society react to the two groups?

9-11: The booze problem:
James H. Gray, "The slogan that won the west"
Ernest Forbes, "Rum in the Maritimes' Economy During the Prohibition Era"
- why was booze seen as the central social problem?
- people voted for prohibition but rum running was widely accepted - why?

16-18: The struggle for British Columbia:
Peter Ward, "John Chinaman"
Irving Abella and Harold Troper, "The line must be drawn somewhere"
- what are the similarities and differences in Canadian views of Chinese and Jews?
- why were these views held?

February 23-25 - Study Break

March

2-4: Protest in the Thirties:
Lorne A. Brown, "Unemployment Relief Camps"
Michiel Horn, The Dirty Thirties, "The On-to-Ottawa Trek"
- what do attitudes to the unemployed tell us about Canadian culture in the 1930s?
- what did the unemployed want?

9-11: Popular culture and women:
Wonder Woman [1942]
M. S. Bland, "Henrietta the Homemaker"
Pamela McCallum, "Worlds Without Conflict"

16-18: The Sixties: protest and learning:
Kenneth Westhues, "Inter-Generational Conflict in the Sixties"
Patricia Jasen, "In Pursuit of Human Values"

23-25:
No Groups - Test

March 30 - April 1: Is there a Canadian pop culture?:
Barry K. Grant, "Across the Great Divide"
Geoff Pevere and Greig Dymond, "Pure Prairie League: The Guess Who"
Pevere and Dymond, "Another Fine Messer"

Assignments:

The test on March 25 will be one hour in duration, written in class.

The first draft of the essay, due on February 16, should be a full-fledged essay, simply shorter. You will carry out research on a topic from the essay list provided, or a topic of your own choice which has been approved by your tutorial leader. You will employ at least five sources. You will use appropriate foot notes or end notes and append a bibliography.

The final essay, due on April 2, will be a revision and improvement of the first draft. You will act on suggestions made about your first draft, carrying out further research where necessary. The final draft will be improved, longer and more substantial than the first draft. If it does not reflect a serious attempt to improve over the first draft, your mark will be lower than that of the first draft.

The class participation mark is based on attendance at tutorials and participation in the discussion there. You cannot pass the class without a passing grade in the tutorial.