Teaching Labour History

History C45S

Fall 1999

Immigrants and Race Relations in Canadian History

Under Construction

Professor:

Franca Iacovetta
Rm: 3075
Ph: 978-8477
Office Hours: Tues. 4-6 pm

Outline:

This course examines aspects of the history of immigrants and race relations in Canada from the time of first contacts between First Nations and Europeans to the post-1945 era. The focus is on the period 1840s-1960s. Organized partly chronologically but largely by theme, the course covers a variety of minority groups, and pays attention to the ways in which class, gender and race/ethnicity have shaped immigrant experiences and relations between the host society and "others". Themes include Irish Protestant/Catholic conflict; African-Americans; "bachelor workers" and male cultures; female domestics and gender biases of immigration policy; ethnic radicalism and state repression; family and community; and minorities in wartime and the Cold War.

Objectives:

This course is intended to expose students to issues central to the history of immigrants and race relations in Canada, and to familiarize them with the history of immigration policy and host society/newcomre relations. The assigned readings, class discussions, and written assignments are designed to sharpen the critical reading and writing skills of upper-level students. NB: A background in Canadian history is assumed.

Format:

The course combines lectures and class discussions in a seminar format. Each major topic is introduced by a lecture, and followed by class discussion of assigned readings. Some films, videos, or other media aids will be used. The material covered in the readings and lectures will be on the final examination.

Marking Scheme:

Class Test (assigned readings for class)	Mon 19 Oct.	25%
Class Test (assigned readings for class)	Mon 9 Nov.	25%
Short Essay on female immigrants; Silvera's Silenced and other related course material (10 pp)	Wed 2 Dec.
20%
Two hour final exam	TBA	30%

Books:

Donald H. Avery, Reluctant Host: Canada's Response to Immigrant Workers, 1896-1994, Toronto, 1995 [Textbook]

Franca Iacovetta et al. eds., A Nation of Immigrants: Women, Workers, and Communities in Canadian History, Toronto, 1998 [Reader]

Makeda Silvera, Silenced: Talks With Working Class West Indian Women ... Domestic Workers in Canada, Toronto, 1983

Lecture Topics and Class Discussions:

Mon 14 Sept. - Introduction
First Nations and European Colonizers: From Contact to Present: Web 16 Sept. - Lecture: Native-white Relations in Canadian History; Mon 21 Sept. - Class seminar - no readings (C. Welsh film)
The "Great Migration Era:" 19th Century Bristish Patterns: Wed 23 Sept. - Lecture: English, Scots, Irish migrations and Canadian 'nation-building'; Mon 28 Sept. - Class seminar: A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 1: The Irish in 19th Century Canada: Class, Culture and Conflict; Scott See, "Orange Order & Social Violence Mid-19th C Saint John"; Michael Cottrell, "St Patrick's Day Parades 19th C Toronto ..."
Blacks in Canada: Focus on African Americans to 19th C "Ontario": Wed 30 Sept. - Lecture: Fugitive slaves, freedmen/women and "freedom" in "Canada"; Mon 5 Oct. - Class seminar: A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 2: American Blacks in 19th C Ontario: Challenging the Stereotypes; Michael Wayne, "Black Pop of Canada West ... Reassessment ..."; Howard Law, "'Self-Reliance is the True Road to Independence': Ideology and the Ex-Slaves in Buxton and Chatham"; Jason H. Silverman, "Mary Ann Shadd & the Search for Equality"
The "Mass Migration Era": "Exotic" Continentals and Others: Wed 7 Oct. - Lecture: Mass migration: patterns and people; Mon 12 Oct. - Thanksgiving - no class; Wed 14 Oct. - Class seminar: A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 3: Settling the Canadian West: The "Exotic" Continentals; Anne E Woywitka, "A Roumanian Pioneer"; James W. Darlington, "Ukrainian Impress on the Canadian West"
Male Workers and "Bachelor" Cultures: Mon 19 Oct. - Class Test on:; Donald Avery, Reluctant Host, Ch 1: "European Immigrant Workers and the Canadian Economy, 1896-1914"; A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 5: Men Without Women: "Bachelor" Workers and Gendered Identities; Robert F. Harney, "Men Without Women: Italian Migrants in Canada"; Anthony B. Chan, "Bachelor Workers"; Nancy F. Forestell, "Bachelors, Boarding-Houses, and Blind Pigs: Gender Construction in a Multi-Ethnic Mining Camp, 1909-1920"
Women Inside and Outside Families: Wed 21 Oct. - Lecture: Lone Men/Lone Women; Mon 26 Oct. - Class seminar: A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 4: "Women's Work": Paid Labour, Community-Building, and Protest; Varpu Lindstrom, "'I Won't Be A Slave!': Finnish Domestics in Canada, 1911-1930"; Paula J. Draper and Janice B. Karlinsky, "Abraham's Daughters: Women, Charity, and Power in the Canadian Jewish Community"
Protest, Radicalism, and Ethnic Communities "On Strike": Wed 28 Oct. - Lecture: Ethnic Militants and Radicals; Mon 2 Nov. - Class seminar: A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 6: Demanding Rights, Organizing for Change: Militants and Radicals; Ian Radforth, "Finnish Radicalism & ... Activism in N. Ont Woods"; Ruth A. Frager, "Sewing Solidarity: The Eaton's Strike of 1912"; Carmela Patrias, "Relief Strike: Immigrant Workers and the Great Depression in Crowland, Ont 1930-35"
Host Society Responses: The Case of Asian Immigration: Wed 4 Nov. - Lecture: Reformers and Racists, Drawing Distinctions?; Mon 9 Nov. - Class Test on: Avery, Reluctant Host, Ch 2: "Asian Immigrant Workers and British Columbia Society"; A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 7: Encountering the "Other"; Ruth Compton Brouwer, "'A disgrace to Christian Canada': Protestant Foreign Missionary Concerns about the Treatment of South Asians in Canada, 1907-1940"
Red Scare and State Responses: Wed 11 Nov. - Lecture: Immigration Policy WWI to the 1920s; Mon 16 Nov. - Class seminar: Avery, Reluctant Host, Ch 3: "European Immigrant Workers and Labour Protest in Peace and War"; A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 7: Encountering the "Other"; Gregory Kealey, "State Repression of Labour & Left in Canada"
The 1930s: Great Depression, Jewish Refugees, and Closing the Doors: Wed 18 Nov. - Lecture: Depression and Refugees; Mon 23 Nov. - Class seminar: Avery, Reluctant Host, Ch 5: "Closing the Gates: Canada's Response to Immigrants & Refugees ... Depression"; A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 7: Encountering the "Other"; Irving Abella and Harold Troper, "'The line must be drawn somewhere': Canada and Jewish Refugees, 1933-39"
Minorities in World War Two: A "War Against Ethnicity": Wed 25 Nov. - Lecture: Japanese Canadians and Ethnic Minorities; Mon 30 Nov. - Class seminar: Avery, Reluctant Host, Ch 6: "Keeping Out the Subversives: The security Dimension ... 1939-1952"; A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 8: Regulating Minorities in "Hot" and "Cold War Contexts"; Howard palmer, "Ethnic Relations in Wartime: Nationalisms and European Minorities in Alberta during the Second World War"
Post-1945 Policy and Patterns: Change or Continuity: Wed 2 Dec. - Lecture: Post-1945 Decades: Politics and People; Short Essay Due; Mon 7 Dec. - Class seminar: Avery, Reluctant Host, Ch 7: "Altruism & Economic Self-Interest: Canada's Immigration Policy & European Displaced Persons, 1945-52" and Ch 8: "Immigrant Workers and Canada's Changing Immigration Policy, 1952-1980"; A Nation of Immigrants; Topic 8: Regulating Minorities in "Hot" and "Cold War Contexts", 1939-1960s; Franca Iacovetta, "Making 'New Canadians': Social Workers, Women, and the Reshaping of Immigrant Families"; And Discussion of Makeda Silvera, Silenced (Assignment)
Recent Trends, Multiculturalism, and Contemporary Debates: Wed 9 Dec. - Lecture: Recent Trends and Contemporary Debates; * Lecture will cover Avery, Reluctant Host, Ch 9: "Immigrant Workers & Canadian Vertical Mosaic" and Ch 10: "Immigration Since 1980"; NB Summary For Final Exam