Select either option B or option C to complete below:
B) Four medium answer responses (5 points each/20 points total):
Select four of the ten discussion questions from the course listed below and respond to them. Each of your four responses should meet these requirements:
– Be at least 500 words in length;
– Engage with and answer the question in full;
– Include a citation from the course textbook to support your argument;
– Include a reference to at least one of the following:
(1) content from the class discussion or lecture on this topic; (2) a resource posted on Moodle; (3) a peer-
reviewed secondary source that is relevant to your argument; or (4) a primary source relevant to this topic.
– Excellent responses will demonstrate an understanding of and engagement with the course material and will include consideration of ideas outside of those discussed in your small group.
All responses should be written in standard English in a clear concise manner. All work must be your own. When you rely on secondary sources or provide direct quotations, references must be provided. Unacknowledged use of sources—through extensive summaries or quotations—constitutes plagiarism, which will be penalized.
Citations should be formatted as closely to Chicago Manual of Style as possible. To cite a lecture or class discussion, see the example for a footnote below:
Romalie Murphy, “Introduction to the Discipline,” Lecture, HIST 135 A, (14 September, 2021).
-or-
C) Two longer answer responses (10 points each/20 points total):
Select two of the ten discussion questions from the course listed below and respond to them.
Both of your responses should meet these requirements:
– Be at least 1000 words in length;
– Engage with and answer the question in full;
– Include at least two citations from the course textbook to support your argument;
– Include a reference to at least one of the following:
(1) content from the class discussion or lecture on this topic; (2)
a resource posted on Moodle; (3) a peer- reviewed secondary source that is relevant to your argument; or (4) a primary source relevant to this topic.
– Excellent responses will demonstrate an understanding of and engagement with the course material and will include consideration of ideas outside of those discussed in your small group.
Romalie Murphy, “Introduction to the Discipline,”
Discussion Questions:
1. Chapter one (especially page 59, and section 1.5 “Summary”) reminds us that “history does not take place in a vacuum (73).”
o Think on times when people have referenced “history” (whether in a class, on the news, or in other contexts), and share what you’ve noticed about it and how it is used.
2. Chapters one and two (consider specifically sections 1.3 and 2.2) address historians’ reliance on archival materials and resources and how this may be biased by the plethora or paucity of sources.
o When you think of a future historian encountering your present as their past, what would compose their archive? What kinds of aspects your life (eg. knowledge, experience, events, thoughts, or people) might be excluded from these potential “archives”? How comprehensive would a representation of your life based on these be?
3. Chapter 5.2 defines and expands on historians’ use of the “Columbian Exchange.”
o What are some reasons why considering the “Columbian Exchange” may be enticing when reflecting on this time period? What might be some problems we encounter with framing Canada’s past in terms of the “Columbian Exchange?”
4. Consider the topic of childhood as a way to encounter historical representation; how compelling of a factor is it to include in our representations of societies and their pasts? What are some problems historians’ face in including experiences of children in their work?
5. Consider the claim that our present life is more interconnected and global than previous generations. How accurate is this concept in comparison with the content of the chapters you have read? In what ways might this assumption inhibit or benefit our grasp of historical trends and ideas?
6. Select one or more of the factors covered in chapter nine (I have listed a few examples below) and consider some of the ways these would have had seismic shifts in being for the people who lived at the turn of the century in this region.
Some of these factors: technology (e.g. canals, railways); the challenges and benefits of geography (the vast and “unknown” continent of North America); global economics; philosophies and wider cultural trends or influences from around the world.
7. Reflect on at least one of the origin/creation stories at
o What stands out to you in the ways chapter two and its contents arestructured in comparison to these oral histories? How, if at all, does this chapter differ from chapter three regarding its treatment of the subject
matter? If there are dissimilarities, how so, and what are they?
What does this reflect about the ways history is represented and the ways that a historian’s bias influences this perspective?
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