Ethnic History

Essay Type: Historical argument based on primary and secondary source research.

Purposes:

* Explore in some depth a topic of personal interest in Canadian Immigration/ethnic history.

* Learn and practice the fundamentals of historical research, reporting and argument.

Procedure:

1. Select a historical topic of personal interest from the list supplied (see #3. Possible Research Topics below) or propose one yourself (must be approved by the course instructor).

2. Construct a research project proposal that includes your topic, research questions, tentative thesis statement, tentative outline, and an initial bibliography. The bibliography must include at least one primary source, two scholarly articles, two books and a maximum of two websites (additional ones only with instructor approval). Fulfilment of these requirements will automatically earn 5 percent of the term paper weighting of 30 percent.

3. Carefully research your selected theme, collecting evidence to establish a compelling case for your thesis statement.

4. Write an essay composed of the following: (a) Title page; (b) introduction (states theme and thesis); (c) a background section that provides the necessary historical context and information; (d) a major section—the body of the essay–that effectively persuades the reader of the truth of your thesis; (f) a conclusion (summarizes your findings and their implications/significance), and (g) a bibliography.

5. Be sure to revise your work into a final, presentable, effective proofread draft.

6. Document according to Chicago style using foot or endnotes, not in-text citations. General requirements for history papers at StFX and illustrations of Chicago style can be found at: http://sites.stfx.ca/history/essayguide

7. Papers must be submitted via Moodle.

8. Essays will be assessed for content (introduction, exposition, analysis, synthesis, the critical use of historical evidence, persuasiveness), for writing style (organization, grammar, spelling, sentence structure, coherency of ideas and paragraphs, and for presentation (title page, page numbering, double-spacing, typed, etc.).

Length: 8–10 double-spaced pages for paper; 2 pages for proposal*

Format: Arial 12-point font with 1-inch margins

*Lengths given here do not include the bibliography.

**Late submissions will not normally be accepted (see the Syllabus for more information).

Finding Sources:

* See Appendix B: Key Course Resources (below)

* For books, search Novanet or your local library using your proposed topic.

* You may ask the course instructor for assistance finding sources.

Possible Research Topics:

* Clifford Sifton and immigration

* Advertising the West

* The Canadian practice of deportation

* Thematic study of a particular ethnic group: the Germans, the Dutch, the Blacks, the Chinese, the Jews, the Ukrainians, the Mennonites, the East Indians, etc.

* The Komagata Maru incident

* The Home Children

* Ethnic minorities during WW I

* Internment of “Enemy Aliens” during WW I

* J.S. Woodsworth and immigration

* Women domestics in Canada

* Immigrants and labour radicalism

* The Klu Klux Klan in Canada

* Jewish refugees during the Depression

* The evolution of Canadian immigration policy during a selected period

* An analysis of the immigration flows during a selected period—causes, origins and destinations, impact, etc.

* An examination of the concept and practice of “white Canada forever” in British Columbia

* Rationale and evolution of the Chinese Immigration Act

* Legal Discrimination against Asians in BC

* Japanese immigration into BC to 1939

* The racialization of Canadian law.

* Illegal entry during a selected period or specified incidence of it.

* Naturalization and citizenship

* An investigation of the War Brides, the Guest Children, or Jewish youth migrants.

* Canadian ethnic relations during WW II.

* The Japanese Internment in British Columbia during the Second World War.

* The liberalization of Canada’s immigration policy to 1967.

* Canada’s refugee policy since WW II.

* A study of a single refugee movement, e.g., Hungarian Refugees (1956), The Ugandan Refugees (1972), the Vietnamese “Boat People,” etc.

* Canada’s official policy of multiculturalism and the public debates about it.

* An analysis of Canadian identity and citizenship since WW II.

* An overview, analysis and evaluation of the first Citizenship Act of 1946.

* An overview, analysis and evaluation of the “Canadian Multiculturalism Act” (1988).

* An overview, analysis and evaluation of the “Immigration and Refugee Protection Act” (2002)

* A summary, analysis, and evaluation of Book IV of the Report of the Bilingualism and Biculturalism Commission (1970).

* A history and analysis of federal–provincial immigration agreements.

* Post-war immigration/ethnic issues in Quebec.

* A review of a Canadian ethnic group’s literature or the writings of one ethnic author.

* The fate of an ethnic language in Canada, e.g., Gaelic.

* A history of multilingualism in Canada that examines the key issues.

* The experience of a religious ethnic group―the Doukhobors, Hutterites, Mennonites, or Mormons.

* Anti-semitism in Canada or in one of its regions, for example, Quebec or Alberta.

* A case study of a high profile instance of racism in Canada, for example, the Legions’ prohibition of Turbans, Ernst Zundel/James Keegstra and the denial of the holocaust, etc.

* Case study of post-WW II illegal immigration/human smuggling in Canada.

* The changing profile of immigrants after WW II and its impact on Canadian identity.

* An analysis of the Chairs of Ethnic Studies program using one Chair as a case study.

* The concept of the vertical mosaic before and after WW I.

* Ethnic minorities in the media.

* Canadian law and race after WW II.

* Movements for redress of past injustices.

* Politics and ethnicity in the post-war era.

* Homeland conflicts and their impact on Canada, e.g. Cold War, Sikh independence, Palestinian issue.

Appendix B: Key Course Resources