If the content you are seeing is presented as unstyled HTML your browser is an older version that cannot support cascading style sheets. If you wish to upgrade your browser you may download Mozilla or Internet Explorer for Windows.

History (HIST) 336
History of Canadian Labour (Revision 4)

Revision 4 closed, replaced by current version.

Delivery mode: Individualized study with video component*.
*Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.

Credits: 6 - Humanities

Prerequisite: None. LBST 200 or LBST 202 is recommended.

Centre: Centre for Work and Community Studies

HIST 336 has a Challenge for Credit option.

Course website

Overview

The course is designed to provide you with an extensive and detailed investigation of Canadian labour and working-class history. It consists of eight units covering the period from 1800 to 2000.

In the course you will read an overview of Canadian working–class history, read eighteen articles and view ten video recordings on various aspects of working–class and labour history. You will be guided in your reading and viewing by a detailed Study Guide, including study questions and commentary on the textbook, articles and videos. During the course you will also complete a series of written assignments. There are no examinations in this course.

Outline

Unit 1: Producers and Paternalism in Pre-Industrial Society

Unit 2: Industrial Capitalism and Early Unionism, 1850-1880

Unit 3: The First Working-Class Movement, 1880-1895

Unit 4: The Growth of Labour Militancy, 1895-1920

Unit 5: The Defeat and Reorganization of Labour, 1920-1940

Unit 6: Wartime Militancy and Post-War Compromise, 1940-1960

Unit 7: The Public Sector and the Remaking of the Labour Movement, 1960-1975

Unit 8: The Compromise Ends and the Counter-Attack Begins, 1975-1995

Top

Evaluation

To receive credit for HIST 336, you must complete six written assignments and achieve a minimum course composite grade of “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Assign 1 Assign 2 Assign 3 Assign 4 Assign 5 Assign 6 Total
10% 10% 20% 20% 20% 20% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbooks

Palmer, B. D. (1992). Working-class experience: Rethinking the history of Canadian labour, 1800-1991 (2nd ed.). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.

MacDowell, L. S., & Radforth, I. (Eds.). (2000). Canadian working class history: Selected readings (2nd ed.). Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, Inc.

Buckley, J. (2008). Fit to print: The Canadian student's guide to essay writing (7th ed.). Toronto: Nelson, Thomson Canada Ltd.
(This book is a useful, self-help guide that addresses many of the essay-writing problems students often face.)

DVD's

All films that are used in this course are available in DVD format only. If you do not have access to a DVD player, please contact the Athabasca University Library (http://library.athabascau.ca/) for assistance. They may be able to supply you with a VHS version of these programs.

The Notorious Mrs. Armstrong (Building a Nation series)[video recording]. Produced by Liz Jarvis & Paula Kelly. Directed by Paula Kelly. Winnipeg: Labour Cafe Productions Inc., 2001. [44 min.]

3 Strikes: Radicalism in the Coal Mines [video recording]. Produced and directed by Don Bouzek. Edmonton: D.Active Productions, 2005. [28 min.]

A Heaven on Earth: The Story of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, 1932-1944 (Building a Nation series) [video recording]. Produced and directed by Barbara Evans. Toronto: Terra Films and Norflicks Productions, 2001. [52 min.]

Labour Pains: The Birth of Industrial Unionism (Building a Nation series) [video recording]. Produced by Richard Nielsen. Directed by Marta Nielsen Hastings. Toronto: Norflicks Productions, 2001. [48 min.]

Defying the Law (Building a Nation series) [video recording]. Produced by Marta Nielsen Hastings & David Wesley. Directed by Marta Nielsen Hastings. Toronto: Norflicks Productions, 1997. [48 min.]

The Producers' Strike (Building a Nation series) [video recording]. Produced by Richard Nielsen, Max Cacopardo, Jean Lebel, & Roger Racine. Directed by Jean Lebel. Montreal: Production de 9 Mars, 1959, 1999. [47 min.]

Memory and Muscle: The Postal Strike of 1965 [video recording]. Produced and directed by Michael Ostroff. Ottawa: Canadian Union of Postal Workers, 1995. [49 min.]

The Back Row: Labour's Cold War in Alberta [video recording]. Produced and directed by Don Bouzek. Edmonton: D. Active Productions, 2005. [24 min.]

No Looking Back [DVD format only]. Produced by Laszlo Barna & Laura Alper. Directed by Laszlo Barna. Toronto: Canadian Auto Workers, 1988. [75 min.] . If you do not have access to a DVD player, please contact the Athabasca University Library (http://library.athabascau.ca/) for assistance. They may be able to supply you with a VHS version of this program.

Women of Change (Building a Nation series) [video recording]. Produced by John Bessai & Joan Prowse. Directed by Joan Prowse. Toronto: CineFocus Canada Production Inc., 1999. [51 min.]

Other Materials

The course materials also include a course manual and assignments, and a study guide.

Top