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Introduction to Canadian Studies - CAN 101


Course Coordinator: Professor Raymond Pelletier
Raymond_Pelletier@umit.maine.edu

 
 



Office Hours:  TBA

Fall 2009 Class Meetings:  Tuesday and Thursday 2:00-3:15 (102 Murray Hall)

Course Description:  This course provides an introduction to Canada from a variety of perspectives and academic fields. Members of the faculty of the University of Maine and from other American and Canadian institutions lecture on Canadian geography, history, anthropology, politics, economics, literature, culture, and art. Graduate students are also invited to participate in small discussion groups about their Canada-focused research. Participants will discover an extensive, campus-wide integration of topics studied in this course with lectures, expositions, and performances that are scheduled throughout the semester by a variety of departments on campus, but especially for Canada Week that is normally scheduled during the first week of November.

Field Trip to Ottawa: There will be a trip held during the course period to Ottawa, Canada's capital city. Although this is not a required course activity, the experience is highly recommended for its intellectual and cultural value. Click here for more information!

Course Evaluation:
  • Two mandatory Examinations (September 24 and October 20)......................................... 40%
  • A Term Paper option or the Examination scheduled for November17 or
  • the Examination scheduled for Exam Week ................................................................ 25%
  • Attendance (Students who leave the classroom before 3:00 p.m. will be considered absent)..... 20%
  • Class Work ................................................................................................................. 15%
    - 6 Article Reviews, two of which must be submitted on exam dates (9/24, 10/20, 11/17, Exam Week)
    - participation in classroom oral question activity or submission of a glossary item for the Web page
  • - Written assignement and oral participation in 12/3 and 12/8 classes on The Hockey Sweater

FRE 350: Participants in CAN 101 who would simultaneoulsy like to maintain and improve their proficiency in French are invited to register for FRE 350 - Multidisciplinary Readings in French (1cr.). The course consists of readings and discussions in French of topics covered in CAN 101.


Bibliography:
  • Carrier, Roch. The Hockey Sweater and other stories (translated by Sheila Fischman). Toronto, Ontario: Anansi Press, 1979.
  • James, Patrick and Mark Kasoff (Eds.) Canadian Studies in the New Millennium. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
  • Articles listed for specific classes can be accessed on Fogler Library's electronic researve or via the CAN 101 web page at : http://www.umaine.edu/canam/CAN101/can101intro.htm (click the title article and then type in the password: CAN101Pelletier)

  • Anyone wishing to request an accommodation for a disability, please contact either your instructor or Ann Smith, Coordinator of Services for Students with Disabilities (Onward Building, 1-2319) as early as possible in the semester.

Course Outline: (click Week for more information)

Week One:     Tuesday, Sep. 1 - Introduction to the Course and to Canada
                       Thursday, Sept. 3 - The Physical Geography of Canada

Week Two:     Tuesday, Sept. 8 - The Cultural Geography of Canada
                       Thursday, Sept. 10 - Canada's Native Peoples

Week Three:  Tuesday, Sept. 15 - Amerindiens of the Northeast
                       Thursday, Sept. 17 - The People of Northern Canada: the Inuit of Nunavik and James Bay Cree

Week Four:  Tuesday, Sept. 22 - Visit of the Hudson Museum, Collins Center for the Arts
                       Thursday, Sept. 24 - First Prelim

Week Five:     Tuesday, Sept. 29 - The Human Element Leading to the Foundation of Canada               
                       Thursday, Oct. 1 - The Making of British North America

Week Six:       Tuesday, Oct. 6 - Post-Confederation Canada
                       Thursday, Oct. 8 - Canada, the United States, and Latin America

Week Seven:  Tuesday, Oct. 13 - No Class / Fall Break
                      Thursday, Oct. 15 - The History and Politics of Bilingualism

Week Eight:    Tuesday, Oct. 20 - Second Prelim
                      Thursday, Oct. 22 - No Class/Ottawa Field Trip

Week Nine:    Tuesday, Oct. 27 - Some Realities in Canada's Politics
                     Thursday, Oct. 29 - U.S.-Canada Relations

Week Ten:     Tuesday, Nov. 3 - Canada Week lecture
                     Thursday, Nov. 5 - The Canadian Economy

Week Eleven: Tuesday, Nov. 10 - The Canadian Health Care System
                     Thursday, Nov. 12 - Maine-Canada Trade

Week Twelve: Tuesday, Nov. 17 - Third Prelim
                      Thursday, Nov. 19 - Canadian Art

Week Thirteen: Tuesday, Nov. 24 - Canadian Literature in English: Dorothy Livesay
                      Thursday, Nov. 26 - No Class / Thanksgiving Break

Week Fourteen : Tuesday, Dec. 1 - French Canadian Literature
                      Thursday, Dec. 3 - Roch Carrier's Canadat

Week Fifteen:  Tuesday, Dec. 8 - Roch Carrier's Canada
                      Thursday, Dec. 10 - French Canadian Migrations into New England

Week Sixteen: Fourth Prelim ... TERM PAPERS ARE DUE
 



Last Updated: 6 September, 2009

 

 

 
 

Canadian-American Center
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A member of the Northeast National Resource Center on Canada with
Center for the Study of Canada/Plattsburgh State University of New York
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