Historical Perspectives – A Personal View of History Custom Essay

Part A.) Historical Perspectives – A Personal View of History
Write a paragraph or two answering the following question.

1.) How do you see the study of Canadian history being of benefit to your life and to your career goals?

Note: Think about this question before writing down your ideas. And keep in mind that I want to hear what you have to say about this question – not what is in the textbook etc.

– 25 Marks
Part B.) The Discipline and Study of History (Historiography)
Write one or two paragraphs on each of the 5 questions

1.) What is “oral history”?

(Critical Thinking Exercise: While you are answering this question think about why oral history is useful for historians who want to learn more about groups such as First Nations, women, immigrants and uneducated or illiterate people? Also, think about what these different groups might have in common – especially in the distant past? Is it important to study their history – their stories? How can we learn more about them?

2.) Name five specific examples of historical documents, or “written sources”? Include three primary and two secondary documents. Example: a personal letter is a primary source document.

Note: You need to know the difference between these two types of historical sources. Both are important but for different reasons. You should know why.

Important Note: Wikipedia and encyclopedias – in print or online versions – are not appropriate research sources at college or university. You should know why they are not generally cited by academics? (They can, however, prove useful in the early stages of research, but you need to know why and how they are to be used properly.)

3.) Perhaps the biggest problem facing historians studying Canadian First Nation’s history “Pre-Contact” is that they did not create written records. This does not mean, however that historians and others cannot learn a lot about those people through other methods.

4.) What are some of the other strategies/techniques/disciplines/methodologies that historians utilize in dealing with the lack of historical documents (written materials) created by First Nations – and others?

Critical Thinking Exercises: While you are answering the above questions, think about why it is important to look at First Nation’s history differently before and after their first contact with Europeans? Also, think about how you would deal with the problem of wanting to know about someone from the past when you do not have “written” records to rely on. For example, how can you learn about your grandmother or grandfather if they did not read or write? Or, maybe they could read and write, but they did not leave any written records behind because there was a war or a fire that destroyed their personal papers? Are there other ways to learn about what was important in their lives – and, perhaps also important to your own life – or to society?

5.) What is an argumentative type of essay? How are they different from other types of essays?

Note: There are several types of essays used in academic work, but probably the most widely used is the argumentative essay. In history, like many other disciplines, we almost always use the argumentative style of essay writing for research papers. This is done because the argumentative essays is a highly effective way of organizing, analyzing, interpreting and presenting theories and supporting “evidence” in a meaningful and useful way. The key to writing this type of essay is in the use of a “thesis statement” that you then use to discuss, test and defend your theories and the supporting evidence you uncover while doing your research, such as statistics, quotations from historians or eye-witnesses to historical events, other historical facts & figures, etc.

You should also know how argumentative essays differ from “personal opinion essays”, newspaper editorials, political speeches, religious sermons, government propaganda, book or movie reviews etc. These other types of writing often use “I”, “my”, “we”, “our” etc., but these words are seldom used in academic writing. Most university-trained scholars prefer to write in an “objective” and academic way -where ideas are supported with evidence. You should know how and why this standard is used in textbooks, academic journals, research essays etc.

– 5 Marks
Part B.) Academic Standards
Write a paragraph or two answering each of the following questions:

1.) Define “plagiarism” and explain why is it considered an act of serious academic misconduct (dishonesty) in colleges and universities? Don’t guess – look this up!

2.) What are the specific penalties for plagiarism at Alexander? Don’t guess – look this up!

3.) What are the potential consequences of plagiarism for your academic life or future career?

– 10 Marks
Part C.) Geography of Canada
1.) Name the six major “geographic zones” of Canada and write a paragraph or two on all six of them. Describe each geographic zone – in a way that you will remember them. Use your own words (paraphrase) – don’t just copy the technical descriptions in the text book. You should, however include information on such important characteristics as climate, geography, animals and plants.
2.) Name at least one First Nations tribe living in each of the six zones.

Helpful Hint: You can also include photos or illustrations if that will help you remember each geographic zone etc – but you must still write something.

– 20 Marks
Part D.) First Nations History
1.) Write one or two paragraphs discussing a First Nations tribe from outside of British Columbia. For example, you can write about the Cree tribe of the Interior Plains Zone (Prairies). Include such details as their food, clothing, tools, technologies, transportation, spiritual beliefs, housing etc. Include some information that will allow you to remember them well. Pictures?

2.) Write one or two paragraphs discussing a First Nations tribe found inside BC (Western Cordillera). Include such details as their food, clothing, tools, technologies, transportation, spiritual beliefs, housing etc. Include some information that will allow you to remember them well. Pictures?

Describe and discuss three animals of great importance to Canada’s First Nations. (Write at least one paragraph about each animal.) Describe the animal and say why it was important to a specific First Nations tribe. Was this animal important only for practical purposes, such as food and clothing, or was that animal also important for other cultural or spiritual reasons?

Again, you can include a photo of the animal if that will help you remember it.

Critical Thinking: While you are answering the above question, think about why these animals important to the First Nations living in the same geographic region as the animal? Remember that an animal important in one geographic region might not even be found in another zone. Example: Salmon are fish that are crucial to animal, plant and human life in the Western Cordillera, but they are not found in the Interior Plains zone. This region, even though it is next to the Western Cordillera, is many hundreds of miles from the Pacific Ocean and across high mountains far from any salmon streams. Different types of fish are found in different zones, just as there are different plants, animals, resources, climate conditions and people.

3.) Describe four transportation technologies used by First Nations – “Pre-Contact”, or before the arrival of Europeans and their horses, wagons, and large ships etc. Example: the kayak used by the Inuit people in the North, or Arctic Region. Don’t just name the technologies – I want you to describe them in a way that you will remember them. You can say where and how they were used and what materials they were made from etc. (Walking is not a “technology”.)

– 10 marks
Part E.) European Influences on Canadian History

1.) Who were the Vikings? When did they first arrive in Canada? Where in “Canada” did they build a temporary settlement?
2.) Where were early European explorers hoping to reach when trying to sail through the Northwest Passage, in the icy waters of the Arctic region of Canada? What people and what kind of things were they hoping to find when reached their final destination?
3.) Name the two main European “Imperialist/Colonial Countries” that colonized Canada. Briefly discuss how each of those two countries influenced the early history of this country.

– 20 marks
Part F.) Study Techniques & Strategies

1.) Write a précis (a brief summary) of one section from your text, such as “The Emerging Canadian Social order” (Chapter 5, pp: 75-78). Do not do a précis of the “Conclusion” (which is basically a précis of the Chapter). Helpful Hint: In a précis you summarize the section as if you were the original author.

2.) Name 10 “Universal Themes” that we have discussed in class or that you can identify in your text book. As we discussed in class, these universal themes are like windows on the world. Through them we can examine and understand the many ideas, problems, events, issues and people that have shaped the past and continue to greatly influence the world we live in today.

Example of Universal Theme: “Gender”.
Gender is a “universal theme” as it applies to all people, everywhere and at all times. “Males” and “females” are then “specific examples” of gender. These two terms are not “universal” because not everyone is male – just as not every person is female.