Goals for HIST 382

 

This page states goals for the course. These are my goals. I also welcome discussion of your own goals in taking this course, and we'll see if we can accommodate them.

 

Four Basic Goals

 

1.      To master basic facts and interpretations associated with the most important themes in the history of Canada.

 

2.      To cultivate the historical perspective, that is, to practice thinking like a historian.

 

3.      To reinforce and advance the traditional skills of discourse--reading, reflection, discussion, writing--via both conventional and electronic means of communication.

 

4.      To stimulate an ongoing interest in Canada.

 

General Education

 

This course will, after trial, be submitted for approval to count toward NDSU general education requirements in two categories, as defined in the Bulletin.

 

  • "Humanities systematically explore cultural and intellectual forces shaping events, individual expression and social values." This is what we do in relation to the themes mentioned in Goal #1 above.

 

  • "Cultural Diversity focuses on the social, personal, and interpersonal effects of variety and differences among cultures." The cultural differences dealt with and emphasized in this course are both within Canada (Anglophone Canada, Francophone Canada, the Metis, and other cultural groups) and international (mainly comparing Canadian and American societies).

 

The course also contributes to two other, more general concerns in general education at NDSU: lifelong learning (see Goal #4 above) and computer facility.

 

HIST 382 Canada has not yet been submitted for inclusion in the NDSU general education menu.

 

History Major

 

This course is designed to serve learning in the History major in several specific respects, according with the "Intended Student Outcomes" for the major. These standards require students majoring in History to demonstrate "critical thinking skills" and "historical thinking skills" and to show them through writing essays. Goals #2 and 3 above are intended to cultivate these skills.

 

If you're not a History major, but you might be interested, check out the Home Page of the History Department.

 

HIST 382 Home Page