Courses
Courses
Fall 2026
HIST 3168 | Quebec & Canada from 1791 to the Present
Tuesdays 1:30-3:25 | Instructor: Jay Gitlin
The evolution of Canada from the Constitutional Act of 1791 to Confederation to the emergence of modern Canada in the era of Pierre Trudeau. There is an emphasis on the place of Quebec, but we do not neglect B.C. and Alberta. Topics include the Rebellions of 1837-1838, the role of empire, the Québécois diaspora in New England, language legislation, and the debate over sovereignty. Readings include Lord Durham’s Report, Roch Carrier’s “The Hockey Sweater,” and a novel by Michel Tremblay.
HIST 3154 | Neighbo(u)ring Democracies: Representative Politics in the US & Canada 1607-Present
Tuesdays 1:30-3:25 | Instructor: Brendan Shanahan
This seminar examines how representative politics have evolved in the United States and Canada from the turn of the seventeenth century to the present. Students learn diverse ways in which forms of liberal democracy—republicanism and constitutional monarchy in particular—have emerged in North America, how processes of democratization have operated, and the degree to which representative governments in Canada and the U.S. borrow from and emerge out of common and/or disparate contexts. Special emphasis is placed on—but is not limited to—the history of suffrage and voting rights in the United States and Canada.