Hockey in Canadian History (HIST*2280)

Code and section: HIST*2280*DE

Term: Fall 2022

Details

Method of Delivery:

Online

Course Synopsis:

Hockey provides a valuable prism through which major cultural, socio-economic and even political developments within Canada can be reflected. This course reviews the considerable role that hockey has played in Canada’s post-Confederation history. From the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century, hockey has helped to inform the nation’s sense of self and has also reflected prevailing social attitudes and cultural values within Canada. Students in this course will witness how the national game has reflected prevailing Canadian attitudes toward many issues including national identity, societal norms and values, war and militarism, manliness and femininity, professionalism and amateurism, class, race, memory and mythmaking, and, importantly, how these attitudes have changed over time.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

Locate the importance of hockey within Canada’s larger cultural, political and social narrative;
Examine the way by which hockey and hockey culture in Canada has reflected broader trends in Canadian society and specific events in Canadian history;
Debate critically the extra-sporting role that hockey has played and continues to play in the evolution of the Canadian nation;
Identify and assess societal issues that have directly affected hockey and the Canadian nation; and
Write a research essay drawing on historical evidence from both primary and secondary resources.

Methods of Evaluation and Weights:

Quizzes (4 x 2.5%) - 10%
Online Midterm - 10%
Research Paper Proposal - 20%
Research Paper - 30%
Online Final Exam - 30%

Texts Required:

Richard Gruneau and David Whitson (eds.), Artificial Ice: Hockey, Culture, and Commerce, University of Toronto Press, 2006.

Richard Gruneau and David Whitson, Hockey Night in Canada: Sports, Identities, and Cultural Politics, University of Toronto Press, 1994.

Colin D. Howell, Blood, Sweat, and Cheers: Sport and the Making of Modern Canada, University of Toronto Press, 2001.

John C-K Wong (ed.), Coast to Coast: Hockey in Canada to the Second World War, University of Toronto Press, 2009.

*Please note: This is a preliminary web course description only. The department reserves the right to change without notice any information in this description. The final, binding course outline will be distributed in the first class of the semester.