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Which moments in Canadian history do undergrads believe matter?

That’s what McGill Prof. Laura Madokoro wanted to know. Laura teaches Canada Since 1867 – Interrogating the Nation: Moment by Moment (HIST 203). This semester, students working in small groups have been assigned the task of selecting a “moment” they believe really matters to the history of Canada and then presenting an argument to support their choice. Each group has selected one moment from 1930-1979 and one from 1980 to the present. Students present their arguments in class and publish them in a blog called Moments that Matter: Canadian History since 1867, along with photos and embedded videos.

So, what moments have students chosen? Wait—before you read on, what do you think students have chosen?

Crise d’Oka – SQ et forces canadiennes “ by SamuelFreli is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

Here are a few examples: the immigration points system (1962); the last execution in Canada (1962); the Rocket Richard Riot (1965); abortion legislation (1969); the October Crisis (1970); patient zero in the Aids epidemic (1984); the creation of Cirque du soleil (1984); the Ecole polytechnique massacre (1989); the Oka Crisis (1990); the election of Kim Campbell (1993); the launch of a national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/Highway of Tears (2015).

Read students’ arguments for their moments in the Moments that Matter blog.

Which moments in Canadian history do you believe really matter? What’s your argument?

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Associate Director, Faculty and Teaching Development, and Senior Academic Associate, at McGill's Teaching and Learning Services; former Senior Faculty Lecturer at the McGill Writing Centre; area of specialization: Second Language Education; loves teaching and learning!

(Photo credit: Owen Egan)

Associate Director, Faculty and Teaching Development, and Senior Academic Associate, at McGill's Teaching and Learning Services; former Senior Faculty Lecturer at the McGill Writing Centre; area of specialization: Second Language Education; loves teaching and learning! (Photo credit: Owen Egan)

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