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Overview

Learning MethodsMajor FocusThe AC DifferenceCareer Outlook

Learning Methods

Both Instructors and students use a wide variety of active learning methods including film, class discussions and projects, guest speakers and multi-media presentations.

Major Focus

A major focus of the courses is on the development of skills in research, writing, critical reading, and critical thinking.

The AC Difference

A major initiative has been to incorporate the “Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts“ into the curriculum. These are critical ways of thinking about historical issues, events and people.

Career Outlook

Studying history significantly supports students in developing important skills sets including communication (oral and written), research, critical thinking and analytic skills that are essential job requirements for future employment in the fields of business, industry, education, government and public service and others.

Course Descriptions

Select a course below to see full descriptions. (#) Indicates amount of credits per course

HIST 101 Canada to Confederation (3)

A study of Canadian history from the period of earliest human occupation to Confederation in 1867, this course examines major themes in Canada’s past, including: early First Nations cultures; contact and interaction between aboriginal societies and European cultures; social, economic, and political developments in New France and early British North America; struggles for control over the North American continent in the eighteenth century; immigration, industrialization, and social and political reform in the nineteenth century; the confederation question; and the emergence of Canada as a separate North American nation-state.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098

Transfers to:

UBC ALEX HIST 101 (3) & HIST 102 (3) = UBC HIST 235 (3) & UBC HIST 2nd (3)
SFU HIST 101 (3), B-Hum
UVIC HSTR 230A (1.5)
UNBC HIST 210 (3)
TRU HIST 1120 (3)

HIST 102 Canada Since Confederation (3)

Was Confederation a noble experiment in nationalism and self-determination? Or was it a cynical tactic by a small group of powerful men? Who benefited? And who paid the price? What have parliamentary democracy and free enterprise meant to regions, natives, women, workers, and elites? Is the history of Canada a story of adventure, patriotism, and courage, or is it a story of avarice, plunder, and pillage? Is it a history of peaceful conformity or confrontation and rebellion? This course introduces students to fundamental skills and ideas involved in studying and writing history, including critical thinking, evaluating sources, and writing.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 098

Transfers to:

UBC ALEX HIST 101 (3) & HIST 102 (3) = UBC HIST 235 (3) & UBC HIST 2nd (3)
SFU HIST 102 (3), B-Hum
UVIC HSTR 230B (1.5)
UNBC HIST 211 (3)
TRU HIST 1220 (3)

HIST 106 Evolving Europe (3)

This course traces the evolutionary forces and processes that have shaped Western civilization. What does it mean to refer to Europe as modern? The course will delve into the growth of human societies, politics, and culture that arise from Western thought. Students will examine the changing social, intellectual, and political trends and popular attitudes over time, leading to the evolution of the modern consciousness. The course will examine the causes and consequences of relationships between key historical developments in European history from the period of the Black Death (1450) to the outbreak of the Cold War (1950). The course is a starting point to thinking critically about history and gain a sense of the major historical themes, issues, and ideas that pertain to the study of Europe.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099

Transfers to:

SFU HIST 106 (3)
UVIC HSTR 1XX (1.5)
UNBC HIST 1XX (3)
TRU HIST 1XXX (3)

HIST 107 Indigenous Histories of the Global South (3)

This course will explore the Indigenous people and civilizations of the region known as the ‘Global South’ from pre-Contact societies to the present. The content will focus on localized and comparative case studies of Indigenous communities of South America, Africa, Australasia and the South Pacific that illustrate key concepts of global Indigenous history. Cross-cultural comparisons and connections will be emphasized to develop a thoroughly global appreciation of the experience of Indigenous peoples under imperial and modern political and economic systems.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099

Transfers to:

SFU HIST 1XX (3)
UBCO INDG 2nd (3)
CAPU HIST 1XX (3)

HIST 110 Introduction to Ancient Greece and Rome (3)

Introduction to Ancient Greece and Rome Greco-Roman civilization forms the foundation of Western Civilization and exerts a pervasive influence on nearly every aspect of life that followed these great cultures. This course will provide a broad overview of the major features of Archaic and Classical Greece, the expansion of Hellenistic culture following Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire, and the evolution of the Roman state from Republic to world-shaping Empire. The course will consider the politics and ideologies that shaped the evolving states and the social systems that dominated the Mediterranean from 700 BC to 300 AD. The course will balance the short-term impact of political and cultural changes with the more predictable rhythms of agriculture and trade. Long-term socio-economic patterns shaped the daily life and culture of the people in the Mediterranean world, and underpinned cultural and ideological development.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099

Transfers to:

UBC CLST 1st (3)
SFU HS 1XX (3)
UVIC GRS 1XX (1.5)
UNBC HIST 1XX (3)
TRU HIST 1030 (3)

HIST 200 Histories of Indigenous-Settler Relations in Canada (3)

Students will examine aspects of Indigenous peoples’ historical experiences, from time immemorial to the twentieth century, in the place currently known as Canada. The course will focus on the multiple and contested commercial, religious, political, legal, social, and military relationships that developed between Indigenous peoples and migrants who settled in what is today called Canada. The core themes of colonization and decolonization will be featured throughout the course through a close analysis of Indigenous strategies of power and resistance and changes in the diplomatic environment from the French and British colonial societies through relations with the Canadian state.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099, HIST 101 or HIST 102

Transfers to:

SFU HIST 2XX (3)

HIST 201 British India and its Legacies (3)

This course examines the history of India from the late Mughal period and the arrival of the British to the Freedom Movement and the emergence in 1947 of the independent states of India and Pakistan.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099, 3 credits of first-year History

Transfers to:

UBC ASIA 2nd (3)
SFU HIST 2XX (3)
UVIC HSTR 2XX (1.5)
UNBC HIST 2XX (3)
TRU HIST 2XXX (3)

HIST 223 Early Modern Europe, 1500-1789 (3)

A survey of early modern European history which examines the wars of religion, the 17th century revolutions, 16th and 17th century economic development, the scientific revolution, the enlightenment, and the political and social character of the old regime.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099, 3 credits of first-year History

Transfers to:

UBC ALEX HIST 223 (3) & ALEX HIST 224 (3) = UBC HIST 220 (6)
SFU HIST 223 (3), B-Hum
UVIC HSTR 240A (1.5)
UNBC HIST 2XX (3)
TRU HIST 1160 (3)

HIST 224 Europe from the French Revolution to the First World War (3)

A survey of European history emphasizing the French Revolution, and Napoleonic Europe and first Industrial Revolution, liberalism and its opponents, agrarian conservatism, liberalism and conservatism, the Revolution of 1848, the struggles for political unification, the second Industrial Revolution, and the origins of the First World War.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099, 3 credits of first-year History

Transfers to:

UBC HIST 223 (3) & ALEX HIST 224 (3) = UBC HIST 220 (6)
SFU HIST 224 (3), B-Hum
UVIC HSTR 240B (1.5)
UNBC HIST 2XX (3)
TRU HIST 1260 (3)

HIST 225 Twentieth Century Europe, 1901-2000 (3)

Europe in the 20th century is marked by tragedy and triumph, collapse and (re)construction. We will examine the history of Europe between 1900-2000 as a period of competing ideologies – monarchism, communism, fascism and liberal democracy – for hegemony in Europe and the world. In doing so, we will seek to understand not only why and when these ideologies were both successful and popular in particular contexts, but also how they brought radical change and destruction to the people of Europe. Scrutinizing primary source documents, we will survey Europe’s path throughout the 20th century, putting emphasis on political, social and economic themes.

Prerequisite(s):

ENGL 099, 3 credits of first-year history

Transfers to:

SFU HIST 225 (3)
UVIC HSTR 2XX (1.5)
UNBC HIST 2XX (3)

Faculty

Hugh Johnston (PhD, MA, BA)

History Department Founder

Hugh Johnston (PhD, MA, BA)

History Department Founder

The History Department at Alexander College was founded by Hugh Johnston, PhD. Dr. Johnston currently serves on the Board of Directors and advises to the History Department.

Prior to his retirement, Hugh taught history at SFU for 36 years. For 11 of those years, he was the department chair and he continues to enjoy teaching in the Adults 55+ Program at SFU.

He is a well-known authority on Sikhs in Canada and has written about South Asian migration and settlement.

Other writings include: British immigration, 18th-century exploration of the Pacific Northwest, the history of British Columbia, and higher education in Canada.

Sebastian Huebel (PhD, MA, BA)

Department Head, Humanities

Sebastian Huebel (PhD, MA, BA)

Department Head, Humanities

Dr. Sebastian Huebel completed his PhD at UBC in the fall of 2017, specializing in modern European history. His dissertation examines German-Jewish men in Nazi Germany.

Sebastian has taught at TRU in Kamloops for several years and has been an instructor at Simon Fraser University Continuing Studies since 2014.

At Alexander College, Sebastian teaches European and Canadian history.

In December 2021, Sebastian published his first book “Fighter, Worker, Family Man: German-Jewish Men and their Gendered Experiences in Nazi Germany, 1933-1941” (University of Toronto Press).

Anjali Malhotra (MA, BA, BEd, PDP)

Instructor

Anjali Malhotra (MA, BA, BEd, PDP)

Instructor

Anjali Malhotra has received her BA/B.Ed. and her teaching certification (PDP) from Simon Fraser University and then went on further to pursue her Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Humanities and History from New York University.

Anjali’s research specializes on the histories of modern South Asia. Currently, she is teaching in the History department at Alexander College.

She has extensively worked, taught, and travelled internationally, gaining a diversified exposure to various teaching and learning practices from around the world.

She was invited to speak on her thesis research in Delhi and Hyderabad in India and at U-Mass, Amherst and University of Florida in the USA.

Iain O’Shea (PhD, MA, BA)

Instructor

Iain O’Shea (PhD, MA, BA)

Instructor

Iain is a specialist in the history of civil-military relations and propaganda, with his dissertation delving into tens of thousands of newspaper and periodical articles as well as hundred of virtually illegible letters in an effort to comprehend a series of naval scares in late nineteenth-century Britain.

In addition to his work at Alexander College, Iain has taught at the University of Victoria, Thompson Rivers University on subjects including military history, Canadian history, 18th-20th century European history, and the history of Ancient Greece and Rome. At Alexander College his highlights include a walking tour of historic Vancouver for HIST 102.

Christopher Hyland (PhD, MA, BA)

Instructor

Christopher Hyland (PhD, MA, BA)

Instructor

Dr. Chris Hyland joined the History Department at Alexander College in 2019.

Dr. Hyland’s research focus is on the intersection of higher education, Canadian foreign affairs, and war and society. In particular, he examines the English-Canadian professoriate’s relationship with the Canadian state in the sphere of external affairs and international development.

His latest work on academic secondments to the Department of External Affairs appears in the International Journal of Canadian Studies, published in Volume 56, 2017. He has also published a number of articles on how Canadian universities have contributed to the state’s war effort during the First and Second World Wars.

In addition to his research, Dr. Hyland is a frequent book reviewer for subjects connected to the history of higher education in Canada and has been published in the journals: “Historical Studies in Education” and the “Alberta Journal of Educational Research”.

Dr. Hyland also serves as the managing editor of the online journal, History of Intellectual Culture, based at the University of Calgary.

Niall MacKenzie

Instructor

Niall MacKenzie

Instructor

Born and raised in Ottawa, Niall MacKenzie holds an undergraduate degree in History from Washington and Lee University and a doctorate in English from the University of Cambridge, where he was among the last research students to be supervised by the late Howard Erskine-Hill. He first came to British Columbia as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UBC (2006-08) and has taught for fourteen years in the History, English, and Humanities departments at SFU. Niall’s publications on literary-historical matters have appeared in a variety of journals and edited collections, including Women’s History Review, The Scottish Historical Review, Scottish Gaelic Studies, Studia Neophilologica, The Review of English Studies, and The Age of Johnson. He is a grandson of Kate MacKenzie (Caitrìona Uilleim Iain mhic Artair, 1876–1979), a noted Cape Breton Island tradition bearer.

Resources

History 101 and 102: History of Canada

The Historical Thinking Project

Truth & Reconciliation Centre Resources

The History Education Network/Histoire et éducation en réseau (THEN/HiER)

Canadian History – Primary Sources – TRU Library

History of the Canadian North – Essay Topics

National Film Board of Canada

History 201: India Under the British Raj

India — The Jewel of the British Raj (video)

The Better India

Digital South Asia Library

Primary Source Documents collection

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