Women in Canadian History Education Guide

co mparisons bet ween mo mentsinthe past andthe present, or bet weent wo pointsinthe past. We evaluate change overti me using turning points andtheideas of progress and decline. Pri mary S o urce Evi d e nce is the ra w material that historians use to assessthe past. When evaluating sources —letters, ne wspaper articles, ph otogra phs, diaries, g overn ment rec ords, etc. — we search for clues to hel p us un derstan d the rati onale an d ai m of the creators, an d the historical c ontext of the s ource. Ca us e a n d C o ns e q u e nce: Historians want to un derstan d b oth the causes andi mpacts of past events. Exploringthis co mplex relationshipre minds usthat historical events are notinevitable. The origins and causes of events are multi-di mensional: we must explore long- and short-ter mfactors, study context(conditions, attitudes, andideologies), and considerthe po werthat hu mans exercise. So me consequences are expected, while others are unanticipated. Ex pl oring Hist orical Pers p ectives involves working to ward a better un derstan ding of the acti ons, decisi ons, worl dvie ws, an d ex periences of people wholivedin different historical contexts. We must not i ma gi ne or g uess w hat s o me o ne fr o m t he past believe d or val ue d, but exa mine evidenceto dra w observations andinferences. The pers pective of o ne pers o n fr o m t he past ca n pr ovi de a wealt h of evidence about an event, an experience, or a worldvie w, but we must c onsi der multi ple pers pectives to devel o p a broa d un derstan ding of the different vie wsthat existedinthe past.

The Ethical Di mension asks usto avoid making ethicaljudg ments a b out an event, p olicy, or pers on until we first exa mine the c ontext fro m different perspectives. Our current beliefs and values shape ho w we vie w the past, an d we nee d to be a ware that past worl dvie ws can differfro m our o wn. Good historical scholarship does notignore or atte m pt to c over u p discri minati on, cri mes, or events, but c onsi ders their ethical meaninginthe context oftheti mein whichthey occurred. Continuity and Change sho ws ho w events,ideas, and peopleinthe past are connected. Hu man societies areinterrelated and evolving ratherthanisolated. Continuity and change can be assessedthrough Pro minence: Was the person or event recognized as significant attheti me? Why or why not? What didit meanto be“signi flcant”? C onse quences: What effect(s) did the person or event have? I mpact: Ho w widespread andlong-lasting wasthe person or eve nt’si m pact? Revealin g: What does the person or event reveal about the larger historical context or currentissues? Ho w dothey infor m our understanding of a historicalissue or period? 1

E. Pauline Johnson, a Moha wk poet, writer, artist, and perfor mer, ca. 1900 (courtesy Vancouver Public Library/Cochran of Ontario/9429).

Peace, Pink, Power by Cheryl Braganza, 201 4.Braganza was a M ontreal artist and hu man rights activist wh o s p oke for wo men and minorities through her art, which continues to send a message of e mpo wer ment to girls and wo men.

A muralin Digby, NS,tellsthe story ofthe Acadian people ( Drea msti me.co m/ Meunierd/43286617).

key terms

Fe minis m: The belief that wo men and men are equal and should be treated as such. The fe minist m ove ment seeks to achieve e quality on allfronts,including social, political, econo mic, educational, and personal. Fe minis m can be classi fiedintothree waves, with each wave dealing pri marily with a different aspect of the move ment to ward equality. First- wavefe minis mfocused mainly onlegalissues, including wo men’srightto vote(suffrage) as well aste mperance, pro perty, parental, and marriage rights. Second- wave fe minis m, begininginthe1960s, was connectedtothe wo men’sliberation move ment, which workedto ward social equalityfor wo menin issueslike reproductive rights,legal barriers, sexuality,fa mily, the workplace, and do mestic violence. Third- wavefe minis m beganin t h e 199 0s, c o nti n ui n g t h e work of t h e s ec o n d wave b ut foc usi n g o n moreinclusiverepresentation;it soughtto eli minate gender-role stereotyping andtoinclude wo men with diverseracial and cultural identities. Fe minis m continuesto evolve,just asit continuesto work on changing attitudes and perce pti ons for a m ore e qual s ociety. Intersectionality:Theideathat socialidentities and categories are inherentlyinterconnected was developed by Blackfe ministthinker Ki mberlé Crensha wtoidentify ho w syste ms of po wer(advantage and disadvantage) affect everyone, beneffit so me, and exclude others

by reason of class, race, sexual orientation, age, ability, and gender. Many wo men face marginalizati on, exclusi on, and p overty because of multi ple, syste mic for ms of discri minati on. Institutionalized/Syste mic Discri mination: Discri minatory treat ment by society anditsinstitutions,including patterns of behaviour, policies, or practices that create or perpetuate disadvantages for marginalized pe o ple through bias or une qual treat ment.It can beintentional or unintentional, and many people are not conscious of the discri mination. Privile ge: Certain advantages are available only to particular groups of people, and socialinequalities apply onlyto certain groups. Privilege canincludethingslikerace, class, gender, ability, education, and many more. Students shouldlearnthattheir perspectives may be shaped by their privileges or disadvantages to build understanding of different situations, opinions, and actions. Presentis m: Thei mposition of presentideas on peopleinthe past, includingthetendencytointerpret past eventsinter ms of modern values. When exploring historical perspectives, we should avoid presentis m.

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1 Adaptedfro m“ Considering Signi ficance,” TC2, https://tc2.ca/pdf/T3_pdfs/ E HT_The Greatest Hits.pdf