1. Explore People’s Diverse Experiences with Nationalism as an Identity, an Internalized Feeling, and a Collective Consciousness
20-1: To what extent do people’s experiences with nationalism vary?
20-2 How have people in Canada responded to some factors that shape nationalism?

2. DEFINE: Collective Consciousness
What makes up a shared collective consciousness?

3. Collective Consciousness
A term coined by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) to refer to the shared beliefs and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society.
A group or nation may share a collective consciousness when its members collectively share similar values, beliefs, and internalized feelings based on their shared experiences
A collective consciousness can develop when the people of a nation focus on their identity as a group rather than on their identities as individuals
An awareness, or internal consciousness, shared by many people. It may be based on a shared memory of and pride in specific events, which become myths and symbols of belonging.

4. Explore the following experiences with nationalism [as an identity/internalized feeling/collective consciousness]
20-1: Chapter 4
French Revolution & Napoleonic era
Canadian nationalism
Quebecois nationalism
American nationalism
First Nations & Metis nationalism
Inuit perspectives
20-2: Chapter 2
French Revolution
Canadian nationalism
Quebecois nationalism
First Nations & Metis nationalism
Inuit perspectives

5. Exploring Canadian Identity
Is there a collective consciousness in a Canadian Context?

6. Activity: Canadian Identity
Your group (2-3 people) has been selected as junior ambassadors for Canada. You will be leaving on a two week trip to a foreign country, where very little English is spoken. Your job is to teach people a little about Canada and our unique culture. Since this is a brief trip, you have limited space to bring items for your demonstration
With your group, using poster paper, visually represent 5 items you would take along to help explain about Canadian culture
Be prepared to present to class in 15 minutes, and explain WHY you selected these items
Think about…what kind of impressions of Canada do you want to leave? Are there stereotypes you wish to dispel?

7. Debrief What items did groups have similar? Different?
Do all citizens in Canada share the same understanding of what Canada is?
Do we all share the same sense of what it means to be Canadian?
What sense of nationalism is tied to these ideas?

8. Did you know?
2006 Canadian Census, 91.6% of the nation’s population responded “Canadian” when asked to describe their ethnic origin
Their depiction of themselves in this way suggests that they see themselves as belonging to a nation, a nation that is distinctively different from the 196 other possible choices listed
It would not be reasonable to propose that people who describe themselves as Canadian possess a collective consciousness

9. Canadians and their Myths
#Social 20-2
One myth that is part of the collective consciousness on many Canadians is the story of building the Canadian Pacific Railway.
John A. Macdonald, Canada’s 1st prime minister, dreamed of an iron road that would link the country of Canada from coast to coast, the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

10. Railway & Canadian National Identity
#Social 20-2
The builders of the CPR faced many challenges; mosquito-infested swamps, Western plains, mountain ranges.
Completed in 4 years and 6 months by French, English, Scottish, Irish, Italian, Slavic, Swedish, American, Chinese and Canadian workers.
When they completed this great project, they felt as though they had proved something- Canadians could overcome huge obstacles!
This view helped to make the CPR a national symbol!

11. Challenges to Canadian Myths
#Social 20-2
Early 1900’s, people of British heritage made up the dominant cultural groups in Canada. British culture, traditions, and language was dominant.
Francophone Canadians (French) and Aboriginal peoples began to tell their stories and histories. As they affirmed their identities they challenged the idea that Canada was British.
They also challenged some of the creation of Canada myths.

12. Exploring Canadian Perspectives
Is there a range of collective consciousness among people in Canada?

13. Diverse Understandings
Within Canada, there are diverse understandings of the meaning of nation
Historically, the collective consciousness of the Quebecois in Canada has developed since the first French settlements in Canada
Also, the FNMI people also hold alternative understandings of nation based on unique languages and cultures that predate European arrival

14. Activity: Quebecois Nationalism
Working individually, create a FLOWCHART that traces the evolution of Quebecois nationalism.
How did it contribute to nationalism?
QB Nationalism
How did it contribute to nationalism?
Event 1
Event 2

15. Québécois Nationalism
Canadien or Canadien-français
Up until the last few decades of the 20th century, Quebec’s economy was largely in the hands of the _____ population of the province
In order to provide employment, what did the province encourage?
Who was dominating Quebec’s businesses? What did this result in?
Maître chez nous – Masters of our own house
Jean Lesage, la Révolution tranquille, the Quiet Revolution
What were some of the reforms?
What types of reforms were they?

16. Québécois Nationalism (cont’d)
How did the reforms of the Quiet Revolution shift feelings of nationalism?
The Québécois became distinct from other Francophones
Social, economic, political changes
Formulation of political movements and parties
October Crisis (War Measures Act)

17. Québécois Nationalism (cont’d)
People felt that what followed Pearson’s Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism was not enough to realize their ideal of Québec as a nation for the Québécois.
How did the political reforms of the Quiet Revolution and the extreme actions and resulting isolation of some Francophones from the October Crisis encourage a Québécois nationalism focused on the preservation of the French language and Québécois culture in Canada?

18. Québécois Nationalism (cont’d)
Quebec wouldn’t ratify the 1982 Constitution
Meech Lake Accord (1987)
What feelings did this evoke amongst the Canadiens?
Charlottetown Accord (1992)
Parti Québécois and Bloc Québécois
1995 referendum results?
In what ways did a sense of collective identity among Québécois contribute to efforts to create a sovereign nation-state?
Overview of Québécois Nationalism:

19. Activity: FNMI Nationalism
Example
Create a MIND MAP that shows sources of FNMI nationalism
FNMI Nationalism
Example
Example

20. FNMI Nationalism
“We the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas understand all too well that our survival and future is linked to the maintenance of our separate and distinct identity, and to the free exercise of our inherent self determination within our territories.” –Ovide Mercredi
Analyze Mercredi’s choice of words in the quote above. How does he express who First Nations peoples are?

21. Exploring American Identity
#Social 20-1
Exploring American Identity
Do Americans share a collective consciousness?

22. American Identity: What do Americans share that makes them feel American?
#Social 20-1
American Revolution ( )
American feelings of nationalism and belonging grew until fighting for independence broke out
The Declaration of Independence
United States Constitution
Civil War ( )
War between North (Union) and South (Confederate) was brutal and deadly, however in the end created a sense of unity between states

23. #Social 20-1
Civil War ( )

24. American Identity (cont’d)
#Social 20-1
Civil War ( )
Union states vs Confederation states
Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
Proclaimed the freedom of all slaves and made ending slavery in the South a focus of the war
Is the Civil War a symbol of American nationalism for both the people of the North and of the South? Does this shared history unite Americans as a nation or divide them?
Unresolved social, political, economic, and racial tensions still exist today

25. American Identity: Myth and Ethos
#Social 20-1
The American Dream
America as the land of plenty, opportunity and destiny
Freedom to achieve your goals through hard work
Why might the idea of the American Dream be used in expressions of American nationalism? Is it a shared experience for many newcomers? Why or why not?
What factors affect the American Dream? Does the myth of the American Dream change?
The Melting Pot
Assimilate to dominant culture
Defenders of Democracy
Why do Americans view themselves as defenders of democracy? Do others view America as defenders of democracy?

26. Review Questions 20-1: Chapters 4 20-2 Chapter 2 Taking Turns p. 59
Pause and Reflect p. 84
Pause and Reflect #3 p. 87
Respond to Ideas #1-2 p. 95
20-2 Chapter 2
Taking Turns p. 59
Think...Participate...Research...Communicate #3 p. 60
- Explain how historical, geographic, political, economic and social factors shape the development of nationalism during the French Revolution.