HISTORY 348F: Essays

University of Toronto: Department of History

Students will have to be resourceful and imaginative in getting information. They should familiarise themselves with indices to periodical literature, remember to consult the Old Catalogue, and not overlook the public library. Since you must have material before you can write an essay the bibliography has been arranged in the form of a skeleton for essays. Needless to say, you should go beyond what is listed there. For students who know Portuguese and/or French the situation is obviously better. A list of suggested topics follows.

A second type of essay will be accepted in this course. That is one which explores, from an historical viewpoint, some aspect of the Portuguese presence in Canada. See the photo essay by Manuela Marujo in Higgs, Migration. If you can speak Portuguese it might be possible to do an essay using interview techniques on a subject like the following:

Staying or Returning: Current Trends.
Religion and the Portuguese Identity in Canada, 1950-1970.
The history of a regional or recreational association.
Attitudes to the cultural heritage among Luso-Canadians of the first and of the second generation, from the earliest arrivals to 1974.
A family history.

All students should prepare an outline and bibliography after consultation with the instructor before writing the finished version of the essay.


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