Enemy+Aliens

Usha's comments in Blue.

Your name: Jodie Walsh

===**Initial Reading and Assessment of Textbook Treatment of the Topic** ===


 * __Name of Gr. 10 Textbook examined:__**

The Ministry approved textbook I am using to examine the treatment of “enemy aliens” during the Great War is, “Canadian History: 1900-2000” by Ian M. Hundey and Michael L. Magarrey.

N**__ame of more "scholarly" source examined:__**

The scholarly article I am using for further insight, and for comparative purposes with the Ministry approved textbook in its handling of the topic of enemy aliens is, “Enemies Within Our Gates: Brandon’s Alien Detention Centre During the Great War”, by George Buri.


 * __Your Initial Thoughts:__**

Although the Ministry textbook did acknowledge the major events from the onset of the Great War, and the impact on Canadian immigrants whose place of origin was an enemy country – in terms of both the official government policy and social hysteria of the time – there is indeed much left unsaid. I find it critical to this study of history to discuss the socio-political context out of which the notion of the ‘enemy alien’ spurred; the approved textbook failed considerably to ground its conversation within the larger context of the time. The internment of Canadian immigrants from enemy countries during the Great War cannot be explained without an understanding of the sense of ‘superiority’ of the middle-class Anglo-Protestant vision in terms of a Canadian identity, and the resulting widespread racism, which set the stage for internment. Second, the textbook did not invite any type of a critique of the government’s official motive to “protect” Canada and Canadians from the “threat” posed by this group of citizens, when many other motivating factors were very obviously at play in the government’s decision making process for internment. For example, the very real problem of unemployment and poverty (and internment as a solution) during the Great War particularly among this immigrant group, which is inextricably connected to ethnicity in the 19th and early 20th centuries, was not mentioned. Without this context in place, there is no opportunity to discuss that such racism did not originate with the Great War, nor did it stem from the fear that immigrants represented a military threat. What the war did, however, was enhance a pre-existing culture of racism associated with British Imperialism. Finally, unlike the other sources I perused, the Ministry textbook did not attempt to offer an alternate voice – although military secrecy and lack of personal testimony make it difficult to offer the perspective of the interned citizen, some facts about life inside the camps can be discerned from the limited primary testimonies that do exist, and this voice was not offered.


 * __Critical Challenge: (critique the piece)__**

Was the government’s policy of internment of those Canadian immigrants from Germany and Austria-Hungary justified? Beautiful. This is a very well-framed critical challenge - clearly a critique the piece. Students could certainly argue both sides. The only issue will be the second part of the question. If RCMP records, for example, state that there was no real threat (as is the evidence regarding Japanese internment during WWII), it might be hard to argue that the official justification holds true. However, if you just remove that part of the question, there may be other justifications that students can work with.


 * __Lesson Design – Initial Planning Stages__**

Grade 10 Academic History - Unit 1: 1914-1929 – Enemy Aliens

__I Identify Key Learning / “Big Idea” / Learning Target:__

The lesson is designed to enable students to understand that Canada’s internment of “enemy aliens” during WWI did not result from a singular cause - simply from a real or imagined fear of threat as officially stated - but from a multitude of factors. well said - nicely framed key learning.

__II Critical Challenge__:

Was the government’s policy of internment of those Canadian immigrants from Germany and Austria-Hungary justified?

__III Skills Built from Lesson to Assist with Summative Assessment Task:__

To accompany the secondary sources provided for the students, this lesson will invite students to view various forms of primary sources (e.g., propaganda, photographs, personal accounts etc.) offering perspectives on the “enemy” at home during the Great War. Students will debrief with the teacher, and establish criteria for what makes a powerful visual. good tie in to summative assessment

__IV Dimension of Historical Thinking__: The Moral Dimension: Students will be invited to assess the ethical appropriateness of internement in light of our present values, and with a consideration of the norms and conditions operating during the 1900s, and particularly in the context of the Great War. yes - clearly related to your challenge


 * __Intellectual Tools__**

__I Background Knowledge:__

· __Specific Expectations:__ Students will:
 * Explain how and why the Canadian government restricted certain rights and freedoms in wartime, and describe the impact, both short- and long-term, of these restrictions on the general population and on various groups within Canada
 * Distinguish between primary and secondary sources of information, and use both in historical research
 * Organize and record information gathered through research
 * Identify different viewpoints when interpreting information for research or when participating in a discussion
 * Draw conclusions and make reasoned generalizations or appropriate predictions on the basis of relevant and sufficient supporting evidence
 * Express ideas, arguments, and conclusions, as appropriate for the audience and purpose, using a variety of styles and forms (e.g., reports, debates, group presentations)

· __Content /Skills:__ Students will:
 * understand the causes and major players of the Great War
 * be aware of prevailing Canadian ideologies of the time: the notion of "Canadian" as Anglo-Protestant, middle-class...
 * understand the War Measures Act, and how this dramatically changed to role of Government
 * have a general understanding of internment, and specifically who this policy affected and the governments claim as to why it was implemented
 * know the difference between primary and secondary sources
 * understand the criteria for a sound, or justified government policy
 * be able to examine a variety of perspectives, find evidence, and make inferences about the variety of causes for internment
 * be able familiar with assessing the ethical appropriateness of a topic, in light of our present values, and with a consideration of the norms and conditions operating during the time-period of study
 * be able to manage impulsivity and conduct and share their critical judgement with a sense of emaphy

__II Criteria for Judgment__:

A justified policy is one that:

- takes into consideration the government's responsibility for the safety of all citizens (i.e. War Measures Act) - is derived from necessity (i.e Reasonable evidence of threat to National Security) - upholds human civil rights and freedoms - has both short- and long-term positive impacts for society Excellent! Well-articulated criteria.

__Habit of Mind:__

Student will focus on managing impulsivity, and will consider alternatives and consequences of several possible actions /perspectives prior to making a judgment.

__Thinking Strategy__:

Students will use a chart to record the evidence gathered from various primary and secondary sources: This is a great chart. You might want to add one column that asks students to assess the argument offered (is that what the 2nd column is - i.e. argument rather than perspective? - not sure). What do you think? (Why did the Government Create a Policy of Internment?) || __Direct Evidence of this Perspective from Source__ || __Criteria__ || of anti-enemy resentment. As well, rumours and fears about sabotage of the war effort increased hostility toward these enemy aliens" "About 3000 of the internees were reservists in the German or Austro-Hungarian army and were technically classified prisoners of war" || -Government's responsibility for the safety of all Citizens ||
 * || __Perspective Offered:__
 * Textbook || Threat to National Security and citizen safety || "...many [enemy aliens] became targets
 * Secondary Source || German- and Austria-Hungarian-Canadians posed a problem of unemployment for government. Unemployed because of racist ideology among citizens which priviledged Anglo-protistant Canadians. Internment as a solution to this problem. || (quote) (statistics) || - No reasonable evidence of threat

- Negative short- and long-term impact: perpetuate racism and discrimination ||
 * Propaganda Poster || Stereotyping and fear mongering || R.A.F.T.S.; considerations of emotional context, aesthetic qualities etc. || - ||
 * Personal Narrative || Racism ||  || -Does not uphold human rights and freedoms ||

__Critical Thinking Vocabulary:__

It is crucial for students to understand history as interpretation. To successfully address this critical challenge, students will need to make personal interpretations based on the evidence in a variety of sources.