|
This piece is included as a sample of the genre. The hyperlinks included
below are no longer active and have been disconnected.
Canadian intellectual history is a difficult subject for most undergraduates.
In part, this is because they assume too much. They assume, for example,
that because they are Canadian themselves, they must therefore have a basic
grasp of the essential intellectual traditions.
Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work this way.
In fact, well-educated Canadians of today have very little
in common with their ancestors of just two generations ago. Today,
Canadian universities are bastions of liberal humanism -- as skeptical of
religion as they are of tradition. Canadian universities of the nineteenth
century, on the other hand, were the bulwarks of Christianity and tradition.
English- or French-speaking, Catholic or Protestant,
nineteenth-century students shared the common cultural experience of
beginning every day by attending church services. They then spent much of
the day translating passages of Latin and Ancient Greek and often ended
the day by attending another service. They had, in short, more in common
with each other, than they do with English- or French-speaking students today.
This why it can be so difficult for Canadian
undergraduate students of the twenty-first century to understand the
intellectual history of the nineteenth-century. For one thing,
few students today attend church services and fewer still have ever
read the Bible. For another, the vast majority of Canadian students
(including history students unfortunately) know nothing of the ancient
past. Therefore it is extremely difficult for them to even begin to
make contact with minds that spent one half of the day thinking about
God and the other half thinking about Cicero.
Fortunately, you have the tools at your fingertips
to begin overcoming such obstacles. The hard-working guides at About.com
have constructed a link library which is invaluable to you as an
Internet-savvy twenty-first century Canadian intellectual historian.
|
Regardless of the minds or ideas you are studying, you can
find the much of the historical context of those minds and ideas here on our
network. Below are a few lists of general internal links to get you started.
If you find what you are looking for ... good. We are happy to have been of
service. If not, ask a guide and we will do what we can to assist you.
Internal Links
It is nearly impossible to begin studying the nineteenth-century mind without understanding a few things about religion and theology and the various sects and their religious traditions. Here are some internal links that touch on issues of profound importance to nineteenth-century Canadians.
Christianity - Protestantism
Christianity - Catholicism
Christianity - General - Denominations
Christianity - General - Theology
Christianity - General - Church History
Christianity - General - The Bible
Religion & Violence (Part 1 of 3)
Religion & Violence (Part 2 of 3)
Religion & Violence (Part 3 of 3)
Philosophy
The single greatest intellectual controversy of the nineteenth century was the dawn of evolutionism. Quite simply, it engulfed the Western world of which Canada was but a small part. To understand the significance of this issue in Canada, it is important to grasp the significance of the issue in an international context. I hope these links help.
Christianity - General - Creationism vs Evolutionism
Agnosticism/Atheism - Evolution
Agnosticism/Atheism - Creationism
Geology - Evolution
Geology - Famous Earth Scientists
Geology - Extinction
Geology - Paleontology
Biology - Evolution
|
While the differences between English- and French-Canadians have traditionally been overdrawn in Canadian historiography, there is no doubt that differences did (and do) exist. About.com recognizes this and has responded by creating a distinct and separate site for French Canadian Culture. Fortunately, About.com guide Johanne Poulinot has created the best site of its kind on the Net today. Here is a small selection of valuable links to her work.
French Canadian Culture - History
French Canadian Culture - Myths, Legends & Folklore
French Canadian Culture - Acadia
French Canadian Culture - Museums
The amount of time both English and French-speaking university students spent translating and studying the classical texts of ancient Greece and Rome should not be underestimated. Nor should the extent to which the ideas in these ancient texts shaped nineteenth-century intellectual life be underestimated.
Ancient - Classical History
Ancient/Classical History - Philosophers
Ancient/Classical History - Greek Literature
Ancient/Classical History - Rome
English Culture - History BC
© Brent Johner. Originally published on Canadian History
on About.com, September 2000. Reprint rights available.
|
