Teaching

The University of Waterloo

 Consumerism and YOU!
New Thoughts on Economic History
Fall 2023

Coming this Fall!

For some odd reason, whenever I create a new course, a large component drifts towards economic history even though that's not my background. Maybe I have too many friends in business? The more I researched 20th Century culture and politics, the more elements of consumeristic expansion I discovered. Fortunately, I was able to combine my natural interest in economic history with my joy of working with the Arts First faculty to create Consumerism and YOU!: New Thoughts on Economic History!

Where does your money go? What does it mean, and more importantly, what does it represent? Every time you buy (or don’t buy) something, you are exercising substantial influence barely comprehensible a century ago. Humanity has made incredible progress in the last 300 years, yet the biggest social leap forward may have been the market economy. As Gordon Gecko famously said in 1988:

 “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good”.

The modern connotation of consumerism is a societal blight plaguing the masses, but have you ever considered why? What is it about something as simple, and inherently human, as the free exchange of goods and services that evokes contempt? Why has the art of marketing taken on sinister manipulative implications? Modern life is shaped by consumption, yet we understand so few of its most basic principles: Money? Interest? Capital? Socialism? Supply and demand? Macroeconomics? Keynesian economics? Together we will review the consumer revolution and the beginnings of modernity, the expansion of consumption, modern-day consumerism in the media, and how citizenship is reconstructed in the image of the consumer. Each helping us better understand how to navigate our daily lives.

Rather than mindless consumption, we consider if consumerism has served as the great equalizer throughout history. The Industrial Revolution and the birth of the middle class, the democratization of property and sanctity of the family unit, the rise of department stores and women’s suffrage, disposable income and the creation of the teenager, the music industry and civil rights, blue jeans and the end of the Cold War, online shopping and the growth of the internet. These represent only a fraction of progressive achievements facilitated by consumerism.

This course will bring a critical eye to consumerism as the contemporary communicator of class, race, and gender identities and analyze the relationship between consumption and democratic freedom.

Forgive the obvious, but this course was a MAGICAL experience! They say "teach what you love" so it's either theme parks or the history of timekeeping (not a bad idea actually...). I was able to turn a mild obsession with Disney Parks and Walt Disney into a unique and engaging course as it quickly becomes obvious that the study of Disney history is the study of US history. What began as two sections in the Fall was brought back for two more section in the Winter due to popular demand. Then the attendance of students not enrolled in the course sitting in out of sincere interest gives me hope it can come back again in 2024.

Created around a deep dive into American mid-Century culture, American exceptionalism, and Cold War history, juxtaposing the intersections of Presidential history at the Parks (from Nixon’s “I am not a crook!” speech, to Walt Disney refusing entry to Nikita Khrushchev, to Reagan’s “Evil Empire” address, etc.) with world events.

From Frontierland to Tomorrowland, Disney Imagineers have mastered three-dimensional art, telling detailed stories without a word. Meticulously crafted to reflect histories that perhaps never existed, and futures that may never come to pass. Simultaneously generating feelings of nostalgia and cross-cultural expressions of progress in science, psychology, happiness, and environmentalism, as well as shared visions of global citizenship.

 

Students will survey the modes of nonverbal communication utilized by Disney Imagineers to investigate these silently communicated historical and cultural constructs, while also considering the validity of postmodern critiques of the “Disneyfication” of history, as well the significant impact different corporate leaders have had (positive and negative) on guest experiences.

 

Non-verbal Imagineering provides an ideal prism through which we can examine broader social issues. Students will debate whether these landscapes wordlessly promote themes of colonization in Adventureland, or gender constructs in Fantasyland. As well as the premises Carrousel of Progress imparts within its idealized depictions of both the past and the future, or human achievement in Spaceship Earth and ethnicity in World Showcase. While also contemplating how changes in these lands over the decades reflects our evolving understandings of gender, race, class, and globalization.

 To celebrate my best year yet as an instructor, I went to Orlando for the 137th time. If any students ask, it was a "research trip"

It started innocently enough: "fill in for Dr. Roy on History and Film, she made it about end of the World films, but you can tweak it". Tweak it I did, and oh boy, I'm still smiling thinking about this course. Luckily the students enjoyed it as much as I did (some of them are STILL emailing me), and I'll get to bring it back in 2024!

As a long time movie fan I was able to bring in some of my favourite genres from Sci-Fi to Cyberpunk, to create some great, engaging, and informative lectures (if I do say so myself). As a night class with a weekly film screening after lectures, it was a fantastic mix of academics and entertainment that I can't wait to evolve even further.

Based on one student's evaluation, I think I'm getting the hang of my efforts to blend "simple" popular culture with important global History: 

Wilfrid Laurier University

This course, this was something special. What started as a new course I had no professional background with became a real Dead Poets Society type of experience (don't worry, no desk standing). I absolutely pride myself on my student evaluations, and while they're consistently great, this was the first time they were unanimous. There wasn't a single negative comment, with the majority of feedback exclaiming that this was the best course they ever had, and wish they could take again. Must be something about night classes that facilitates a relaxed and inviting academic environment. They even dubbed me Doc Rock! 

Taking inspiration from Dr. Hunt's legendary Rock n' Roll course at UW, I set up my lectures as "jam sessions": free wheeling, interactive seminars that flowed between lecture content, music listening, and student discussions and I'm pretty sure it worked as my average course metric was 6.7 (it was out of 7, not 10!). Sure, I love American 20th Century pop culture, and I love Rock n' Roll, but even I was surprised at how well everything came together. I started the course way back with African rhythms, took them across the Atlantic with sea shanties, and followed the musical/cultural progression from the American South to modern day. The best parts were the many deep-dives into American culture, economics, and race relations through the decades. 

Keep on rockin' in the free world HI347k, you were a great audience!

Not just 4 months of coffee and donut jokes, eh!

When I first saw the call for applications about a course on "untold" Canadian history, I knew I had to apply. My natural inclination is to constantly detour from the usual history on any topic, and venture off into the weird and unbeaten paths. Fortunately it worked out perfectly for myself and the students (based on their tremendous feedback!).  Through readings, discussions, and lectures we were able to get to the very core of Canadian identity, how it was created, why it was created, how it dictates our self identity to this day. From Eh to Zed, our predilection for arson to our official national cocktail, we covered it all in HI112, and learned more about ourselves along the way:


This course takes thematic and problems-based approaches to uncover untold histories that seek to challenge popular historical narratives about Canada. Topics may include the resettlement of Indigenous lands and colonialism as the foundation of the Canadian state; the impact of industrialization on ordinary Canadians; immigration and the roots of systemic racism; the impacts of the World Wars; youth culture in the 1950s-70s; Americanization; and hockey during the Cold War. HI112 will also expose students to the ways in which historians construct arguments, use evidence, and interpret and represent multiple perspectives on the past. We’ve heard them all before: Banting’s remedy, Henderson’s goal, Secord’s chocolates warning. But Canada is a land of unimaginable space, and what happens if we go off the well-beaten paths of Canadian history and into the unexplored trails of untold stories? Lesser-known tales of Canada’s past that can dismay, inspire, or occasionally, confuse. This is the route we will be taking in HI112: Untold Histories in Modern Canadian History and I am thrilled to be your guide. Before you go, I hope this course gives you the opportunity to hear from underrepresented voices in Canadian history and encourages you to think for yourselves whether Canadian history is as good as the orthodox historians say, as bad as the revisionists say, or somewhere in the middle. This course will help you understand the choices and actions of historical figures, the role of the historian in modern times, and how to confidently read History for your journey of lifelong learning.

Contemporary Europe: 1945-2000
Winter 2022

What an amazing first experience I had with the students and faculty of Wilfrid Laurier University! 

Though I had some history (pardon the joke) with Wilfrid Laurier University through my two terms as Tri-University President, I was unsure what to expect when delivering my first course. All worries were quickly subdued as the students and faculty were incredibly supportive and engaged, helping my first WLU course to be a tremendous success, and a new course of which I am particularly proud. Along with the students (who provided tremendous positive evaluations on my lecture content and delivery), I thank Dr. David Smith and Heather Vogel for their help and making me feel right at home in WLU.

Students were particularly appreciative of the course content, as I avoided "name-and-date" history to develop a broad base of understanding for them which focused on alternative critical themes throughout European History, principally economics and culture. In doing so, through their readings and assignments, students uncovered the many issues that shaped the region into what it is today. 

University of Waterloo (Continued)

 The Cold War Re:LIVEd
Fall, Winter 2021-2022

The Cold War Re:LIVEd is an exceptionally well-reviewed and uniquely innovative course I developed to teach the basics of the Cold War, communication skills, and methods of academic research to students from diverse backgrounds. The course is built upon interactive learning activities, experiential assignments, curated collections of Cold War media, and a three week historical roleplay set in 1983 to immerse students in the cultures, peoples, and tensions of the Cold War.

After I first delivered my course in 2021, I can say the course exceeded my own expectations and the feedback was tremendous! I must give a tremendous thank you to the students who put together the video message letting me know that it was their favourite course, ever! It was important to me that the students not only learned about the Cold War and critical research skills, but that they wanted to learn and enjoy doing so. Student interaction with my video lectures was phenomenal, and it was a great learning experience, teaching myself the basics of video editing to create the most engaging lectures possible.
Please check out the lecture introduction I created below!

I am particularly proud that my Billy Joel: Cold Warrior Assignment™ has been such a favourite among the students. One of the best compliments I received was "I liked how you tricked me into learning about the Cold War". Looking through the students' thoughts and dialogues in the weekly discussions was fantastic and especially rewarding, observing their reflections on the Cold War video clips. The roleplay was the highlight of course. The students responded with more sincerity and commitment than I ever imagined.

Now that I was able to teach the course in person, it has been even more rewarding to witness the interaction with my lectures and materials face to face with my students. I was concerned that reorienting the roleplay to in-person would be fret with problems, but the students embraced the challenge and truly delved into the historical characters they played. Many remarked that by acting out the history, they had gain an unequalled understanding of different cultures and beliefs.
Please feel free to read some student evaluations from the most recent semester:

From Gutenberg to Zuckerberg: A (Long) History of the Internet
Created by Prof. Ian Milligan
Fall 2021, Winter 2023

History of Film
Winter 2022, Fall 2022

History of Sport
Winter 2019

The Art and Craft of History
Winter 2017