HIST 124 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Michel Foucault, Jeremy Bentham, Canadian Nationalism
21 Sep 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
History 124-Midterm Exam Review
Current Canada:
• Our LIBERAL CAPITALIST DEMOCRACY –society and economy shapes our views as Canadians.
Harper lied and said we are the number 1 settler per capita. However Canadians have
deported more than 10000 refugees
• Currently Canada has an Immigration Citizen Test- Where the rights of citizens as an induvial are
based on the knowledge of Canadian geography, history in legal system. Is this beneficial/
productive?
Liberalism Key Features- Freedom of religion, movement, language and self
➔ Individuals enjoy these features but, taken for granted on the daily
History of the Present → Michael Foucault said that our lives are not the start or end of some 'historical'
process, but a period that is a product of historical forces that can trace back its origins ex/ family tree.
Presentism- Thinking of things in the terms of the present. Think of the events in their own time.
Panopticon and Surveillance- Design for a prison produced by Jeremy Bentham which grouped cells
around a central viewing tower. Although it was never built Foucault uses this idea as a metaphor for
the operation of power and surveillance in contemporary society (good behaviour).
How did we get here? – “Where there is power, there is resistance”
But if power is always met with resistance, then nothing is really settled. Then our present is not
permeant, but rather subjectable to subtle change.
There is a tug of war between Canada as peace keeps and militarism
Peace Keeping
Militaristic
Lester B. Pearson (won Nobel
peace prize) & wrote Declaration
of human rights
War of 1812, WW2 that politically rebranded history to a war nation
Canada &Jews fleeing Nazis, w/ quote “None is too many”. We
don’t want that mentality again
Canada’s Land Facts
Earth 4.5 Bill yrs old → 200 Mill yrs Pangea broke apart by tectonic plate shift→ 66mill yrs dinosaurs extinct
Iroquois Origin Story→ Girl told boy to dig under big tree to see magic, she looks & falls. Bird saved her
& placed her on great’s turtle back
Geography played huge role, as Canada was unhospitable till 18000 BCE (ice age), not good for
farming, but good hunting w/no European competition, but Nova Scotia + PEI first Attracted Europeans
Appalachians- Atlantic / Gulf Area- Fertile w/ Rocky Mountains
Continental Shelf- submerged from icecap melting → home to lots of resources (fish, oil, natural gas)
Interior Plains- Layers of Sedimentary Rocks made great soil but had harsh winters
Ontario, Quebec-Hills cus ice age, Great lakes good 4 transportn &fertile soil resultd in big native groups
Artic- Innuits had no plants & soil cus permafrost ground. Europeans called artic as “barren wasteland”
Current Climate Change Intergovernmental Panel- found global warmin, deforestatn & rising sea levels
40% of Canadas Land Mass was Canadian Ice Shield
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Chapter 2 Natives-
Buffalo Jump- sophisticated way of herding them off cliffs
Natives were complex & intelligent ppl with great knowledge of natural world, mapping and medicine
ex/Andean temples were earthquake proof, roads were waterproof & better than Spanish roads
Natives had small groups that worked together BUT contact w/ Euros made their lives more dynamic
→they were never static , they followed food supplies, then farming introduced = better diets
The communities had social hierarchies, leisure time and governing systems, when size grew long
houses had 100 + ppl & had greater material wealth & better food, however inequality intensified
Thule- Alaskan tribe conquered north & took control of food on coasts → aggressive ppl
Aboriginal culture were rooted w/ physical and spiritual directed w/ mother earth. They were
disciplined + had laws, with chiefs as central govnt for life & relations.
Ex/ Cree communities gather in circles for talks, healing, prayers and treated each-others as equals
SPIRITUALITY WAS A NESSECITY- ex/ beaver tribe- vision quests show path to resources &animal migration
or Low game= creator was angry
Native cultures loved art – totem poles, textiles, costumes/ sun& thunder dancers & tattoos & piercings
Social Organizations-Tribes had hunting territories & came together 4 marriage partners, trade &
diplomacy/ ceremonial
Women outnumbered men- chiefs and shamans had many wives
EAST COAST: The Iroquois Confederacy around 1451- where 5 nations signed a treaty to that helped
settle blood feuds. Decisions achieved through representatives and consensus. It reflected respect for
diversity and a belief in the equality of people
WEST COAST: Rigid chief positon, hieratical.
Pot Latch- feast where individuals share wealth that reduced disparities and increased community.
Status was achieved by someone’s generosity @ potlach. (Ironically accumulatn of goods
encouraged competition). → Tribes did this to achieve diplomacy
SEXUALALITY- ppl discussed sex freely. Marriages can disband and kids were not beaten like euros
Open to homosexuality and transgender, also called two-spirited (has both male & female spirits)
Men- hunters & traders WOMEN HAD NEAR EQUAL STATUS TO MEN
Women- controlled food supply (some tribes restricted women, but most included them in decisions)
Female infanticide was common & male infanticide was common during famine
Economy- self-sufficient, extensive trade networks, followed migration,
Culture remained unchanged = Well Adjusted
Mi’kmaq- most affluent tribe while
Ojibwa- Large groups in permanent homes
Cree- Nomads
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Warfare btwn tribes caused by economics (boys trained w/ little weaponry, while torture &
enslavement common)
Ex/ Iroquois Mourning Wars- go and kidnap ppl who died prematurely
Katarokwi → Fort Cataraqui → Fort Frontenac → Kings Town → Kingston
• Slave Treatment varied from tribe to tribe
• In the 15c. Over 1 million native ppl in N.A
Natives controlled exports to Europeans, they had strong military power that could eliminate Euros, if
they wanted
Social Formations- Describes the makeup of economic, political & social = culture. Helps us identify
how a society functions and advances
Kin Ordered- Based on family, community &pacts, based on kin-networks (huge routes, not static)
Modern Liberal Capitalism
Kin Ordered
Goal: $ = Profit
Goal: Collective need driven/ group survival, no need for surplus
Ex/ Mikawa carried only what they needed 4 group survival
Modernist believe natives accumulated for wealth, but WAS ACTUALLY DISTRIBUTED TO KIN ex/potlatch
(LATER Europeans banned this trade)
Natives did not have official boundaries, partially b/cus of migration. (Did the lack of boundaries lead
to Europe domination?) We Generalize native cultures as there is so much diversity
Once a fix level of collective need achieved, the level was not individual native entrepreneurs, but the
collective need of group ex/ Hudson Bay’s Bear Pelts
(Spirituality + generation support or future, no need for surplus)
Leaders role was to represent kinship, not allowed to use force, they spoke for groups/ no authority
➔ Chief’s power comes from persuasion & eloquence (chiefs poor cus generous vs rich euros kings)
3 Exceptions:
1. Iroquois Confederacy- (loose hierarchy) - 5 nations signed a treaty to that helped settle blood feuds.
Decisions achieved through representatives, peace chiefs, consensus
2. Hydras- B.C. mark differences w/ hierarchies (chief > slave), nation states were used to have warfare
3. Iroquois Mourning Wars- acquisition of ppl (war victims illustrate how kinship is more than blood)
(did not genocide other cultures, they saw no need to wipe out other cultures)
Social- Nupeka 1792 “two spirited” → transgender cool, no ostracizing ppl cus kinship needed them
➔ Transgender important to culture as they were to have spiritual powers.
➔ Men move in with woman’s family & women arranged marriages and could be on councils
Euros called natives- noble savages, Natives thought “if Europe was so good why they leaved”
Many transactions and texts btwn the two should not have been taken absolute LOST IN TRANSLATION
IMPACT OF CONTACT- it was inevitable, but cultural dominance was not → contact not a single event
but an evolutionary process
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Current canada: our liberal capitalist democracy society and economy shapes our views as canadians. Harper lied and said we are the number 1 settler per capita. However canadians have deported more than 10000 refugees: currently canada has an immigration citizen test- where the rights of citizens as an induvial are based on the knowledge of canadian geography, history in legal system. Liberalism key features- freedom of religion, movement, language and self. Individuals enjoy these features but, taken for granted on the daily. Presentism- thinking of things in the terms of the present. Think of the events in their own time. Panopticon and surveillance- design for a prison produced by jeremy bentham which grouped cells around a central viewing tower. Although it was never built foucault uses this idea as a metaphor for the operation of power and surveillance in contemporary society (good behaviour). Where there is power, there is resistance .
