Adam Pounder and Lori Buchanan

Havergal College, Toronto (Ontario)

Adam Pounder and Lori Buchanan help their students connect their family past to critical moments in Canadian history. Students start by selecting and interviewing a relative, searching through family photographs, and writing about their relative’s experiences. After identifying a related historical topic to research, students analyze scholarly sources, write an account detailing their findings, and select an artifact to complement their work. This allows them to compare their relative’s story with the “official” narrative that surfaces during their research. They explore the comparative values of each account, discuss whether their various differences can be reconciled, and, ultimately, learn to appreciate the necessity of multiple perspectives on the past. Often, students encounter tensions between personal histories and national narratives. They must then tackle questions such as: What is a nation? How was Canadian identity built? In answering such questions, students develop their own definition of nationhood and demonstrate whether or not Canada meets their criteria.