An interesting thought on modern history.
Like we said, the history of Canada is so dull. It’s all just murder, mayhem and massacres.
Fortunately, Canada’s academic historians and well-intentioned educators have picked up the ball. Who needs heroes and exiles and great campaigns for justice? Boooorr-ing! Why should Canadians know who their leaders were? Why should they be familiar with the key battles and major turning points? That’s so outdated.
Instead, we now have “social history.” Which of course isn’t really history at all. Regular history is about cause and effect. Social history is about endless details and accumulated minutiae. It isn’t so much history as it is “historical sociology.” Hint: If you see the words “working-class conditions” or “an examination of gender roles,” you are reading social history (i.e., sociology). And boy oh boy, kids today can’t get enough of it! “Forget John A. Macdonald and the conquest of a continent,” they cry. “We want to know more about the social conditions of eighteenth-century textile workers!”
Canadian history is no longer about “people” (as in, individuals). It is about “peoples.” Note the telltale use of the plural. Whenever you see the word “peoples” in a title, you know you are in for some excellent, rip-roaring, social-demographic, ethnically sensitive, gender-correct sociological studies! So, get yourself a blanket and a big ol’ pillow and settle yourself down for a nice long snooze.
–How To Be A Canadian by Will Ferguson and Ian Ferguson, page 18.