This unit is guided by the following inquiry question:
What is the historic and present significance of British Columbia’s fish canning industry?
To answer this question, there are many more questions that we need to investigate:
- What role did British Columbia’s fish processing industry have in historic and ongoing colonialism?
- What were the working conditions of the canneries?
- In what ways were British Columbia’s fish processing industry a gendered industry and racialized industry?
- What was the relationship between British Columbia’s fish processing industry and economic, social, and environmental policies? Where can we see the consequences on the economy, society, and the environment today?
- What was the relationship between the British Columbia’s fish processing industry and the labour movement?
- How did technological changes or mechanization influence the industry in terms of the work force, efficiency, and working conditions? What were the positive and negative impacts of mechanization? (cannery owner, cannery worker, environment, quality of product).
- How and why did the Canadian government favour capitalist enterprises over traditional Indigenous fishing practices? (Indian Act, Fisheries Act, distribution of fishing licenses).
- How did the industry influence the development of communities along the B.C. coast?
Assignment Description
For this assignment, each student will need to answer two of the above questions.
Each student will send me an email with their top 5 questions. I will assign one topic based on your interest, and a second question will be assigned by random selection.
You will need to present your learning in a format of your choice. Some formats that you could choose include:
- an essay (around 2 pages per question, double-spaced)
- a blog post
- a video
- a powerpoint presentation
- a song (with “liner notes”)
- a podcast (or other type of audio recording
If you have any other ideas, run them by me for approval.
Presentation
After you have submitted your assignment, you will share what you have learned with the class. To do this, you will be organized into small groups with a couple of classmates who have answered one of the same questions as you. You will combine your independent learning into a group presentation to share with the class. Each presentation should take 5-7 minutes. The presentations can utilize slides, props, or be pre-recorded.
The important part of this presentation is that you are able to work together to share your learning with your classmates.
To read about learning aims & assessment, click here.