Past Perfect: The Politically Incorrect in Cartoons!

Take advantage of the cartoons available on the McCord Museum’s Web site  

For secondary cycle two history classes, the McCord Museum offers new Web resources and lesson plans based on old editorial cartoons, in a collection entitled Past Perfect: The Politically Incorrect in Cartoons!

The McCord Museum’s collection contains more than 20,000 Canadian editorial cartoons published from the 19th century to the present.  Printed mostly in the editorial pages of newspapers, these cartoons cover sociopolitical events of interest to the public. Because they are not concerned about stepping on toes, editorial cartoons promote critical awareness of past and present realities.   They are especially good at analyzing events, controversies, and the various participants’ points of view. With «  Past Perfect: The Politically Incorrect in Cartoons! the McCord Museum presents its first collection of learning objects based on these news drawings.

Addressing the formation of the Canadian federation, these cartoon Web resources comprise five thematic tours (or movie clips) and some forty documented caricatures.   You can find these resources at: www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours by choosing “Cartoons.”

To make the most of these resources in class, five lesson plans have been created. These lesson plans use various pedagogical strategies and target several skills and techniques specified by the Quebec Education program. You can find these scenarios at: www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/eduweb choose “ Web Activities, ” and check out activities #34 to #38.

Here is a brief overview of these lesson plans:

1. To start: Initiation to Interpreting Editorial Cartoons

2. To examine the stakes involved in the formation of the Canadian federation, with the help of the characters Miss Canada and Johnny Canuck:

The Formation of the Canadian Federation: Territorial, Political and Social Challenges

3. To reflect on the beginnings of industrialization and globalization today:

The Formation of the Canadian Federation: Industrialization and Economic Policies

4. To look at urban development, with old illustrations and funny cartoons:

The Formation of Canadian Federation: Montreal, the Metropolis

5. To debate on the role of the media and the public opinion in a democratic society , during the Pacific Scandal (of the 1870s) and the sponsorship scandal (of recent years):

These resources have been created through collaboration between the McCord Museum and its school partners, including the Collège de Montréal, the Service national du RÉCIT, domaine de l’univers social, the Commission scolaire de la Pointe-de-l’Île, and the polyvalente C. Armand-Racicot, and with the financial support of the Department of Canadian Heritage (AGORA program, 2007.)

Enjoy your exploration!

P.S. The McCord Museum still offers teachers free assistance and training with Web resources. Simply let us know your needs!
 

Marie-Claude Larouche, Ph.D.
Coordinator, EduWeb, On-line Educational Program
www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/eduweb
marie-claude.larouche@mccord.mcgill.ca