Central Concepts and Historical Knowledge

The following is a developing list of central concepts suggested by the QEP as necessary while covering content in this section of the program.

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Central Concepts

Conquest

"The act or process of conquering (i.e. To defeat or subdue by force, especially by force of arms."
Source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/conquest

"It is a general rule that where conquered countries have laws of their own, these laws remain in force after the conquest, until they are abrogated, unless they are contrary to our religion, or enact any malum in se. In all such cases the laws of the conquering country prevail…"
Source: http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c284.htm



Religion*

Wikipedia definition: " Religion is a word for the ideas about the basic structure of the world that people cannot see or know with our other senses, or that scientists cannot study with machines. There are many different religions in the world."

Religions takes many forms:  "buildings, works of art, street names, culinary and clothing practices, as well as values and beliefs promoted by persons and groups.religious."  (QEP ERC draft. p.29)

In Quebec the concept of religion is important.  The French colonists practiced their own religion (Catholicism for the most part) while the English (various Protestant denominations) brought conflicting values.




Power*

Power: Definition, Typology, Description, Examples, and Implications (PDF)
"Power is the ability to influence others to believe, behave, or to value as those in power desire
them to [...]
Power is the social force that allows select persons to mobilize others; to organize others to act in
concert; and to melt away resistance to leaders’ authority." 
The above quotes are from a collection of definitions and different types of power as tabulated by Dr. Ken Petress here.  His page was inspired by " The Bases of Social Power" by French and Raven.

Grade 7 - Unit Three Power from the Saskatchewan government site offers various activities helping students grasp different kinds of power relationships.


Issue*

"an important question that is in dispute and must be settled"  from Die.net definitions

"a matter that is in dispute between two or more parties" from Merriam-Webster definitions.



Society*

Wikipedia entry on Society.
"A society is a grouping of individuals which is characterized by common interests and may have distinctive culture and institutions." 



Territory*

"a governed geographic area: a geographic area that is owned and controlled by a government or country"  from MSN Encarta definitions.



Economy

Economic concepts: The Economy
"The term “economy” refers to the institutional structures, rules and arrangements by which people and society choose to employ scarce productive resources...." Excerpt from a longer definition on the Government of Canada economy page.  Includes notion that an economy functions to distribute resources among "various groups"  Several links about the Canadian economy as well.




Language

"Primarily there is a distinction between one language and another; usually it may be through country boundaries, population culture, demographics and history. Each country through combinations of blending cultures, environment and other factors has evolved their own unique style of a language."  from Language Definition at UniXL




Right*

Wikipedia entry for Right
"Most modern conceptions of rights are universalist and egalitarian — in other words, equal rights are granted to all people. There are two main modern conceptions of rights: on the one hand, the idea of natural rights holds that there is a certain list of rights enshrined in nature that cannot be legitimately modified by any human power. On the other hand, the idea of legal rights holds that rights are human constructs, created by society, enforced by governments and subject to change."

Bhutan: What is a Right?   This site suggest another definition that highlights the role of rights, as a way of allowing individuals and groups freedom to grow:   "A right protects individuals or groups from injustice; it allows individuals to grow to their full potential as a positive and active member of their society; it is a responsibility that each person or group has to others; and it is about respect of oneself and others. A right creates a moral and legal obligation that countries must fulfil."

On the other hand, this page on Rights from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics points to the notion that a right implies a claim on others, or on society or government:  "What is a right? A right is a justified claim on others. For example, if I have a right to freedom, then I have a justified claim to be left alone by others. Turned around, I can say that others have a duty or responsibility to leave me alone. If I have a right to an education, then I have a justified claim to be provided with an education by society."



Education*

Google definitions of education on the Web finds several usable definitions, including:
"knowledge acquired by learning and instruction" from Wordnet at Princeton, which one could contrasted with "[Education is the propagation of a set of beliefs, or Propaganda. We [only] call it "education" if we already believe in it, and "propaganda" if we don't. Beliefs are things known or believed to be true, as opposed to attitudes, which are evaluations of objects that we think about...." from this  page from Workingpsychology.com!

The Meaning of Education
A light yet thoughtful rant on different meanings for the term education, as it is used in different contexts.  Potentially useful for teachers and students interested in delving deeper into the concept of education itself.

Origins of Education in Canada (Canadian Encyclopedia)
"During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the family remained the unrivalled setting for education; few children in what was then British North America received formal instruction either from tutors or in schools. The pattern began to change during this period, however, as the British government looked to education as a way of promoting cultural identification with Protestantism, the English language and British customs."  That History of Education page also contains a youth edition.   Each contains more general information as well as links to various school systems, including English and Native schooling.

 

 

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HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE

RELATED TO THE OBJECT OF INTERPRETATION

A collection of summary texts useful for this section of the program content.  Most texts are derived from resources available in the main Empire links collection

This section is under construction and will eventually collect web resources on:

• Economic activities
• Effects of the American Revolution
• Internal administration of the colony
• Migration flows
• Organization and occupation of the territory
• Relations between the Canadiens and the British
• Relations with the Native peoples
• Social organization