History by the Minute - A Representative National History or a Common Sense of the Majority?

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by SANS

A comparative study examines U.S. and Canadian debates about what history curricula include, focusing on whose perspectives are represented. While the Heritage Minutes in Canada have drawn less public scrutiny than American curriculum disputes, the article uses emergent coding to evaluate whether this one-minute national history project reflects Canadian society. The findings suggest some over-representation of dominant cultural traits but also a meaningful multicultural view.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Literature Review

CANADIAN SOCIAL STUDIES VOLUME 41 NUMBER 1, Fall 2008 [www.quasar.ualberta.ca/css](www.quasar.ualberta.ca/css) History by the Minute: A Representative National History or a Common Sense of the Majority? Michael Barbour Mark Evans University of Georgia Return to Articles Abstract A number of times over the past century, there have been struggles in the United States over what is and is not included in the history curriculum. These struggles have primarily been over who is represented in the teaching of history. In Canada, however, this debate has not been as prevalent. For example, Historica’s Heritage Minutes is a national project that is designed to present Canadians with a common sense of national history and in the eight years since it was first introduced it has not received similar scrutiny. In this article, we use an emergent coding scheme to examine this project to investigate exactly whose history is being told and whether or not it is representative of Canadian society. We feel that while the Heritage Minutes are sometimes over representative of the dominant cultural traits in Canadian society, they do present a multicultural view of Canada. In the United States, there has been a debate that has been raging over the nature of what history is taught in the classroom. This debate is a longstanding one, which has tended to peak around progressive curriculums such as Harold Rugg’s Man and His Changing Society, Jerome Bruner's and Peter Dow’s Man: A Course ofStudy, and more recently the National History Standards Project. Much of this debate is focused upon what is included. Those on the traditional side feel that history should tell the story of the making of a great nation and those who played a role in its development. Those from the more progressive camps feel that this is too narrow a vision of history, and feel that its only serves to exclude those not in the dominant group in society. While there have been Canadian participants involved in this debate, such as Peter Seixas atthe University of British Columbia, and J.L Granatstein’s whose 1998 book Who Killed Canadian History claimed traditional history was disappearing from Canadian schools, there has not been as much general participation in this discussion in Canada by academics, teachers, politicians and the general public, as there has been in the United States. Could it be the fact that there has been little movement to establish national curriculum programs in the social studies? It is possible, although regional efforts such as the Western Canadian Protocol and Atlantic Provinces Education Foundation have not seen much debate around this issue. Could it be that Canada is simply more multicultural than the United States? Could it simply be that Canadians are more accepting of a multicultural history? Over the past seven years many Canadians have been introduced and educated about significant moments or individuals in Canadian History through sixty second commercials known as Heritage Minutes. These Heritage Minutes represent one of the longest standing, national project designed to increase Canadians awareness of its own history. According to Lawlor (1999), their purpose was “to impart upon Canadians a common set of historical images and meanings upon which Canadians could construct a sense of national identity”(p. ii) . In this article, we examine these Heritage Minutes based upon who is and is not included in these one minute history lessons to determine if they are reflective of a multicultural Canadian society. Literature Review The Heritage Minutes were first introduced to Canadians on March 31, 1991. They have been produced by the Charles R Bronfman Foundation, Canada Post, and Bell Canada; but are currently managed by the Historica Foundation of Canada through their History by the Minute project. There are available, free of charge, to Canadian networks and continued to be aired largely because federal regulators ruled

FAQs

What does the article analyze in Canada’s Heritage Minutes project?

It examines who is included and excluded in the Heritage Minutes’ one-minute history lessons to assess whether the content is representative of multicultural Canadian society.

How does the article relate Canadian debates to those in the United States?

It contrasts U.S. curriculum struggles over representation with the comparatively limited academic and public scrutiny in Canada regarding national history presentation.

When were the Heritage Minutes first introduced and by whom are they produced?

The article states they were first introduced to Canadians on March 31, 1991, produced by the Charles R. Bronfman Foundation, Canada Post, and Bell Canada, and currently managed through Historica’s History by the Minute project.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by SANS