UM teacher publishes Canadian history textbook

ORONO – Scott See, a professor of history at the University of Maine, has written a textbook, “The History of Canada,” published by Greenwood Publishing Group.

The book is part of Greenwood’s History of Modern Nations series, comprising 35 volumes. In the last year, histories of Argentina, China, France, Iran, Ireland and Turkey have been published.

See has been teaching American students Canadian history for nearly 20 years.

Most American students don’t study Canadian history before entering higher education; even then, most Canadian history textbooks are written by Canadians for Canadians.

See’s book addresses the needs of non-Canadians by providing background information about the country’s history, geography, political system and culture, but also is comprehensive enough to appeal to a Canadian audience.

“The book makes no assumptions that you know a lot about the country when you pick it up,” See said. “Greenwood Publishing’s intention was that interested readers could pick the book up and get a sense of the country’s present and past. We are hoping the book will have a broad appeal, not just in the classroom, but also to inform other interested readers.”

The book offers an account of Canadian history from the earliest contact of native peoples and the Europeans to contemporary issues of regional, cultural and ethnic diversity, and Canada’s participation in world affairs.

It includes short biographies of notable people in Canadian history, a list of the prime ministers of Canada, a timeline of events, and a bibliographic essay of recommended books and Web sites.

“The book provides exactly what Americans need to know about Canada,” said William TeBrake, chairman of the University of Maine department of history. “It brings the reader up to date with the latest research and is written in a very accessible manner. It’s probably the only book that exists, as such: a brief history of modern Canada that is accessible to American students and the general public.”

Greenwood Publishing approached See in 1999 with the request to write the book. According to Greenwood Publishing senior editor Kevin Ohe, two scholars who serve as series editors recommended See.

Ohe said the book informs readers about a country in which Americans are taking an increased interest.

“Americans don’t know as much about Canada as we should, but we are starting to realize that we need to know more about our neighbors,” Ohe said. “Professor See has brought out what is truly essential for American readers to know and has made it understandable for high school students, for patrons of public libraries and for university undergraduate students.”

See has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on Canadian, American and Canadian-American topics at UMaine since 1997. Before coming to UMaine, See was on the faculty at the University of Vermont for 12 years. At Vermont, he received the university’s Kroepsch-Maurice Award for Teaching and served as acting director of the Canadian Studies Program.

See’s research interests include social and political conflict in Canada and the history of the borderlands region of New England, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

TeBrake said the history department values See’s contributions in comparative and cross-border Canadian and American history.

“His strengths include a focus on cross-border relations, especially with the Atlantic Provinces. He’s not just a Canadianist,” TeBrake said.

See is working on a book, “Ethnicity and Collective Violence in 19th-Century Canada.” The book will focus on collective disturbances in the British North American colonies from the 1820s to the early 1860s.

He has received a Senior Research Fellowship from the Canadian Embassy and will take a sabbatical next year to write the manuscript.

During 1995-1996, See was a Fulbright Research Fellow at the National Archives and National Library of Canada in Ottawa. He is on the board of Acadiensis, the historical journal of Atlantic Canada, and served four years on the executive council of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States.

See received a doctorate from UMaine in 1984. A New Jersey native who attended Muskingum College in Ohio as an undergraduate, See said he came to UMaine as a student because of its reputation as a leader in Canadian-American studies.

“There is a very strong program here at UMaine in Canadian and American history. UMaine professors Alice Stewart and Robert Babcock were instrumental in kindling my interest in Canada when I was a graduate student here. It’s been rewarding to return and teach in the program,” he said.

UMaine’s graduate program in Canadian history is one of only a handful of such programs in the United States. The program is closely associated with UMaine’s Canadian-American Center, which is regarded as one of the leading institutes for the study of Canada in the United States.

The Canadian-American Center coordinates an extensive program of undergraduate and graduate education, helps support a major research library on Canada; promotes cross-border research in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and professions; and directs outreach programs to state, regional and national audiences.

UMaine’s Fogler Library has been designated as an official depository for both the United States and Canada, housing nearly 2 million U.S. and Canadian federal government publications. The library’s Canadian collection contains more than 27,000 bound monographs, 266 journals, 200,000 rolls of microfilm, 43 newspaper titles, 4,000 maps and atlases and 150,000 federal and provincial government documents.