Teaching “en franglais”

In May 1925, historian George M. Wrong addressed the Canadian Historical Association on “The Two Races in Canada.” In his address, Wrong implored historians to take a greater interest in each other’s language, culture and history. He hoped that Francophone scholars might one day “discover romance” in Ontario’s folk history, and that Anglophone scholars would help “English-speaking people to understand the outlook of the French race occupying the valley of the St. Lawrence.” Wrong’s message reflected a broader concern among intellectuals about national unity in the wake the Conscription Crisis (1917-1918) and the fight for French-language education outside Quebec. They believed that scholars and academics had a crucial role to play in helping encourage cross-cultural interaction and understanding among the public.My research of this movement has brought about some reflection on my own recent engagement with the French-language teaching of history in Canada. Moreover, the current issue of the Bulletin contains a number of fascinating articles that touch on pedagogy and on the plight of the sessional professor, and I thought that I might share some of my own experiences