Scrolling the latest headlines as a Canadian, it's tempting to buy into the view that we are living in a moment of unprecedented instability. Canada's closest alliance now feels under immense strain. The country's politicos have been flirting with extremes. The world outside has grown more violent.
Yet a popular Canadian history course at Dalhousie suggests this moment may not be as unprecedented as it feels. Many Canadas: Canada, 1930 to the present begins not at Confederation, but in the turbulent 1930s.
"The 1930s are an era defined by the 'politics of chaos,' as in, a time of uncertainty, precarity, and turmoil," says Dr. Kassandra Luciuk, an assistant professor of history who has taught the course for years.
