History Department

Home to MUN, Churchill Park is one of the first modern suburban developments in North America. Designed as a social housing project to address the needs of the skilled working class during the World War II, Churchill Park is now one of the most affluent communities in the province. Its history encapsulates much of the recent history of not just Newfoundland, but urban life in North America.

This course is structured around five basic questions about how the neighbourhood has changed. Each question relies on a differing source for its answer. Using the insurance atlases, we see what has survived of the original plan and where. With city directories, we explore how the local availability of goods and services has changed. Census returns chronicle how family changed. Newspaper reports show how the importance of home, school and church has changed. Finally, municipal tax rolls reveal how and when the affordability of Churchill Park changed.

Everyone will complete short bi-weekly assignments about each source, either a reflection on the readings or a practical exercise with the source. Over the term, students will be working in groups each answering one of the above questions, first through an in-class presentation and then by developing collectively an illustrated 3000 word blog.

There is no textbook, as all readings are available online through our D2L shell, nor is there a final exam.  

The course is being offered in Slot 17, Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-10:15. If you have any questions please contact Robert Sweeny at rsweeny@mun.ca.