CANA 2280

Do African Nova Scotians constitute a distinct people? This course provides an historical survey of the Black population in Nova Scotia, from its origins through to the present. Treating the people of African descent in Nova Scotia as a particular aspect of the broader African diaspora, we will examine the African Nova Scotian experience in both local and global contexts. The central tenet of the course is that the history of the Black population is an integral component of the region's history: neither can be understood in isolation from the other. A recurring theme is the active and conscious historical agency of African Nova Scotians in the struggle to assert their democratic rights and achieve self-determination.