Tina Park currently lectures for HIS311Y (History of Canadian foreign policy) in the Department of History at the University of Toronto. Lectures are held at the George Ignatieff Theatre on St.George Campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2-3pm. 

History 311Y is a third year history course designed to introduce students to the history of Canadian external relations over the last 250 years. External relations are defined broadly, meaning that Canada’s political, economic, military, diplomatic and at times cultural relations with other states will be explored with reference specifically to how these interactions helped shape the country’s development on the international stage. To understand the context of the foreign policy decisions taken in Canada, the course considers both the domestic situation and politics abroad, with specific reference to the foreign policies of France, Great Britain and the United States, and, as we approach the twenty-first century, those of other countries as well. Thus, a course in Canadian foreign relations is more than a course in Canadian history with a colourful backdrop – students will be asked to consider both sides of an international issue and not merely its Canadian angle. Students wishing to prepare for HIS311 are encouraged to read Prof.Robert Bothwell’s Penguin History of Canada and Alliance & Illusion. 

• Students requesting reference letters are asked to fill out this form below and email me at least 2-3 weeks in advance of the deadline with all relevant materials.
• HIS311- Reference Letter Request – Information Form
• Primary Sources for IR History Oct 2015 (courtesy of Dr. John Dirks)

HIS311 2016 Lecture Slides in pdf can be downloaded below: 

** please note that there will be some blank slides because of video clips embedded in the powerpoint presentation. If you missed them in class, email me for an online link.

** Special exam review session will be offered on Friday, April 15th @12-1pm at 208N Munk School of Global Affairs (1 Devonshire Place) 

 HIS311 – Origins of the Cold War (Jan 12)

HIS31–North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Jan 14)

HIS311- Canada and the Korean War (Jan 19)

HIS311-The Dissolving Commonwealth & Suez Crisis 1945-1963 (Jan 21)

HIS311-Canada US relations 1945-1963 (Jan 26)

Atomic Energy and the Arms Race (Jan 28 – Dr. Adam Chapnick)

HIS311- Energy & Foreign Policy in the Post-WWII era (Feb 2) 

HIS311- Indochinese Shadows (Feb 4)

HIS311- Canada & UN PEACEKEEPING 1945-1963  (Feb 9) 

HIS311-The Cold War at home-Focus on Culture (Feb 11) 

HIS311- Pearson and Pearsonianism (Feb 25)

HIS311- Canada Quebec and Charles De Gaulle  (March 1) 

HIS311- Pierre Trudeau and Foreign Policy (March 3) 

HIS311-Energy & Foreign Policy, 1968-1984 (March 8 – TA Jenn Bonder)

HIS311- Presidents and PMs (March 10) 

HIS311- The Mulroney Era (March 15) 

HIS311- Free Trade and Mulroney   (March 17)

HIS311- The Fall of the Berlin Wall   (March 22) 

HIS311- The Dissolution of the Soviet Union & Quebec Referendum  (March 24)

HIS311- The UN and Responsibility to Protect (March 29) 

HIS311- 2001 and its consequences   (March 31)

HIS311-Harper’s Foreign Policy-Guest Lecture by  Hugh Segal (April 5)

HIS311- Concluding Remarks and Review   (April 7)

HIS311 Final exam prep session   (April 15)

(c) Tina J. Park 2016 All rights reserved 

NB: FINAL EXAM FOR HIS311 will take place on April 20th @9am-12 noon, ST.Vlad.

———————

Useful websites:

Historica Canada 

Dictionary of Canadian Biography

Library and Archives Canada 

Canadian Encyclopedia 

CBC Archives 

FRUS (Foreign Relations of the United States) 

Trinity Graham Library Collections 

UNPKO operations list

———————–

Other teaching experiences 

In the fall of 2015, Tina lectured in CDN267: Canadian Nationalism, a second year course in the Canadian Studies Program at the University College, University of Toronto. Tina’s teaching expertise and interests include international relations history, Canadian foreign policy, Asian-Canadian history, history of globalization, history of espionage, and contemporary global affairs, most notably the Responsibility to Protect principle. 

In the last six years, Tina has worked as a teaching assistant for the following courses at the University of Toronto and at Ryerson University, where she had the privilege of directly teaching and interacting with over 800 undergraduate students across various disciplines and backgrounds. 

• HIS103 Strategy & Statecraft (European diplomatic history 16th-20th centuries)
• HIS311 Canadian External Relations 
• CDN230 Asian-Canadian History
• CDN267 Canadian nationalism
• HST112 East Meets West: A History of Globalization (Ryerson)
• HST540 History of Modern Espionage (Ryerson)

Tina has also worked for the past five years as the Modern History Tutor at Trinity College and offered consultation to over 500 undergraduate students enrolled in History/International Relations at Trinity College. 

Tina enjoys mentoring students and sharing her advice on the process of research and writing, and regularly participates in workshops designed to empower students with skills for success in their academic careers. Her office hours are held on Mondays 12-1pm at the Rotman cafe for the 2016 spring term. 

One of her powerpoint presentations on essay writing in history/IR can be found here:  HIS311 Workshop- Fall 2015

——————————

COMMENTS FROM TEACHING EVALUATIONS

“This is my third year at UofT and Tina, by far, was the best TA I’ve had. She was always prepared for the tutorials and showed genuine interest when guiding them. Tina was also available to meet with students pretty much at all times. Tutorials for this class were meeting once every week, and I really looked forward to them every time. Tina is very knowledgeable in her subject (and I think in all history in general) and is able to engage students into discussion. Overall, the best TA I’ve had!”  4/25/2012 10:11 AM

“Tina’s greatest asset as a TA is that she truly cares about her students. I have never had a TA that went to such a great extent to help her students. She is definitely the best TA I have had in my university career thus far!” 4/7/2012 3:36 PM

“Tina has been very constructive in her feedback; she has always been available for consultation on anything academic, from clearing up a point of confusion about a certain topic to reviewing parts of a paper before its submission. I wanted to fill this out before the final exam, and the receipt of final papers, so that my mark will not affect my evaluation: I truly hope that more TA will perform as effectively as Tina has.”  4/3/2012 1:53 AM

“What was striking about Tina is that although she was scheduled to have surgery, she was still committed to the tutorials and student questions. She deserves an award.”  3/29/2012 6:51 PM

“Tina Park was an outstanding TA. She put a lot of effort into ensuring that her students would be successful in the class. Certainly the best TA I have ever had, and the most knowledgeable and helpful.”  3/29/2012 11:22 AM

“Tina’s prep session for the exams and the research paper were invaluable as was her feedback and her explanation of the course material. Her tutorials were always engaging and helpful towards a better understanding of the course material.”  4/25/2013 10:08 AM

“Tina Park: Very intelligent and willing to help out students.” 4/25/2013 2:08 AM

“Tina was without a doubt one of the best TAs I have had thus far at the UofT. She was very knowledgeable about the subject material and did an excellent job in indicating to students what was expected of them on the various assignments and tests. She was readily available to answer questions or assist with course material throughout the entire year. Tutorials were managed well and were an extremely useful learning tool as a result of her leadership. Finally, course material was marked quickly and with a great deal of useful feedback. Although her expectations were high, the passion and work ethic which Tina demonstrated was contagious and inspired both myself and other students to put good effort into this course.”  4/25/2013 1:03 AM

“Tina is by far the best TA I have had at the University of Toronto. She is dedicated, knowledgeable and fair. She will make a fantastic professor one day soon.” 4/8/2013 12:56 AM

“Tina has been one of the best TAs I have ever had at the university. She has very high expectations and can put a lot of pressure on students, but the effects are positive. The result has been that she has helped push me to work extremely hard and to produce some of my best work of my entire undergraduate degree. Furthermore, through her exam prep sessions and essay workshops, she has contributed much more to the learning process than most TAs. She consistently goes above and beyond the basic expectations of a TA at U of T, and I have really appreciated her enthusiasm.” 4/4/2013 10:20 PM

“Tina was fantastic about always making sure that students could reach her for anything. She was also great about extended office hours and allotting time appropriately and fairly.” 4/3/2013 4:37 PM

“Tina was an excellent TA and was always available and willing to help students…I was a confused soul and Tina made all the difference in my university experience through her multiple workshops and seminars and office hours. I often said ‘Thank God for Tina.’” 4/3/2013 12:46 PM

“Tina is by far the most attentive teaching assistant I have had in my four years at U of T. Her tutorials are consistently engaging and she has always made herself available for consultation. In fact, her instruction surpasses that of many professors. Tina’s mentorship is also deeply appreciated – she takes the time to contact students whom she feels would be suitable for a position, project or program. That said, if a student is struggling, Tina goes the extra mile to attend to their challenges. When I have had issues with course material, she has set aside additional time outside of her office hours to clarify points. She even puts together additional preparation sessions for students long before essays, midterms or exams in order to ensure we are well-prepared; for instance, I have attended group trivia sessions and benefitted tremendously from additional summary resources personally prepared by Tina for the entire class. Her commitment to the student community and to her work is extraordinary. ” 4/3/2013 12:13 PM

“I found Tina to be very approachable, extremely well informed and prepared on the course subject matter.” 8/17/2013 4:51 PM

“Very knowledgeable; extremely enthusiastic with the material she teaches and the teaching process of the course. I very much enjoyed attending the HIS311Y1 tutorials.” 8/12/2013 5:46 PM

“Simply an amazing TA. She really makes the tutorials fun and educational.” 8/12/2013 1:44 PM

“Tina’s organized manner is her greatest asset. She always conducted tutorial in a clear, effective manner and targeted the themes and content in a detailed way. She was amazingly quick with her return of assignments and she left helpful comments for everyone- always highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the paper she graded. She also had an excellent ability for class management. In my class particularly, there was one particular student who always spoke out of place or over the females and she did an excellent job of facilitating fair and equal discussion for everyone. Overall I am very pleased with my experiences with Tina and she should be proud of herself. ” 8/12/2013 1:00 PM

“Tina is very organized and prepares students before the tutorial and during the tutorial very efficiently. I was really impressed by all the questions she gave us beforehand that allowed us to come prepared to the tutorial. This allowed me to be more confident when participating. She always provided a very well-planned, organized and friendly environment. An excellent example of how a TA should be.” 8/11/2013 9:41 AM

“I loved how Tina Park ran the tutorials. She always came prepared and engaged all the students in the discussion and most of all she actually knows what she is talking about. ”8/9/2013 9:59 AM

“Tina was a superb T.A. She was organised, efficient, extremely knowledgeable and always had useful suggestions for supplementary readings. :)” 8/8/2013 10:28 PM

“Tina was professional and friendly and really knew the material she was teaching. She was organized and made herself available. I enjoyed being in her tutorial.” 8/8/2013 12:00 PM

“Hands down, Tina is one of the best TAs at the University of Toronto!” 8/8/2013 10:28 AM

“I think Tina is an excellent TA and has big potential to succeed in the academic world. She is really awesome and I am grateful to U of T.” 8/8/2013 9:39 AM

“Tina made great use of activities in tutorial settings, particularly a debate on the war of 1812 and working in groups. The timeline exercise on the blackboard was incredibly helpful and fun. Tina was also able to provide excellent background material on many areas of Canadian history that deepened my understanding of the subject.” 4/4/2014 2:45 PM

“Tina’s organization and execution of the tutorials and their expectations were exceptional. Especially compared to the other TAs (based on observations from workshops where other TAs were present), her understanding of the material and expectations from the students seemed to be superior and the most clear. I appreciated the opportunities at the beginning of each tutorial for every student to share their thoughts on the readings, as it forced students to be verbal right off the bat (which sometimes students have to warm up to) and it allowed for any unique observations from the students that may not have otherwise come up in directed conversations. Overall, this was a very enjoyable and educational experience.” 4/3/2014 3:14 AM

“Tina’s passion for history, and learning in general, comes through in her teaching. She has high expectations, which can be intimidating at first, but in challenging us to think critically and write eloquently, she has ultimately pushed me to be a better student. Overall, Tina is an excellent TA who I believe will make a wonderful professor in the future.” 3/28/2014 2:55 PM

“Tina Park: Extraordinary. Very effective and efficient as a leader. Tina also was compassionate and understanding during a difficult time for me and I think that being able to manage the academic side with student relations is a sign of good teacher.” 8/8/2014 5:17 PM

“Tina was very helpful and her tutorial sessions gave me a very good understanding of Canadian foreign policy.” 8/7/2014 4:28 PM

“Tina was great. One of my best TAs. Every single person talks in her tutorial. Nobody is left out. It was a pleasure being there. Also she answers questions very efficiently and quickly. Thank you for everything.” 8/7/2014 2:14 PM

“I felt that Tina was one of the best TA’s I’ve ever had in my undergrad program. She made herself readily available/ accessible to all her students and promptly replied to emails or questions directed at her. She graded assignments promptly and returned them at record speed. I never felt afraid to speak up in her tutorial and she encouraged us to prepare for them with engaging prompts/ questions. Amazing TA. Would highly recommend!” 8/8/2014 12:15 PM

“Tina is extremely organized, brings supplementary materials to tutorials to provide greater contextual reference and takes the time to format discussions in a way that encourages all students to participate. She is clear, concise and timely in grading work.” 8/7/2014 6:09 PM

——————-

 

Plaase click the link below for more detailed comments on Tina’s teaching reviews.

Tina Park – Teaching Evaluations