Canada's declaration of war in 1939 resulted in the creation of a "total war" economy that necessitated the absorption of all available men, and led to the wide scale recruitment of women into the military and labour force. The end of the war resulted in government and media encouragement to return to the home, but despite this emphasis on home and family, many women developed a two-phase work history. In this thesis, I use the oral history of sixteen Southern Alberta women to analyze the effect of World War II on Southern Alberta women's work and family choices, focusing specifically on the years between 1939 and 1959. I argue that, although the war did not significantly change the status of women in the paid workforce, it did affect the geographic mobility of women and the perception of their own work, both paid and unpaid. / vi, 181 leaves ; 29 cm.

The problem of this study is: (1) to determine the dominant democratic values which are important to the child; (2) to recognize disturbing elements in the lives of children today which threaten these values, including those eventualities for which the children must be prepared in the light of the experiences of other countries; (3) to discover ways in which some teachers have sought to meet changing conditions; and (4) to combine these findings into a workable program.

Redefining Masculinity presents an analysis of the American government's portrayal of civilian men in World War II documentary films. The majority of the films, which serve as a primary source for this study, were created by the Office of War Information (OWI) as a means of stimulating home front support for the war. The government's portrayal of civilian men advocated a significant modification of gender roles. According to the OWI, men understood the politics of war, were aware of the national context of sacrifices, and were able to carry the government's message into American households and defense plants. As a result of their war consciousness, civilian men in government documentary films partially claimed the traditional domestic realm of women and redefined American gender roles as interactive and overlapping. The intersecting gender spheres in OWI films exemplify that men experienced manhood not in isolation from women. This propagandized image of civilian men during the Second World War supports the claims of scholars who criticize the ideology of "separate spheres" to describe socially constructed domains of the male and female gender. In contrast, the thesis findings show that the social, political, and economic definitions of male and female roles can be altered, extended, or adjusted when economically, politically, and culturally expedient. / Department of History