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More Reflections on the Symons Report* and Canadian Studies The Searchfor Identity BERNARD BLISHEN One cannot help being struck by the patient, consensual style of the Report of the Commission on Canadian Studies. T. H. B. Symon's report, To Know Ourselves, Volumes I and II, takes opinions, myths, assumptions, facts, and figures wherever they were to be found, and clothes them in a densely woven argument that aims to generate a concern about the state of Canadian studies in Canadian universities. Gently we are told that all is not well, and to rectify the situation a bewildering array of recommendations are offered. In the Report Canadian studies are defined as ''teaching or research in any field that has as one of its major objectives the formation of knowledge about Canada by dealing with some aspect of the country's culture, social conditions, p~ysi~ setting, or place in the world.'' Although this review concentrates on what the Commission has to say about the social sciences, particularly sociology, the Report also covers a number of other areas in which it sees a need for Canadian studies and curriculum development. Regardless of the criticism which may be levelled at the Report it is a substantial piece of scholarship in its own right, and makes a worthwhile contribution to the debate about the Americanization of higher education in Canada, and the extent of Canadian content in teaching and research in Canadian universities and community colleges. Nevertheless, its contribution could have been greater had the Commission been able to provide a clearer idea why Canadian studies are necessary, more reliable evidence dealing with their present state, and the relationship of this condition to the teaching and research interests of full-time faculty. In its attempt to set forth a rationale for Canadian studies the Report is confusing. It Journal ofCanadian Studies stresses the importance of self-knowledge for which the motivating force is a consciousness of being Canadian. "But before the quest for such knowledge can begin, an individual or a collectivity must first be conscious of being Canadian... art awareness of being Canadian, and an interest in the nature of that condition, is necessary for the achievement of self-knowledge; for what is self-knowledge, as far as a Canadian is concerned if not the knowledge of one's identity?" Appar: ently we must possess a Canadian identity in order to search for one. Such reasoning characterizes much of the debate about a Canadian national identity. The rationale includes another element which suggests a naive view of political decision-making. "Informed study, comment and criticism directed at Canadian conditions have an important role to play in the formation of public policy, in decisionmaking and then in effective problem solving at all levels of government and in all sectors of society.'' This view greatly oversimplifies the connection between research and policy formation. It is based on the assumption that existing knowledge and research will be u,sed by political policy-makers. But we all know of examples in-~hich the politician who, for reasons of political expediency and accountability, has listened to the competing views and claims for preferment of a variety of interest groups, and ignored available knowledge whether its source was the university or government research. The researcher can hope that his knowledge will have some effect on final policy decisions, but after it has been ground through the bureaucratic mill and picked over by the policy-makers this is a very uncertain eventuality. This view also ignores the problem of the possible conflict of values between the academic researcher and the policy-makers. Rex (1976) states the problem clearly when he asks us to realize "that social science does not work in a vacuum..., *T.H.B. Symons, To Know Ourselves: The Report ofthe Commission on Canadian Studies (Ottawa: Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, 1976), Vols. I and II, 228 and 115 pages. 95 instead of claiming to speak pure objective truth unconnected with values, we get our values, the state of affairs we hold to be desirable, absolutely clear." He goes on to say that, "It is sometimes necessary, when one is called upon to do policy...

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