Canadian history section of Chapters bookstore, North London, Ontario, May 2010.

ActiveHistory.ca is happy to announce its first paper of 2012: “A Polyphony of Synthesizers: Why Every Historian of Canada Should Write a History of Canada,” by Alan MacEachern.

Here is Alan’s introductory blurb:

The following was my contribution to a 2010 Canadian Historical Association roundtable, “So What IS the Story? Exploring Fragmentation and Synthesis in Current Canadian Historiography.” In it, I tried to a) graphically illustrate the marginalization of Canadian historical scholarship, b) argue why demography is likely only to make this problem worse, and c) suggest a response. All in under 1400 words. As far as I know, only one person was at all convinced, let alone inspired, by my presentation: me. It got me thinking about how one might go about writing a history of Canada that would necessarily cover the entire country from the beginning to the 21^st century, that would treat Canada in global terms, and that would be relevant. Last month, I published a very, very early outline of such a history, “A Little Essay on Big.” In an uncharacteristic fit of confidence, I’ve dusted off my presentation and asked ActiveHistory.ca if they’d like it, largely unchanged. I welcome your thoughts.

You can read Alan’s paper here.

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Gate of former GM North Plant site in Oshawa

“Sam McLaughlin’s name continues to loom large over the city of Oshawa.  But the stories of working people offer alternate versions of history.  Spaces in the city ought to be made for commemorating and remembering these stories,” historian Christine McLaughlin (no relation to Sam) recently argued during her talk at a local library in Toronto.  McLaughlin’s presentation, “Producing History in an Auto Town: Oshawa After World War II,” explored the “highly political process” of how people have made and understood the historical memory of General Motors in Oshawa. 

McLaughlin’s talk is available here for audio download.

The presentation was the last talk of the 2011 History Matters lecture series, which gave the public an opportunity to connect with working historians and discover some of the many and surprising ways in which the past shapes the present.  This year’s talks focused on two themes: labour and environmental history.  Podcasts from other talks from the series can be found here.

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The use of public space for political protest has a long and contested history in Canada.  Historian Craig Heron recently presented a timely talk entitled “Labour on the March: 150 Years of Labour Parades in Toronto.”  He began his presentation by pointing out the Occupy movement’s uses of the street.  For example, protesters in Toronto had used their bodies to form a “99” (as in “99 percent”) at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas Streets while media helicopters hovered above.  People move through streets to communicate a message, Heron argued.  Historically, parades have been an “extremely important form of mass communication,” and it was one way in which labour demanded respect within wider Canadian society during the nineteenth and twentieth century.

Heron’s talk comes from research for his 2005 book The Workers’ Festival: A History of Labour Day in Canada, which he co-wrote with Steve Penfold.  The talk is available here for audio download.

The presentation was part of the 2011 History Matters lecture series, which gave the public an opportunity to connect with working historians and discover some of the many and surprising ways in which the past shapes the present.  This year’s talks focused on two themes: labour and environmental history.  Some of these presentations are now available in our podcast section. Stay tuned for recordings of subsequent talks from the series.

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By Lana Wylie

Reviewed by Mary Stanik, a communications consultant and opinion writer who has been published in a number of major Canadian and American newspapers. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

These are interesting times for anyone in Canada or the United States who takes a serious interest in Cuba.  Since Raúl Castro became Cuba’s acting president in 2006 (and president in his own right in 2008), Cuba watchers in both countries have looked at the changes Castro, brother of former President Fidel Castro, has and has not made to the country’s governing structure or political culture.  Within the past six years, leadership changes in Canada (with Stephen Harper becoming prime minister in 2006) and the United States (with Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009), also have brought about new thoughts and policies regarding Cuba. In Canada, there has been a cooling of relations, while there has been somewhat of a thaw in the United States.  These changes might have been nearly unimaginable in either country just a few years earlier.

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David Monteyne, Associate Professor in Architecture at the University of Calgary, will deliver a public lecture to officially launch his new book Fallout Shelter: Designing for Civil Defense in the Cold War (University of Minnesota Press, 2011). Please continue reading for more information on the lecture and the program:

The title of the lecture is Architectures of the Cold War. The Diefenbunker, and similar continuity-of-government facilities in the United States, were actually extreme and rare architectural responses to the Cold War. This lecture will explore the broad range of ways that architects, urban planners, and others attempted to reconfigure the built environment to help survive nuclear war in the 1950s-60s. As many critics pointed out at the time, governments tended to provide themselves with significantly better protection from nuclear weapons than they provided for their citizens. With a main focus on United States examples, this lecture will help situate the Diefenbunker in broader geographical, social, and architectural contexts.

Program of the evening:

5:00 – 6:00 Guided tours of our 100,000 square foot underground facility
6:00 – 7:30 Public lecture and book launch
7:30 – 8:30 Wine-and-Cheese Reception

The event is free of charge – however, confirmation of participation is required. Kindly reply to rsvp@diefenbunker.ca and indicate in advance how many guests are interested in taking the tour, as space is limited.

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On Monday November 14th Arthur Bousfield and Garry Toffoli, co-authors of Royal Tours 1786-2010 (Dundurn, 2010) will place this most recent royal tour in the context of those that preceded it, going back to 1786! Nathan Tidridge author of Canada’s Constitutional Monarchy (Dundurn, 2011) believes there’s a crisis in our understanding of the role the Crown plays in our government. He argues that the monarchy is a rich institution integral to our ideals of democracy and parliamentary government. What do you think?

Parler Fort is a series of themed discussions that examines the impacts of past events on our lives today. Featuring novelists, historians, artists and city planners among others, each session explores a topic in a way that sparks dialogue and provides insight into issues that matter today. Fort York National Historic Site is an apt setting in which to enrich our understanding of our city and fortify our connections with one another.

Admission Price $10 ($8.85 plus tax)
Free for students compliments of Dundurn Press
R.S.V.P. to 416-392-6907 ext. 221
Fort York, Blue Barracks. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Complimentary Refreshments provided by Fort York Volunteer Historic Cooks
Presented in partnership with The Friends of Fort York
fortyork@toronto.ca ? www.toronto.ca/fortyork ? Twitter @fortyork ? Facebook.com/fortyork

In 2013 the National Council on Public History will meet at the Delta Ottawa City Centre, in the heart of downtown Ottawa, Canada, with Canada’s Parliament buildings, historic ByWard market, national museums and historic sites, river trails, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Rideau Canal, and numerous cafes and restaurants within easy walking distance. The program committee invites panel, roundtable, workshop, working group, and individual paper proposals for the conference. The Call for Poster sessions will be issued in fall 2012.

As Canada’s capital, Ottawa is the national centre of the museum, archival and heritage community, and its historical and cultural attractions draw 5 million national and international tourists annually. Ottawa’s two universities have strong connections to public and applied history. The federal government employs many history practitioners and creates a market for private consultants. With so many diverse fields of Public History theory and practice represented, Ottawa is an ideal place to consider issues and ideas associated with the theme of “Knowing your Public(s)—The Significance of Audiences in Public History.”

These could include:

• the changing nature of the public and the evolution of the discipline over the last forty years;
• how the public and Public Historians influence each other in the production of history;
• the effects of changing approaches to public participation, reciprocity, and authority on Public History theory and practice;
• the impact of digital media on expanding or excluding public engagement;
• generational differences including Public History for the millennial generation;
• intersections between Public History practised at universities and in the broader community;
• issues related to working with ‘closed’ audiences in fields such as litigation, or government-directed, research;
• access to and use of grey literature
• the increasing need for audience relevance in times of economic recession;
• and diverse cultural and multi-national approaches to commemorating events such as the bi-centennial of the War of 1812 or the 60th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War.

We welcome submissions from all areas of the field, including teaching, museums, archives, heritage management, tourism, consulting, litigation-based research, and public service. Proposals may address any area of Public History, but we especially welcome submissions which relate to our theme. Case studies should evoke broader questions about practice in the field. The program committee prefers complete session proposals but will endeavor to construct sessions from proposals for individual presentations. Sessions are 1.5 hours (working groups may be longer); significant time for audience discussion should be included in every session. The committee encourages a wide variety of forms of conversation, such as working groups, roundtables, panel sessions, and professional development workshops, and urges participants to dispense with the reading of papers. Participants may be members of only one panel, but may also engage in working groups, introducing sessions and leading discussions. See the NCPH website at www.ncph.org for details about submitting your proposal and be sure to peruse past NCPH programs for ideas about new session/event formats.

Proposals are due by July 15, 2012.

All presenters and other participants are expected to register for the annual meeting. If you have questions, please contact the program committee co-chairs or the NCPH program director.

2013 Program Committee Co-Chairs

Michelle A. Hamilton
Director of Public History
The University of Western Ontario
mhamilt3@uwo.ca

Jean-Pierre Morin
Treaty Historian
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada
JeanPierre.Morin@aadnc-aandc.gc.ca

NCPH Program Director
Carrie Dowdy
dowdyc@iupui.edu

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In 1956, Britain and France shocked the world by launching a surprise invasion of Egypt. Ostensibly aimed at curtailing the recent outbreak of conflict along the Israeli border, the military action was in reality a cover for the Anglo-French occupation of the Suez Canal and threatened to destabilize the precarious status quo of the Cold War international community.

For Canada, the Suez Crisis presented a particularly worrying state of affairs as it jeopardized the relationship between its two most important allies. On one side of the Atlantic, Washington was enraged by what it viewed as reckless British aggression, whilst on the other side, London felt betrayed by the lack of support it received from the United States. Ottawa found itself stuck somewhere in the middle.

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This year’s History on the Grand Local History Symposium is being held on Saturday October 22^nd, at Cambridge’s Historic and LEED Gold-certified New City Halls.  The theme “People and Place” explores the history of immigration and migration to Southwestern Ontario, and the ethnic and cultural groups that make up our communities.  Participants will enjoy presentations about different aspects of our local history, as well as presentations and projects by local school children.  The complete program and registration forms are available on the City of Cambridge website.  Local history and heritage groups will have displays and materials for participants to enjoy.  The lunch hour will also feature a walking tour of historic downtown Cambridge,  the resurgence of which was recently covered in  an article in the Globe and Mail.

“It’s a great way for people to learn more about the history of our communities,” says organizer Karen Dearlove, “and the contributions made by different ethnic and cultural groups to the diversity of our region.”

 Registration for the symposium, including refreshments and lunch, is available for $10.00 until October 14^th, and $15 at the door.  Participants can register in advance at the Clerk’s office at City Hall.  For more information contact Lynn Griggs at Cambridge Archives Email: griggslynn@cambridge.ca Phone: (519) 740-4680 ext. 4610 Fax: (519) 623-0058.

History on the Grand: People and Place is sponsored by the City of Cambridge, organized by the City of Cambridge Archives Board and the Waterloo Historical Society, and supported by the Waterloo Region Museum and ActiveHistory.ca.

For media interviews contact Dr. Karen Dearlove: kldearlove@hotmail.com or 519-621-6374