Monthly Archives: January 2015

Podcast: Re-Imagining Universities in the Digital Age: Historical Reflections and Curent Questions

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gaffield-Talk.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadOn October 7, 2014 Professor Chad Gaffield of the University of Ottawa addressed the issues facing universities in the 21st century as part of the University of Ottawa History Department’s Brown Bag Lunch Series. Activehistory.ca is pleased to present a recording of Professor Gaffield’s talk.

Science in Different States: The Science Council and the Trudeau Government

By Henry Trim The recent closing of research labs and scientific libraries across Canada has generated a heated debate over the proper relationship between science and the Canadian government. The fundamental short sightedness of these policies and their dire consequences for environmental research have been ably discussed on this blog by William Knight, at the Walrus, and by the CBC’s… Read more »

History Slam Episode Fifty-Eight: African Canadians in the U.S. Civil War

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Richard-Reid.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham The first time I learned about the American Civil War (1861-1865), it was kind of along the lines of this: Of course any war is more complicated than a single word, but that succinct answer nicely sums up how a lot of people think of the Civil War. And yet, since… Read more »

Promises Broken, or Politics as Usual?

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By Jonathan Scotland Despite the Conservative Party of Canada’s fondness for promoting its support for Canada’s military, since assuming government in 2006 the federal government’s relationship with veterans has been rocky at best. By the close of last year’s parliament it seemed that new criticisms were being leveled at Julian Fantino, Minister of Veterans Affairs, on a daily basis. His… Read more »

1847 and 2010: Ugly Manifestations of the Macroeconomic Trilemma

By David Zylberberg On January 25, 2015 Greece’s New Democracy government led by Antonis Samaras lost its bid for re-election. Meanwhile, its coalition partner, PASOK, received less than 5% of the vote, despite having been the largest party in recent decades and in government for over half of the last 40 years. They were voted out after presiding over the worst… Read more »

The king in a car park: Digging up Richard III

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By Daniel Ross “Bloody thou art; bloody will be thy end.” Duchess of York, Act IV, Scene IV, Richard III Shakespeare’s Richard III is one of fiction’s classic villains, a schemer who knocks off one family member after another on his way to the crown. Even his mother the Duchess would rather he was dead, and she gets her wish… Read more »

Review of Photography, Memory, and Refugee Identity: The Voyage of the SS Walnut, 1948 by Lynda Mannik

By Phil Gold  For Estonians, the twentieth century was a tug-of-war between political independence and social freedoms and repressive subjugation under the Soviet boot. Lynda Mannik’s book, Photography, Memory and Refugee Identity: The Voyage of The SS Walnut, 1948 provides a fascinating snapshot of one moment in that tumultuous history: the journey of the 347 Estonian refugees from Communism who… Read more »

Five Things You Might Not Have Known About Canadian Environmental History

By  Sean Kheraj Canadian environmental history is a burgeoning sub-field of Canadian history, but it is not very well known outside of academia. This is my own research speciality. On many occasions, I have had to answer the question: what is environmental history? Periodically, this is a question that environmental historians ask themselves. There have been several reflective articles about… Read more »

Spoils of the War of 1812: Part I: The Importance of Michilimackinac

By Alan Corbiere This post is part of a series of essays – posted once a month – by Alan Corbiere focusing on Anishinaabeg participation in the War of 1812.  The Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe, Odawa, Potowatomi) have always revered the island of Michilimackinac. So much so that at the conclusion of the War of 1812, the Odawa tried to keep it in… Read more »

Charlie Hebdo in Historical Context

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By Geoff Read One of the courses I teach at Huron University College is called “Current Crises in Historical Context,” wherein we use the tools of historical analysis to try to shed light on the origins of some of the crises confronting the world. This year we are looking at topics such as the Russian annexation of the Crimea, the… Read more »