Monuments & National Belonging – What’s Old is News

By Sean Graham

This week, I’m joined by Tonya Davidson, author of Inside the Snow Globe: Ottawa Monuments and National Belonging. We discuss Tonya’s approach to monuments as a primary source, how publics respond to monuments, and how national monuments fit into local communities. We also talk about some of Ottawa’s less known monuments, how memorials change public spaces, and how current events can alter a city’s relationship with monuments and their sites.

For more, you can listen to Sean and Tonya’s previous conversation on the History Slam from 2018.

Historical Headline of the Week

Tim Cook, “Sacrifices are easy to forget in times of peace. Here’s how the National War Memorial has changed with the times,” Toronto Star, November 9, 2024.

Sean Graham is a cultural historian, an Adjunct Professor at Carleton University, and a contributing editor with Activehistory.ca

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