https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/History-Slam-124-Vancouver-Jazz.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Marian Jago about her new book Live at the Cellar: Vancouver’s Iconic Jazz Scene in the 1950s and ’60s. We talk about Canada’s jazz scene, the co-operative structure of the Cellar, and the type of performers who played at the club. We also… Read more »
https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/History-Slam-121-Baby-Names.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham A couple of years ago, we did an episode talking about the best names you could use if you wanted your kid to have an immediate connection to history. At that point, we were trying to name Aaron Boyes’ daughter and now, a couple years later, our good friend Jeremy Garrett… Read more »
Robert Alldritt Following the end of the First World War, representatives of the Allied and Associated nations agreed that a medal, which would be officially known as the “Interallied Victory Medal,” would be awarded in commemoration of victory over Germany[i]. In all, approximately fourteen million bronze medals suspended by distinctive double-rainbow ribbons symbolizing “calm after a storm” were distributed; their… Read more »
By Sarah Glassford What did Canadian children think of the Great War? We know they played with war-themed toys and games, read adventure stories and acted out dramas with wartime plots, contributed money and labour to war-related causes, and in some cases lied about their ages in order to enlist[1]… but accessing their youthful thoughts, feelings, and imaginings about the… Read more »
By Sarah Glassford Can toilet paper have archival value? Within the eclectic collections that comprise MC300 (York-Sunbury Historical Society) at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, we find just such an artifact. (I hesitate to call it a “document” although it is, in fact, ink on paper.) It is tantalizingly described in the finding aid as “#21 ‘Do Your Bit’… Read more »
Raymond B. Blake Referendums are blunt instrument to measure public sentiments. They take complex issues and reduce them to simple yes or no answers. They allow charismatic politicians to seize the public stage and rally voters for or against a particular public policy option through the greater use of fear, distorted realities, and appeals to emotion than is generally normal… Read more »
https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/History-Slam-Episode-119.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham The 2015 election of Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party, along with the 50th anniversary of his father’s election as Liberal leader, has generated plenty of renewed interest in the life and career of Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The popular conception of the elder Trudeau has been that he is very much… Read more »
By Laura Brandon Editors’ Preface Two new exhibits were recently opened at the University of Calgary’s Founders’ Gallery in The Military Museums. Gassed Redux is a live recreation of John Singer Sargent’s oil painting Gassed, which depicts victims of a 1918 gas attack on the Western Front.[1] The exhibit was mounted this past June 14th by artist Adad Hannah, and… Read more »
Eric Story The inaugural National Aboriginal Veterans Day took place on 8 November 1993, and the monument of the same name was unveiled in Ottawa the following year. Since its inauguration, National Aboriginal Veterans Day has grown, as ceremonies are now being held in various cities across Canada with larger crowds each year. With that growth, however, disagreement has arisen…. Read more »
https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/History-Chats-Episode-01.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadOn April 22, 2017, Professor Elsbeth Heaman of McGill University delivered the annual Donald Creighton Lecture at the University of Toronto. Entitled ‘The Civilization of the Canadas in the 1860s,” the lecture was part of ‘The Other 60s: A Decade that Shaped Canada and the World,” a symposium hosted by the Department of History… Read more »