The New History Wars?: Avoiding the Fights of the Past
The new history wars are not battles over the meaning of Canadian history. They are battles over public financing of historical research and historical preservation.
Tag Archives: Commemoration
A building by any other name: The politics of renaming and commemoration
By Kaitlin Wainwright Recently, I was lamenting the challenges historians face in the form of changing names of various government organizations in Canada: The Canada Food Board, the Health League of Canada, and Board of Broadcast Governors are now the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canadian Public Health Association, and the CRTC respectively. Researching the past often means paying attention… Read more »
The 300th Anniversary of the Treaty of Utrecht and the Generosity of Governments
By Gregory Kennedy I know what you are thinking. Not another commemoration of some dusty old treaty or some gruesome colonial war! Still, since both Thomas Mulcair and Thomas Peace called our attention to the 250th Anniversary of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 , it seems only fair that the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 should get its due.
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Stalked by a Trojan Horse
By Dan Gallacher, PhD FCMA Ancient Troy withstood pressures at its walls for a decade. Ultimately the Greek attackers, applying an extraordinary ruse, swept in looting or destroying everything. Located on a major trade route with acquisitive Hittite hordes to its east and an aggressive Mycenaean host west across the Aegean, Troy was a highly tempting target. In the past… Read more »
More Canadian History, More Better
By Sean Kheraj “Canada’s history is worth emphasizing,” according to a recent pathetically inoffensive editorial headline in the Globe and Mail. Such an argument is so bland and broad as to be almost entirely pointless. What drove the editorial team at the Globe to boldly stick its neck out with such a feeble statement? The temerity of the Leader of… Read more »
2013: It’s time to commemorate the 1763 Royal Proclamation
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair made a good suggestion last week. After the Prime Minister publicly outlined the marching orders for his ministers – which did not address recent tensions with First Nations but did emphasize the allocation of funds and resources towards a handful of historical celebrations – Mulcair took him to task. Picking up perhaps on the contradiction of… Read more »
History on Steroids: How a Local Community is Using New Media to Explore its Past
By Glenn McKnight The Foundation for Building Sustainable Communities (FBSC) has launched its own War of 1812 commemoration project in Oshawa, sponsored in part by the Government of Canada with a combination of tried and true presentations and displays along with some added “muscle enhancers.” FBSC is known for its Oshawa Remembers audio recordings of World War Two and Korean… Read more »
Bookstores and Memory: Marking the Closure of the Toronto Women’s Bookstore
Last Friday, the Toronto Women’s Bookstore opened its doors for the last time. This is an occasion for the kind of celebration and mourning that has occurred in events held in Toronto and beyond. It is also a chance to think about alternative bookstores, change, and remembrance.
Podcast: Ian McKay and What’s Wrong With Flanders Fields
This past Remembrance Day, historian Ian McKay gave a lecture titled “What’s Wrong With Flanders Fields.” He argues that Remembrance Day in general and the poem in particular have been conscripted as part of what he calls the “right-wing militarization of Canadian society.” McKay delivered the talk to the Queen’s University Institute for Lifelong Learning on November 11, 2012. You… Read more »
Enterprise: Labour and Gender History through the Photographer’s lens
“Enterprise” is an exhibition that deserves to be seen. It makes you feel history and think about it. What more could we ask for in an active history?