Tag Archives: Doing History

Jim’s Vision: Some Reflections on J.R. Miller

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Donald Wright When I learned that Jim Miller had died, I reached out to his partner, Lesley Biggs, to express my condolences. A few weeks later, she invited me to share a few words about him that would be read at his celebration of life. “It would be my honour,” I replied. And I meant it. Jim was something of… Read more »

On the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

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Ten years ago, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) issued its final report on the history of residential schools in Canada. Mandated to “inform all Canadians about what happened in residential schools”, the “TRC documented the truth of Survivors, their families, communities and anyone personally affected by the residential school experience.” It found that residential schools were part of a… Read more »

Rethinking Publishers

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Eric W. Sager I did not expect to publish a book towards the end of the eighth decade of my life. And if you had asked me, ten years ago, whether I would write a book about the meaning of history, I would have declared such a thing to be impossible. In retirement, however, I found myself determined to try… Read more »

Confessions of a Textbook Author

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Alan MacEachern Last year, an email informed me of a death. Two, actually. Top Hat would no longer publish Origins: Canadian History to Confederation or Destinies: Canadian History since Confederation as either print or e-books. These twin textbooks, once as much staples of Canadian history survey courses as, well, the staples thesis, were being discontinued due to low demand. Origins… Read more »

Are historians valuable in 2024? Perspectives of an interdisciplinary researcher

By Fionnuala Braun Every month, my team at SPHERU (Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit) meets to discuss the progress of our work and share professional development ideas. At the first meeting of the year, we all had to tell a bit about ourselves: our name, degree, and what project we were assigned to. Working around the room, it… Read more »

Repost: A Signature Pedagogy for History Instruction?

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Active History is on its annual August hiatus. In honour of syllabus-writing season, we are reposting a selection of teaching-related articles from the past year. Today’s repost features Paul McGuire’s piece from 11 April 2024. While you’re here, we also invite you complete our survey. Paul McGuire This is the sixth entry in a monthly series on Thinking Historically. See… Read more »

Repost: Entering The Jagged Landscape of History: Can We Teach Our Students to Apply Historical Thinking Skills?

Active History is on its annual August hiatus. In honour of syllabus-writing season, we are reposting a selection of teaching-related articles from the past year. Today’s repost features Paul McGuire’s 2 November 2023 article. While you’re here, we also invite you complete our survey. Paul McGuire This is the second entry in a monthly series on Thinking Historically. See the Introduction… Read more »

Repost: When Class Content Gives the Professor Nightmares, It Might be Time for a Warning

Active History is on its annual August hiatus. In honour of syllabus-writing season, we are reposting a selection of teaching-related articles from the past year. Next up is Erica L. Fraser’s piece from 21 February 2024. While you’re here, we also invite you complete our survey. This is the second in a three-part series on the use of content warnings… Read more »

Repost: Trauma-Informed Teaching: Creating Classrooms that support learning

Active History is on its annual August hiatus. In honour of syllabus-writing season, we have decided to repost a selection of teaching-related articles from the past year. First up is Jo McCutcheon’s piece on trauma-informed teaching, first published on 20 February 2024. While you’re here, we also invite you complete our survey. In recent years, teachers and heritage professionals have… Read more »

Sadness, and sacrifice: A reflection on PhD training, comprehensive exams, and the discipline of history

Krenare Recaj In the third year of my undergrad, I was sitting beside my friend Jeremy in a lecture for the class America: Slavery to Civil War. The professor was going into explicit detail – showing photos and drawings – of the torture enslaved people in America were subjected to. The logic was that these details were necessary to properly… Read more »