Tag Archives: Politics

History Slam Episode 148: Why Political Leaders Matter

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/History-Slam-148.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham As an undergraduate student, I had an idea for a paper in my fourth year seminar on Canadian history to write about the 1930 federal election. It was a campaign that I was intrigued by – you had an economic collapse, a new leader of the Conservative Party, and a Prime… Read more »

History Slam Episode 147: Influence

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/History-Slam-147.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham Influence debuts tonight on CBC and GEM at 8 pm (8:30 NT) and 9 ET/PT on documentary Whenever I teach a course about popular culture, the final class always includes a discussion about the importance of being critical consumers of content. We are bombarded with information on a daily basis, whether… Read more »

The Generation of 2020: Coming of Age in Covid-Time

Cynthia Comacchio Although not always the most important identity marker, age has always mattered in the making of roles, rights, status and power structures. It signifies as much as, and occasionally more than, class, gender, race, sexuality, heritage. Only partly a biological/chronological category, it is also socially-constructed and consequently historical, varying in time and place. The time-shifting meanings of age… Read more »

History Slam Episode 141: Golda

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/History-Slam-141.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham Golda will begin its theatrical run at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto on January 3. You can watch the trailer here and find showtimes here. In March, 1969, a then 70-year old Golda Meir came out of retirement to serve as Israeli Prime Minister following the sudden death… Read more »

History Slam Episode 135: The Nature of Canada

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/History-Slam-135.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham With the federal election campaign in full swing, the environment has emerged as a prominent issue for the parties vying to form the next government. The news of hundreds of young Canadians pledging not to have children until Canada takes significant steps towards addressing its carbon emissions highlights how environmental policy… Read more »

History Slam Episode 134: Advocate

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/History-Slam-134.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham Since I started doing the podcast back in 2012, there have been a lot of topics and discussions that have surprised me. Perhaps nothing was as surprising, though, as when I learned of the new documentary Advocate, which premiered earlier this year. The film tells the story of Lea Tsemel, an… Read more »

History Slam Episode 133: Pride, Commemoration, & Bill C-150

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/History-Slam-133.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham The theme for Toronto Pride this past weekend was ‘FREEDOM.’ The theme was selected, in part, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Widely seen as the impetus towards the modern gay rights movement, the uprising in New York City overshadows another event in the movement’s history that is… Read more »

History Slam Episode 131: Newfoundland’s Rocky Road Towards Confederation

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/History-Slam-131.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham From airport kitchen parties to This Hour Has 22 Minutes to one of the greatest moments in Canadian curling history, Newfoundland and Labrador has become a vital component of Canadian culture. That position wasn’t a given, however, when it joined Confederation in the spring of 1949 after a contentious campaign. As Canada’s youngest… Read more »

From Salò to Cult: Sadism, Terror, and Fascism in Fiction

Alban Bargain-Villéger Salò. It was this laconic, almost interjective title that first caught my eye. In the stifling Parisian heat of July 2002, somewhere in the Halles neighbourhood, the poster appeared in a surreal haze. A bridal party of dejected youths, the bride and groom dressed for the occasion, the rest stark-naked, advanced, seemingly resigned to their doom. Then the… Read more »

History Slam Episode 123: Reconsidering Confederation

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/History-Slam-123.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham In the lead up to Canada 150 last July, there was no shortage of projects looking at Canada’s political history. One of my favourites was the Confederation Debates project. With a massive team, the project organized, scanned, and digitized thousands of documents related to each province and territory’s entry into Confederation…. Read more »