Tag Archives: public history

ActiveHistory.ca repost — Simcoe Day and the Politics of Reclaiming and Renaming

Colonel John Graves Simcoe, [ca. 1881], by George Theodore Berthon. Government of Ontario Art Collection, 694156.

ActiveHistory.ca is slowing down our publication schedule this summer, but we’ll be back with more new posts in September. In the meantime, we’re featuring posts from our archive. Thanks as always to our writers and readers! The following post was originally featured on July 18, 2017 As Canadians mark Simcoe Day and the August long weekend, Elliot Worsfold’s post on… Read more »

Changing Place Names – What’s Old is News

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By Sean Graham Changing Place Names | RSS.comLauren Beck, author of Canada’s Place Names & How to Change Them, joins the show to talk about the debate over changing names. The discussion ranges from how Canada’s places got their names, colonial naming practices, and the cultural significance of place names. The conversation also touches on Indigenous naming customs, the politics of… Read more »

Learning About Residential Schools At The Shingwauk Site 

Gallery space in an exhibition with red text and image panels on left and right walls. Door at far end of hallway.

Krista McCracken  The Shingwauk Residential School operated in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario from 1874 to 1970. In 1971, Algoma University College – today known as Algoma University – moved onto the Shingwauk Site. Since 2010, I’ve been part of the staff at the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre (SRSC) that seeks to promote sharing, healing, and learning in relation to the… Read more »

History Slam 212: Bernie Langille’s Death and the Long Journey Towards Truth, Healing, & Trust

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/History-Slam-213.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham *Bernie Langille Wants to Know What Happened to Bernie Langille has its World Premiere on Saturday April 30 at 8:30 at TIFF Bell Lightbox 4 as part of Hot Docs. You can also watch online from anywhere in Canada for 5 days starting May 1. On a cold February night in… Read more »

History Slam 197: History Podcaster Roundtable

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/History-Slam-197a.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham When we started the History Slam back in 2012, podcasting was still pretty new. The major platforms were hosting shows, but the analytics weren’t very good, many people had difficulty accessing episodes, and a lot of academics – including every faculty member I talked to before starting the show – didn’t… Read more »

History Slam 196: Becoming Vancouver

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https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/History-Slam-196.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham The first time I was fortunate enough to visit Vancouver, it was October and the weather was unseasonably cold. It was a damp cold – the type that feels like it sticks to you – so I spent 4 days struggling to get warm. Having lived in Regina since that initial… Read more »

Inequality: Only for Academics? A Self-Publishing Saga

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Eric W. Sager I have always believed in the mission of public history. I have given public talks, written op-eds, and published books and articles intended for non-academic readers. I have even won awards for “public dissemination.” Although I have had some successes, I have also met with failures. Recently, failure is winning. How could this be? Have I lost… Read more »

History Slam 186: Canada’s LGBTQ2+ History at the ArQuives

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/History-Slam-186.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham The gaps and underrepresentation of certain voices within traditional archival collections is well established. To fill these gaps, community archives are essential as they collect, preserve, and share the stories of people, groups, and events that have helped shaped life in Canada. One of these community archives is the ArQuives, Canada’s… Read more »

History Slam 185: Ottawa’s LGBTQ2+ History & the Village Legacy Project

https://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/History-Slam-185.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadBy Sean Graham In 2011, a section of Bank Street in downtown Ottawa was designated The Village to commemorate the city’s LGBTQ2+ history. To denote The Village, there are street signs, pride flags, and a permanent rainbow intersection at the corner of Bank and Somerset. In addition to the designation, the Bank Street Business… Read more »

Food First, Then Archives: Precarity and Community Memory

This post by Lilian Radovac and Simon Vickers is part of the “(In)Security in the Time of COVID-19” series. Read the rest of the series here. Alternative Toronto is a DIY digital archive and exhibition space that documents the history of alternative communities in the Greater Toronto Area from 1980 to 1999. As archive director and volunteer coordinator for Alternative… Read more »