Active History

Hope and its Implications for Greece: A Perspective from the Diaspora

December 14, 2012 7 Comments

By Christopher Grafos

I should have written this article a long time ago. Selfishly, I have remained vaguely apathetic towards Greek politics in anticipation that the negative publicity and connotations of the Greek state and people would quickly dissipate. My assumption was wrong and now I realize that as an aspiring academic, I am, and have been, derelict.

My doctoral dissertation at York University examines Greek homeland politics during the 1960s and 1970s. Inevitably, I recently became an informal expert on the Greek crisis because of my education and perceived connection with the country of my parent’s birth. Simultaneously, I have become an audience for opinions that I have increasingly found to be quite startling and concerning. Continue reading →

Canada and the Monarchy in the 21st Century

December 13, 2012 1 Comment

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13 King James Version)

By Greg Kennedy

The news that the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant has made headlines around the world, including here in Canada. Assuming a healthy child is produced, there will be three generations of royal heirs waiting for their turn to assume the throne after Queen Elizabeth II.

In Canada, the debate over the monarchy has generally been muted for a long time. There seemed to be an unspoken consensus that it would be impolite to criticize the institution during the reign of such a respected lady, that the discussion would be postponed until the less loved Prince Charles became king. Continue reading →

History Slam Episode Eleven: “A Struggle to Remember: Fighting for Our Families”

December 12, 2012 No Comments

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By Sean Graham

It may be surprising to learn that I don’t go to a lot of big movie premieres – all the lights and cameras aren’t really my thing. But a few weeks ago I did have the privilege of going to the premiere of a new documentary from the Workers History Museum. Entitled ‘A Struggle to Remember: Fighting for our Families,’ the film documents the movement for family leave in Canada. Beautifully put together by director Aaron Floresco, the film follows the struggle from the the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in the late 1960s to today through first-person interviews from those involved in the movement. The film is the second production in this project, as the museum has also created a traveling exhibit on the history of family leave.

In this episode of the History Slam I talk with Arthur Carkner and Rosemary Warskett about both the project and the history of family leave in Canada. Both Arthur and Rosemary were involved in the struggle for family leave and offer some terrific insights into the process. In listening to them it becomes clear that the word ‘struggle’ is apt to describe the history of family leave in this country. The film itself is available for purchase and institutions can display the exhibit for free (if you’re outside Ottawa you have to provide shipping), both of which can be obtained by contacting the Workers History Museum. You can also follow
them on Twitter at @workershistory.

In addition, this is the final podcast of 2012 so I take a minute or two to thank some of the people who have been instrumental in getting the podcast going. I’ve had a blast putting them together and want to say thank you to everyone who has listened and subscribed on iTunes.

Have a great and safe holiday!

Sean Graham is a doctoral candidate at the University of Ottawa where he is currently working on a project that examines the early years of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has previously studied at Nipissing University, the University of the West Indies, and the University of Regina and like any red-blooded Canadian his ultimate dream is to be a curling champion while living on a diet of beer and poutine.

Remembering Montreal’s Cabarets

December 11, 2012 14 Comments

By Mireille Mayrand-Fiset

St-Laurent Boulevard, where most of the action took place in an earlier era. Photo by author.

Montreal, Quebec’s largest and most vibrant city, is known internationally for its joie de vivre, its festive ambiance and its open-mindedness. This reputation goes back a long while: from as early as New France, Montreal was known for being a joyful, pleasurable city. In 1721, François-Xavier Charlevoix, first historian of New France, wrote in his Journal of a Voyage Made in North America By Order of the King: “The City of Montreal has a most pleasant quality; is it well situated, well established and well constructed. The beauty of its surroundings, areas and vistas instils pleasure, felt by All.”

Montreal truly discovered its own potential of excitement during the twentieth century. Between the 1920s to the late 1960s, Montreal was one of the most lively, thrilling and somewhat decadent cities in North America. St-Laurent Boulevard, a.k.a “The Main,” was the epicenter of a effervescent nightlife: cabarets, gaming houses and brothels were everywhere, welcoming, at all hours of day or night, a crowd of night birds, many of whom came from the United States or Europe.

Here’s a glimpse at one of the most exciting pages of Montreal’s history; one which largely contributed to its modern uniqueness. Continue reading →

London’s Great Smog, 60 Years On

December 10, 2012 3 Comments

When did the modern environmental movement begin? Did one event mark its beginning? Earlier this year we commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, which is often identified as bringing about the environmental movement. While this book’s importance is without question, focusing on it as the birth of environmentalism ignores the importance of urban environmental problems, from unsafe drinking water to severe air pollution, in raising people’s environmental awareness.

Ten years before Carson’s book, a great smog blanketed Greater London. From Friday December 5th through to the following Tuesday (Dec 9) 1952, the thick air pollution disrupted daily life and killed thousands of people. In the aftermath of the Great Smog, the British passed the Clean Air Act (1956). This event, along with other deadly smogs in the United States (Donora), lifeless or burning rivers (Don, Cuyahoga, Thames), and the threat of nuclear radiation (CND), all combined with the ecological knowledge Carson made accessible to a wide public audience, to help make the environment a growing political concern in the post-war era. The process was different between regions and nations, but not completely independent, as the media and publishing industries helped to spread stories about both environmental crises and the ideas within Silent Spring. Continue reading →

TV Documentary Explores Shipbuilding Legacy in the Maritimes

December 8, 2012 No Comments

Maritime shipbuilders in front of ship. Photo Credit: CBC.

It’s a chapter of history mostly forgotten, not just across Canada but even in the Maritime provinces themselves. Shipbuilding – like fishing – is an obvious fact of life on the Atlantic coast, but few people today know just how extensive the industry once was. There was a time not that long ago when men built ships in sheltered harbours, on open beaches and up narrow rivers – ships that went on to carry cargoes and passengers all over the world.

From the first boats built by the earliest settlers, to the golden Age of Sail in the 1800s, and from the Grand Bank fishing schooners to the high tech naval frigates of today – the thousands of vessels built in Atlantic Canada during the past 250 years have shaped the region like no other industry.

Maritime Shipbuilding is a half hour documentary that explores this seafaring history and the proud tradition that lives on to this day. The film travels to once-thriving shipbuilding centres in the Maritimes to rediscover the story of one of the world’s most vibrant, productive, and profitable shipbuilding regions.

Although no longer the economic driving force it once was, the shipbuilding industry in Atlantic Canada continues to prosper. The thousands of people who recently attended the re-launch of the Bluenose II in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia are a testament to that enduring legacy.

Maritime Shipbuilding was written and directed by award-winning Halifax documentary-maker Geoff D’Eon, (Blood On The Coal/Facebook Follies) and produced by Edward Peill from Halifax-based Tell Tale Productions Inc.

“This was an interesting piece to work on. More than 28,000 ships built in the Maritimes? Who knew?” says D’Eon “It’s not only the numbers that are surprising, but the locations where these ships were built, places that today show no trace of the industry that once was.”

Maritime Shipbuilding will have its world broadcast premiere on CBC Television’s Land & Sea on Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 12 Noon. Following the broadcast, the documentary can be watched on the CBC TV website at: www.cbc.ca/landandsea. Land & Sea is CBC’s 2nd longest running TV series and can be followed on Twitter: @cbclandandsea

Maritime Shipbuilding was produced in association with CBC TV with funding from Film NS, and Provincial and Federal tax credits.

How Should the Great War be Remembered? Your Chance to Weigh In with Canada’s Leading Educators, Historians, Community Leaders & Museum Curators

December 7, 2012 1 Comment

2014 marks the 100th Anniversary of the start of the First World War. It was the world’s first global conflict and it affected every level of society. Over 500 high school students from Victoria High School are remembered in the Great War Roll of Honour; the first woman officially in the Royal Canadian Navy was a ‘nursing sister’ from Bruce County, Ontario named Elizabeth Pierce; 700 men from the Newfoundland regiment were killed or injured during the First World War and children across Canada saved their pennies to buy War Savings Stamps.

Cenotaphs in tribute to these sons, daughters, men and women exist in virtually every city and town acrooss the country yet only 22 in 10 Canadians attend annual Remembrance Day events in their communities. Teachers and community groups are now seizing upon the centennial anniversary to renew interest about Canada’s role during the Great War and make the distant past more relevant for Canadian students.

Canada’s History Forum will bring together over 150 of Canada’s leading educators, students, community leaders, historians and museum curators to join with the Governor General’s History Award recipients and critically examine leading practices inside the classroom and in community commemorations. The theme of this year’s 5th national history forum is ‘How should World War I be remembered?” As the First World War fades from public memory, efforts as to how to preserve the world’s first global conflict as a vibrant part of the Canadian historical and cultural landscape will be explored. Continue reading →

Wikipedia and Warriors: Quickly Exploring Canada’s Wikipedia Past, 2003-Present

December 6, 2012 No Comments

Page views for the “History of Canada” wikipedia page. Note regular declines during school breaks!

By Ian Milligan

The 2009 Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship, laid out – in the eyes of a diverse group of Canadian academics – a new vision for Canada (too many links to list, but some are here). A redefinition of Canada based upon war and conflict, with the military assuming a prominent role and the First and Second World Wars assuming center stage in the official understanding of the past. The evidence seems clear: one needs only to attend a hockey game (well, you know, at least during the last season), attend an official ceremony, read the pronouncement of the Minister of Heritage, to see that the Canadian military certainly is playing a larger role in both contemporary and historical accounts. But how do everyday Canadians respond to this alteration of their history? Is this shift reflected in the most common source of historical information, Wikipedia.com? Continue reading →

Municipal Conflicts of Interest in Canada, Old and New

December 4, 2012 11 Comments

By Daniel Ross

He was a controversial mayor from the start. An unabashed populist, he rallied support during his campaigns by promising to cut taxes and reduce waste at city hall. As a result, he won an impressive share of the popular vote. He never denied having links to the city’s business and development community—he ran a successful business himself—and his policies certainly reflected that. From early on, accusations of bending the rules shadowed his career. But it was a legal challenge from an ordinary citizen alleging a conflict of interest that led to him losing his job.

Rob Ford and William Hawrelak. Sources: City of Toronto; City of Edmonton Archives, EA-10-1600

That man’s name was William Hawrelak, mayor of Edmonton from 1951-59, 1963-65, and 1974-75. His story is remarkable, and not just because of its superficial similarities to that of recently deposed Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Few Canadian politicians have managed to combine success and failure as dramatically as he did in his 30-year career in public office. But in another way, his tale, like Ford’s, is nothing new. Concern over politicians using public office for private benefit has often dogged local politics in Canada, and one result has been strict conflict of interest law.

In this post I’d like to take a look at Rob Ford’s removal from office in light of a short history of municipal conflict of interest in Canada. It turns out there is nothing unprecedented about the penalty he faces, or the populist way he and his supporters have responded to his removal. Continue reading →

History Slam Episode Ten: The Foundation for Building Sustainable Communities

December 4, 2012 2 Comments

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By Sean Graham

In the six months or so since I started this podcast, I’ve been amazed to learn how many different groups and organizations are working around the country to promote the study of history. For as much lamenting and hand-wringing that goes on every time a study is released decrying Canadians’ general lack of historical knowledge, there are thousands of people working to engage people in the stories of the past. At a time when there’s been lots of talk of cuts that could prove damaging to the discipline, it’s good to know that there’s so many people from coast-to-coast working so hard to promote Canada’s history.

In this episode of the History Slam I talk with Glenn McKnight and Bob Bell from the Foundation for Building Sustainable Communities, a local historical group from Oshawa, Ontario. We chat about the group’s projects, which include the re-creation of a WWII Victory Garden, geocaching, and their new War of 1812 project, which included a dinner featuring regency dancing and “Kentucky militia” kidnapping the Queen’s representative. After talking about the American perspective of the war in an earlier podcast, it was fun to look at it from a local perspective.

As an added bonus, we also re-assemble the Prime Minister Fantasy Draft for a short recap. We talk about the responses to the draft – good, bad, and indifferent – and announce the big winner – even though it’s been pointed out to me that perhaps nobody can be a winner in a PM Fantasy Draft.

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