Frances Barraclough of Calgary, Alberta, fishing in Cameron Creek, Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta (1949) / Library and Archives Canada MIKAN 4311953, 4312295 CC by 2.0
The latest in blog posts, news, and podcasts from the world of Canadian history.
- In Memorium: William H. McNeill and Ramsay Cook
- Active History’s two week series on the Confederation debates with Canada Watch wrapped up this week.
- The final post, by Ged Martin, is a critical examination of the famous Robert Harris group portrait of the Fathers of Confederation. Fun fact, when I met my husband, he had a poster of the fathers of Confederation standing outside Province House in Charlottetown on his wall. It did not survive my moving in. 😉
- There were also two response posts.
- The first, by Christopher Moore, is a reflection on Confederation from the perspective of the centennial and the upcoming 150th anniversary. He critiques a number of the essays from the aforementioned series, particularly with respect to which published version of the debates the authors were using. Don’t miss the comment section!
- The second response is from Daniel Heidt, and he discusses the website, The Confederation Debates, where the public is asked to help transcribe the records of the Numbered Treaties and the colonial and federal legislative debates on Confederation for each province. The website will serve as a resource for the public to learn more about Confederation, and there will also be lesson plans for high school students.
- Active History’s French sister site, Histoire Engagée, has three more interviews from the upcoming “Question sociale et citoyenneté conference.”
- The first one is with Clara Deville, who discusses her research into why certain people refuse the social assistance that they are entitled to from the state.
- The second interview, with Samuel Côté, looks at shipwrecks in the St. Lawrence River. Super cool!
- The final interview is with Cory Verbewhede, and focuses on his research into the mythology surrounding our “heroes” of the medicare system in Quebec.
- The always amazing Jessica DeWitt has her top picks in environmental history from the month of June! I can particularly recommend the Great Sparrow War article, which I loved. I had no idea sparrows were not indigenous to North America.
- There is another blog post out this week by Ged Martin! This one, on the Acadiensis blog, is an introduction to his essay on Saint John, NB, “Geography and Governance: The Problem of Saint John, New Brunswick, 1785-1927.” The full essay is available here.
- This week on Unwritten Histories, I started a new series, “What’s In My…” which uses material objects to tell the unwritten histories of Canada’s past. In this first edition, I talk about what a white upper-class Victorian woman would have carried in her daytime purse in the 1890s. There are great photos, and a really amazing little lady named Lady Blanche Paulet.
- There is a new History Slam episode this week. Episode 88 looks at the problem of translation and bilingualism in Canada, particularly with respect to the theatre. As someone who grew up bilingual, I know all too well how translations are often terrible. The one I remember is the movie Stepmom being translated as “La blonde de mon père,” which is a not-polite way of saying “my dad’s girlfriend.” Oops.
- The University of Calgary’s Alumni podcast, Peer Review, has a new episode out this week featuring historian Shannon Murray discussing the origins of the Calgary Stampede.
- Sasha Mullaly and Siobhan Hanratty talk about how to use mapping and GIS in the classroom over on Active History. They speak to their experiences working with students at UNB on their historical GIS project. They used students to “spatialize” their research. It sounds amazing!
- It seems like fashion is a bit of a trend this week. The latest post from Canadian History Bites looks at the clothing worn by Voyageurs and Coureurs de Bois during the fur trade!
- NiCHE New Scholars has posted their year-end review. The review includes information on some of the topics that have been discussed by the NiCHE New Scholars Committee meetings as well as a farewell from outgoing representative Laura Larsen. The representative for the 2016-2017 year will be Mica Jorgenson!
- Matthew Hayday gives us a preview of his current research into Canadian content on Sesame Street. My husband may or may not have a remarkable resemblance to Bert….
- Stephen Maynard has an op-ed at Rabble with a historical perspective on the relationship between the police and the LGTBQIA communities in Canada. As he argues, we seem to have forgotten that police brutality against the LGTBQIA community did not end in 1981, and we still need to address the institutional problems that still exist to this day.
- Andrew Nurse discusses his experiences at the Practicing History in the 21st Century Symposium. Despite a number of ongoing problems, he feels like the field of Canadian history is moving in the right direction. Dare I say it’s moving forward?
- Library and Archives Canada has released the second issue of their magazine, Signatures. The theme for this issue is “secrets.”
- There are three new blog posts from LAC as well this week.
- The first, by Meaghan Scanlon, looks at cartoons of political figures from Canadian history. I’m quite taken by Poutinette though.
- The second is a feature on the Land Development Records of the CNR and its predecessors. Much of the material relates to the sale of farmland.
- The final post is an update on the digitization of WW1 military service records.
- Ed MacDonald and Josh MacFayden have released a new edited collection on the environmental history of PEI. You can read about the book here and listen to a talk about it here.
- This great piece, out of Sustainable Archaeology from McMaster, looks at the impact of looting on archaeological collections in Ontario.
- Walter Klaasen discusses the relationship between Vimy Ridge and Canadian nationalism on Active History. While Vimy Ridge has long been valorized as being the birthplace of the Canadian nation, Klaasen argues that it would be better to focus not on the victory at Vimy Ridge, but of the deadly cost of war that it represents.
- William Stewart discusses the Battle of the Somme from the perspective of the German military. While many of the records from WW1 were destroyed, there is at least one captured order that permits a comparison with Canadian narratives of the battle.
- Maddie Knickerbocker initiated a great conversation on Twitter this week about the meaning of Canadian history, particularly with respect to the parts that make people uncomfortable. Check out the hashtag #ThisIsCanadasHistory to follow along.
- The University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections are putting on a new exhibit entitled “Spirit of Red River.” The exhibit is based largely on their collection of photographs documenting 135 years of Winnipeg history.
- There are two new journal releases this week!
- Quebec Studies has released their June issue
- And BC Studies has a new issue on settler colonialism! Looks like I need to get reading…
- Canadian History in the News!
- Learn about how a Canadian helped to make blood transfusions a regular part of medical treatment in WW1.
- Check out this amazing exhibit of over 1,800 drawings done by Inuit from Clyde River, Pond Inlet, and Arctic Bay. They are just amazing.
- Halifax’s first Mi’kmaq poet laureate, Rebecca Thomas, speaks out against Edward Cornwallis, the founder of Halifax, for his violent treatment of the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia.
- Google maps is helping to record the oral histories of Indigenous peoples from all over this world. This article looks at the mapping project involving the Stz’uminus First Nation, located near Ladysmith, BC. I think this is a great example of research that actually benefits Indigenous communities, since this research will be used in pursuit of a treaty with the BC government.
- There is new archaeological evidence on the tsunami that hit Vancouver Island in the year 1700! We are so screwed.
- TVO interviewed Dr. Matthew Bellamy on the history of beer in Canada.
Anyone else glad this week is over? 🙁
That’s it for this week! Don’t forget to check back on Tuesday for a Canadian Historian’s Guide to Twitter!
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