**I know I said there would be a Historian’s Toolkit today, but I ran into a couple of last minute problems that I couldn’t resolve in time. I was planning to run this post on Friday anyways, so I just switched them. I feel terrible about this! Even if I can’t resolve the original problem, there will be a new Back to School blog post. I promise.**
Welcome back to our monthly series, “Upcoming Publications in Canadian History,” where I’ve compiled information on all the upcoming releases for the following month in the field of Canadian history from every Canadian academic press, all in one place. This includes releases in both English and French. To see August’s releases, click here.
***Please note that the cover images and book blurbs are used with permission from the publishers.***
N.B. This list only includes new releases, not rereleases in different formats.
September 1, 2016
Bohdan S. Kordan, No Free Man: Canada, the Great War, and the Enemy Alien Experience (Montreal: MQUP, 2016).
Approximately 8,000 Canadian civilians were imprisoned during the First World War because of their ethnic ties to Germany, Austria-Hungary, and other enemy nations. Although not as well-known as the later internments of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, these incarcerations played a crucial role in shaping debates about Canadian citizenship, diversity, and loyalty.
Tracing the evolution and consequences of Canadian government policy towards immigrants of enemy nationality, No Free Man is a nuanced work that acknowledges both the challenges faced by the Government of Canada as well as the experiences of internees and their families. Bohdan Kordan gives particular attention to the ways in which the political and legal status of enemy subjects configured the policy and practice of internment and how this process – magnified by the challenges of the war – affected the broader concerns of public order and national security. Placing the issue of internment within the wider context of community and belonging, Kordan further delves into the ways in which wartime turbulence and anxieties moulded public attitudes towards the treatment of enemy aliens. He concludes that Canada’s leadership failed to protect immigrants of enemy origin during a period of intense suspicion, conflict, and crisis.
Framed by questions about government rights, responsibilities, and obligations, and based on extensive archival research, No Free Man provides a systematic and thoughtful account of Canadian government policy towards enemy aliens during the First World War.
Formats available: Hardcover
Publisher’s link: http://www.mqup.ca/no-free-man-products-9780773547780.php?page_id=46&
Buy it on Amazon.ca: No Free Man: Canada, the Great War, and the Enemy Alien Experience
Philip J. Hatfield, Lines in the Ice: Exploring the Roof of the World (Montreal: MQUP, 2016).
The 2014 discovery of HMS Erebus – a ship lost during Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition to find the Northwest Passage – reignited popular, economic, and political interest in the Arctic’s exploration, history, anthropology, and historical geography. Lines in the Ice investigates the allure of the North through topographical views, maps, explorers’ diaries, and historic photographs.
Following the course of major journeys to the Arctic, including those of Martin Frobisher, Henry Hudson, and John Franklin, Philip Hatfield assesses the impact of these incursions on the North’s numerous indigenous communities and reveals the role of exploration in making the modern world. Besides detailing the area’s vivid history, Lines in the Ice also focuses on beautiful works created over the last 500 years by people who live and travel in the Arctic. Lavishly illustrated with reproductions of items rarely seen outside of the British Library, this volume meditates on humans’ relationships with the Arctic at a time when climate change poses a catastrophic threat to the peoples and ecosystems of this enigmatic region.
A timely work that traces the past’s influence on the present day, Lines in the Ice showcases the rich visual history of Arctic exploration, indigenous cultural works, and the longstanding ways in which the North has captivated the public.
Formats available: Hardcover
Publisher’s link: http://www.mqup.ca/lines-in-the-ice-products-9780773548206.php?page_id=46&
Buy it on Amazon.ca: Lines in the Ice: Exploring the Roof of the World
September 9, 2016
Brian D. McInnes, Sounding Thunder: The Stories of Francis Pegahmagabow (Winnipeg: UofM, 2016).
Francis Pegahmagabow (1889-1952), an Ojibwe of the Caribou clan, was born in Shawanaga First Nation, Ontario. Enlisting at the onset of the First World War, he served overseas as a scout and sniper and became Canada’s most decorated Indigenous soldier. After the war, Pegahmagabow settled in Wasauksing First Nation, Ontario, where he married and raised six children. He served his community as both Chief and Councillor and was a founding member of the Brotherhood of Canadian Indians, the first national Indigenous political organization. In 1949 and 1950, he was elected the Supreme Chief of the National Indian Government.
Francis Pegahmagabow’s stories describe many parts of his life and are characterized by classic Ojibwe narrative. They reveal aspects of Francis’s Anishinaabe life and worldview. Interceding chapters by Brian McInnes provide valuable cultural, spiritual, linguistic, and historic insights that give a greater context and application for Francis’s words and world. Presented in their original Ojibwe as well as in English translation, the stories also reveal a rich and evocative relationship to the lands and waters of Georgian Bay.
In Sounding Thunder, Brian McInnes provides new perspective on Pegahmagabow and his experience through a unique synthesis of Ojibwe oral history, historical record, and Pegahmagabow family stories.
Formats available: Paperback
Publisher’s link: https://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/sounding-thunder
Buy it on Amazon.ca: Sounding Thunder: The Stories of Francis Pegahmagabow
September 16, 2016
Cecilia Morgan, Building Better Britains?: Settler Societities in the British World, 1783-1920 (Toronto: UTP, 2016).
The effects of empires and the lingering presence of colonialism continue to be major preoccupations for scholars in the twenty-first century. This short new book explores the spread of settler colonies within the British Empire over the course of the nineteenth century—specifically those in New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, and Australia.
Building Better Britains? begins by examining colonial relationships with Indigenous peoples and the processes of migration and settlement that formed part of the British Empire’s global expansion. It then moves on to discuss labour within settler economies as well as the domain of civil society—including family, domesticity, intimate relations, religion, and education. The book closes with an exploration of identity and culture in settler societies.
Formats available: Hardcover
Publisher’s link: http://www.utppublishing.com/Buiding-Better-Britains-Settler-Societies-in-the-British-World-1783-1920.html
Buy it on Amazon.ca: Building Better Britains?: Settler Societies in the British World, 1783-1920
September 27, 2016
Steve Penfold, A Mile of Make Believe: A History of the Eaton’s Santa Claus Parade (Toronto: UTP, 2016).
A Mile of Make Believe examines the unique history of the Santa Claus parade in Canada. This volume focuses on the Eaton’s sponsored parades that occurred in Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg as well as the shorter-lived parades in Calgary and Edmonton. There is also a discussion of small town alternatives, organized by civic groups, service clubs, and chambers of commerce.
By focusing on the pioneering effort of the Eaton’s department store Steve Penfold argues that the parade ultimately represented a paradoxical form of cultural power: it allowed Eaton’s to press its image onto public life while also reflecting the decline of the once powerful retailer. Penfold’s analysis reveals the “corporate fantastic” – a visual and narrative mix of meticulous organization and whimsical style– and its influence on parade traditions. Steve Penfold’s considerable analytical skills have produced a work that is simultaneously a cultural history, history of business and commentary on consumerism. Professional historians and the general public alike would be remiss if this wasn’t on their holiday wish list.
Formats available: Paperback (hardcover available October 19th)
Publisher’s link: http://www.utppublishing.com/A-Mile-of-Make-Believe-A-History-of-the-Eaton-s-Santa-Claus-Parade.html
Buy it on Amazon.ca: A Mile of Make-Believe: A History of the Eaton’s Santa Claus Parade
That’s all for this month! Are there any books in particular that you are looking forward to? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below! And don’t get to check back on Friday for another new blog post!
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