Picnicking on the shore of the St. Lawrence River, Mallorytown Landing, Thousand Islands national park (June 1950). Chris Lund. Canada. National Film Board of Canada. Library and Archives Canada, e010955677. CC by 2.0
The latest in blog posts, news, and podcasts from the world of Canadian history.
- Over on Borealia, dann j. Broyld and Matthew Marshauer examine the proposed design for the new $20 American bill. This post was cross-posted to The Republic, a blog about the early history of the US. With Harriet Tubman on one side, and Andrew Jackson on the other, the new bill embodies many of the tensions within the early American republic.
- On NICHE, William Knight presents an expanded version of his CHA paper, which explores the transnational history of fish. Using GIS, he tracked the movement of smallmouth bass in Algonquin Park from 1898 to 1901, in Maine/New Brunswick/Nova Scotia from 1869 to 1948, and the current status of the fish in Nova Scotia.
- Oscar Winberg talks about the 2016 American election over on Active History. He considers the history of the primaries and caucuses in the Democratic Party with respect to the selection of delegates. It’s a fascinating look at how the role that democracy plays with respect to the selection of presidential candidates.
- I went conferencing last week! In my latest blog post, I give a recap of my experiences at this year’s Festival of Learning Conference on teaching and learning in higher education. Stay tuned this week for a revised version of my presentation from the conference on active learning in introductory Canadian history classes!
- Acadiensis is back from vacation with a new post by Vicki S. Hallett. She discusses the television show Cold Water Cowboys, a Newfoundland fishing version of Deadliest Catch. She considers the show as a contact zone and presents a fascinating analysis of the portrayal of Newfoundland identity particularly with respect to the gendered and racialized aspects. She also discusses how Newfoundlanders are portrayed as “Indigenous peoples.”
- The Scots of British Columbia blog has a new post by an SFU history major, Jazmin Hundal. Hundal looks at the life of John Thomas Scott and how “ordinary men became local heroes in the mid to late nineteenth century.”
- Continuing on the early American theme, the Boston 1775 blog has another post about Halifax printer, Isaiah Thomas. The post looks at his flight from Boston, his travels, and his clothing.
- Katrina Ackerman has a great piece on Active History on the 1946 Windsor to Tecumseh Tornado. This tornado, the third deadliest in Canadian history, caught Canadians unprepared. She discusses why the public was not warned and how all levels of government tried to avoid both taking responsibility for the disaster and paying for reconstruction.
- It’s the time of the year again for UVic’s Digital Humanities Summer Institute 2016. Mica Jorgenson gives us a recap of her experiences during week 1. I’m totally jealous.
- Robynne Mellow looks at the contradictory nature of Elliot Lake. Founded to host individuals involved in uranium production, heavily polluted and abandoned, the town is now embracing eco-tourism as a driving economic engine. Mellow considers how Elliot Lake deals with being a wilderness destination while also embracing its nuclear legacy.
- Library and Archives Canada has an update on the digitization process for the WW1 Canadian Expeditionary Force Service Files.
- Active History has yet another report from the New Directions in Active History conference, this time on the topic of the evacuation of British children to Canada in WW2. Author Claire L. Halstead discusses how digitization can provide new opportunities for critical analysis. She also walks us through the creation of a database of these evacuees and a GIS map of their locations.
- Adam Coombs discusses the history of “O Canada” and unpacks the complaints against the recent change by the Conservative Party. Spoiler alert: the song has changed many times over the years!
- And in Canadian history news!
- Margaret Atwood discusses her participation in a human rights panel about the legacy of the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids. Nearly 300 gay men were arrested during these raids, and Atwood spoke out against them at the time. In this article, she reflects upon her experiences.
- Controversy over the decision to rename a Montreal park after Jacques Parizeau. Cause that’s not contentious at all…
- Senator Murray Sinclair argues that residential schools must be part of the history curriculum in Quebec. I wholeheartedly agree.
- My favourite political journalist ever, Chantal Hébert (I will have her babies!), talks about the history of discrimination against the LGTBQQ2 community in Canada in the wake of the horrifying shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.
- Today (Sunday) is the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Seven Oaks. You can check out Adam Gaudry’s excellent twitter feed for ongoing coverage of a symposium on the history of the battle. You should also check out the Twitter conversation on the battle, which you can access by searching for the hashtag #7oaks.
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