• Remembering the First World War

    Cynthia Wallace-Casey [This essay is part of a series of contributions to be published over the coming years by members of the research group “Military Service, Citizenship, and Political Culture: Studies of Militias in Atlantic Canada.” Any questions about the project can be sent to Gregory Kennedy, Research Director of the Acadian Studies Institute at the Université de… Continue Reading

  • Teaching the Politics and Meaning of Maps

    Claire Campbell   I like maps. A lot. I used to study the Rand McNally Road Atlas on long car trips. Sometimes when I’m homesick I’ll meander through Halifax on Google Streetview. And this year I’m team-teaching a new course on “The Politics and Meaning of Maps.” The Premise This is an Integrated Perspectives course,… Continue Reading

  • How to Start Your Thesis

    Jerry Bannister Starting a graduate thesis is hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying, delusional, or one of those bizarre people who find it easy. December in Canada brings awful holiday specials on TV, complaints about freezing rain and, for those of us in universities, worries over what’s left undone from the Fall term.… Continue Reading

  • Skills for Historians of the Future: Palaeography

    Leah Grandy Future historians are facing a crisis in a skill set that has not been a significant issue in the past. As the teaching of cursive writing has been eliminated or greatly diminished from North American elementary school curriculums, we are seeing the arrival of university students to arts programmes unable to read written… Continue Reading

  • Settler Colonialism and the Future of Canadian History

    Jerry Bannister In March I had the pleasure of attending the Pierre Savard conference[1] at the University of Ottawa. I was asked to give a talk on the future of Canadian history, particularly the ongoing debate over transnational versus national perspectives. I never did get around to asking why they invited me to speak. Perhaps… Continue Reading

  • Re-Narrating Canadian History after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

    Following the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report six months ago, universities across the country are re-evaluating our practices. Both individually (as recently seen at the University of Winnipeg and Lakehead University) and collectively through Universities Canada’s broad response to the commission’s final report, campuses across the country seem to be making a more concerted effort to respond to this call for change.