Jerry Bannister Like many Canadian historians, I have followed with interest the ongoing debate over John A. Macdonald, including the recent letter sponsored by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Among the thoughtful responses to the letter, I’d highlight three points. First, as Andrew Nurse explains in Borealia, we should be wary of pro-Macdonald calls for “balance,” which… Continue Reading
Latest in: Canadian History
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Jerry Bannister Last spring, in response to Denis McKim’s thoughtful post about the potential impacts of the pandemic on the study of Canadian history, I started a short piece on how the larger social crises were shaping our historical perspectives. As spring turned into summer, and we took advantage of the Atlantic bubble, my notes… Continue Reading
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Scott McLaren “The greater part of an author’s time is spent in reading,” Samuel Johnson is widely reported to have said. “He must turn over half a library to write one book.” What Johnson didn’t say is that in the process of turning over half a library, one inevitably comes across tantalizing narratives – and… Continue Reading
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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
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Dani Reimer and Keith Grant Welcome to Borealia’s Spring 2020 roundup of forthcoming books on early Canadian history. The list is drawn from publishers’ catalogues and websites, featuring books scheduled for release between now and the end of the year. What kinds of books made it into this preview? Works of historical scholarship on any… Continue Reading
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Denis McKim Thomas Paine likened the American Revolution to the deluge. In much the same way that God had hit the “reset button” on history itself through the flood recounted in Genesis, the United States had initiated a new epoch by revolting against British rule and launching what Paine hoped would become an egalitarian republic.… Continue Reading
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Robert W. Passfield What has been termed ‘Whig History’ is a Liberal historiography that views history teleologically in terms of the progress of humanity towards enlightenment, rationalism, scientism, secularism, and the freedom of the individual. As attested by Herbert Butterfield (The Whig Interpretation of History, 1931) Whig history is characterized by presentism, a distinct historical… Continue Reading
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[This review, by an American-based scholar, is the second in a two-part series on Revolutions across Borders; a first, by a Canadian-based scholar, appeared on 13 January – Editors.] Mark R. Cheathem Maxime Dagenais and Julien Mauduit, eds., Revolutions across Borders: Jacksonian American and the Canadian Rebellion (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019). If… Continue Reading
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[This review, by a Canadian-based scholar, is the first in a two-part series on Revolutions across Borders; a second, by an American-based scholar, will appear on 20 January – Editors.] Stephen R. I. Smith Maxime Dagenais and Julien Mauduit, eds., Revolutions across Borders: Jacksonian American and the Canadian Rebellion (Montreal andKingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019).… Continue Reading
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Who is CRKN? The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) is a partnership of 79 Canadian universities and institutions dedicated to expanding digital content for the academic research and teaching enterprise in Canada. CRKN was formed in 1999 to increase the quantity, breadth, and depth of digital scholarly content available to university libraries. While content licensing… Continue Reading
