By Sean Graham This week I’m joined by Robin C. Whittaker, author of Alumnae Theatre Company: Nonprofessionalizing Theatre in Canada. We discuss the establishment of the Alumnae Theatre Company and its place as Canada’s longest-running women-led theatre group, how the group survived its early years, and the place of non-professional theatre in 20th century Canada. We also chat about the... Read more ..read more

By Sean Graham This week I talk with Aidan Forth, author of Camps: A Global History of Mass Confinement. We talk about the definition of camps, the commonalties among camps, and the ubiquity of mass confinement. We also talk about studying these sites across cultures, how echoes of past camps inform modern confinement, and the continuing legacy of camps. Historical... Read more ..read more

In correspondence with North York Mayor Mel Lastman, Sheila Mascoll accused the mayor of the sort of neglect of and insensitivity toward Jane-Finch that had cast an unreasonable racist pall on a neighborhood where thousands lived, worked, and played ..read more

By Sean Graham This week, I’m joined by Tonya Davidson, author of Inside the Snow Globe: Ottawa Monuments and National Belonging. We discuss Tonya’s approach to monuments as a primary source, how publics respond to monuments, and how national monuments fit into local communities. We also talk about some of Ottawa’s less known monuments, how memorials change public spaces, and... Read more ..read more

By James Cullingham The cinema in downtown Nogojiwanong – Peterborough, Ontario – was almost packed for a noon screening of A Complete Unknown on the second day of its general release. That Bob Dylan fellow still pulls. The film is the latest cinematic effort to unravel the enigmatic genius of Bob Dylan. It has been greeted by generally favourable critical... Read more ..read more

By Aaron Boyes and Sean Graham When we started this humble tradition back in 2013, it was based on a frustration with seeing year in review think pieces and declarations of things like the word of the year being released in November – which always signalled to us that December didn’t count. So tough luck to all the inventions, birthdays,... Read more ..read more

By Thomas Peace Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought with it a revival of continentalist rhetoric to North American politics. “It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada. I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon…” A few days ago, when Finance Minister Chrystia... Read more ..read more

This week I’m joined by Crystal Gail Fraser, author of By Strength, We Are Still Here: Indigenous Peoples and Indian Residential Schooling in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. We discuss the lesser known story of northern residential schools, conducting oral history with survivors, and the Gwich’in concepts of individual and collective strength. We also chat about the significance of the Inuvik’s school construction in... Read more ..read more

By Jacob Richard Imagine walking through the doors of the last large museum you visited. What do you see? Colourful artwork hanging off the walls? Marble sculptures along voluminous hallways? Rare cultural artifacts in neatly packed display cases? If any of this sounds familiar, your memory has betrayed you. You would have seen, first and foremost, the metal detector, the... Read more ..read more

Residential school denialism may have its origins in Canada, but it is increasingly circulating and being used around the world as part of a wider matrix of imperial apologetics – a transnational network of discourse that aims to defend the legacy of the British Empire in the metropole and former colonies ..read more