This course explores selected topics in the history of commemoration, public memory, and public history in Canada. Remembering the past has often involved various groups - political, economic, and social elites - who have attempted to create ‘pasts’ or ‘traditions’ for themselves and others in society, often as part of creating socio-economic and political hegemony. We also will read about their contestation by women, working-class people, and ethnic and racialized groups to counter the powerful’s apparent monopoly on public memory. As well, we will explore how historical memories have shaped and created landscapes, in ways both discursive and material.
This course explores selected topics in the history of commemoration, public memory, and public history in Canada. Remembering the past has often involved various groups - political, economic, and social elites - who have attempted to create ‘pasts’ or ‘traditions’ for themselves and others in society, often as part of creating socio-economic and political hegemony. We also will read about their contestation by women, working-class people, and ethnic and racialized groups to counter the powerful’s apparent monopoly on public memory. As well, we will explore how historical memories have shaped and created landscapes, in ways both discursive and material.
