ActiveHistory.ca

Quote graphic. Green background with rainbow border. White text says: “The judge’s verdict provides limited insight into the complicated social dynamics of a failing marriage at a time when homosexuality was still criminalized and when Canadian divorce law was in a transitional period.” “Erin Gallagher-Cohoon”

Read Erin Gallagher-Cohoon’s post on queer histories of family and divorce in Nova Scotia
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Taking Care of the Truth: A Call for Collaborative, Community-Engaged Residential School Research The Squamish Nation’s Yúusnewas project demonstrates the importance of data sovereignty, big data analysis, and the need for collaborative, community-engaged residential school research as pa…

In today’s post Sean Carleton and Adina Williams discuss their collaborative research on the residential school system as part of the Yúusneẇas Project.

Two Lefts, Two Paths: Quebec Left Politics and the Immigration Question through Bill 84 Francesco Coirazza “Multiculturalism finally no longer applies to Quebec! […] It’s a model that has always been harmful to Quebec,” claimed Minister of the French Language Jean-François Roberge in …

In today’s post Francesco Coirazza explores Quebec’s Bill 84 and immigration.

2SLGBTQ+ Youth, Parental Rights, and Alberta Standards for School Libraries Nancy Janovicek and Karissa Patton This button is from Nancy’s political button “archive.” She first wore it in the 1990s when groups attempted to ban books from libraries, including Lesléa Newman’…

In today’s post Nancy Janovicek and Karissa Patton explore recent book bans in Alberta and what it means for 2SLGBTQ+ youth.

January 2025 – Active History

UTP author Jennifer Neville was a guest on a recent episode of the Active History podcast, discussing her new book Truth is Trickiest: The Case for Ambiguity in the Exeter Book Riddles. @activehist.bsky.social

Listen here: activehistory.ca/blog/2025/01...

A kind review of #FortMcKay #Metis Nation: A Community History by Maegan Ellis on @ActiveHist.

A Review of Peter Fortna’s The Fort McKay Métis Nation: A Community History Ultimately, The Fort McKay Métis Nation: A Community History makes a vital contribution to Métis historiography and to the growing body of scholarship that centers Indigenous voices in historical r…

MA student Maegan Ellis's book review of "The Fort McKay Métis Nation: A Community History" was published in @activehist.bsky.social today:
activehistory.ca/blog/2025/07...
#cdnhist

A Review of Peter Fortna’s The Fort McKay Métis Nation: A Community History Ultimately, The Fort McKay Métis Nation: A Community History makes a vital contribution to Métis historiography and to the growing body of scholarship that centers Indigenous voices in historical r…

Join Maegan Ellis as she reviews Peter Fortna’s The Fort McKay Métis Nation: A Community History.

Green background with white text on top stating: “We are hiring!” Below is a black and white photo of 10 women working around four desks in a newspaper bullpen. Below the photo is white text stating: “Active History is hiring a part-time site manager. Come work with us!”

We are hiring a part-time site manager! Applications due July 11th.
For more information:
activehistory.ca/blog/2025/05...

Green background, white text quoting: “ My hope is that if I can catch someone’s attention, provide them with some of that broader context, and point them toward the work of historians who’ve explored that context more deeply, that person might be curious enough to want to carry on learning more.” Underneath it says “Adam Bunch” in white text and has a white Active History.ca logo in the bottom right corner.

Adam Bunch’s @adambunch.bsky.social post is part of our Essays on the Future of Knowledge Mobilization and Public History Online series. Read along as he explores how he practices and promotes public history.

activehistory.ca/blog/2025/07...

Green background, with a white graphic image of a tab open on a computer with black text quoting: “…the outcome of the essay is far less important than the process of thinking about it, researching it, and writing it. Generative AI, if we’re being realistic about the way it’s used, obliterates that process.”Underneath it says “Mack Penner and Edward Dunsworth” in black text and has a white Active History.ca logo in the bottom right corner.

Mack Penner and Edward Dunsworth continue the conversation on the use of AI in education and history. Their post was written in response to a previous one by Mark Humphries.

Check out this post and the previous ones here: linktr.ee/activehistory

Green background with white text stating: “Call For Submissions” followed by a Black and white photo of two teenage girls bent over a table, working with fabric. Underneath it says “expressions of interest due July 1st.”

Previously Kristin Burnett and Shannon Stettner explored the YWCA’s role in Residential Schools and Indian Hospital systems in Canada. They also called for blog series proposal submissions. More information about submissions can be found at the end of the article.

activehistory.ca/blog/2025/04...

Pastel rainbow background. Dark purple border with title “Pride Month” top centre and Active History Logo bottom right. Top right is the text “Is the gay steel mill closed? Reflections on queer histories of deindustrializing Cape Breton” “Liam Devitt”to the left of it is a black and white photo of a steel mill. Bottom left is the text: “We as parliamentarians can feel the gaze of history upon us”: Historical Consciousness and Bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act (2005)” “Erin Gallagher-Cohoon” to the right of the text is a photo of a newspaper headline stating “Same-sex law”.

Final post of the Pride Month showcase! Check out these posts and the entire collection here: linktr.ee/activehistory

Professors or Propagandists? McGill’s Socialist Professors and their Students in the 1930s This is the final post in a three-part series about socialism at McGill in the 1930s. Raffaella Cerenzia 1930s McGill was a small, tight-knit place. Only 3,000 or so students roamed the university’…

Today’s post is the last one in the 1930s socialism at McGill series! Make sure to check out all 3 posts!

Cerenzia has written an amazing series of posts on McGill in the 1930s. Well done, @activehist.bsky.social !

The Chancellor and His Principals: Administrative Reponses to Socialist Professors at McGill, c. 1930-1941 This is the second post in a three-part series about socialism at McGill in the 1930s. Raffaella Cerenzia As the 1930s unfolded, the soaring unemployment and general miseries of the Great Depressio…

Part two of Raffaella Cerenzia’s series exploring socialism at McGill University in the 1930s is out now! Check out the second post on administrative responses to socialism.

Pastel rainbow background. Dark purple border with title “Pride Month” top centre and Active History Logo bottom right. In the centre is the text “an ongoing series…” followed by a graphic of the Canadian maritimes in a pink triangle with the text: “Queering Atlantic Canada. 2SLGBTQIA Stories, Histories, and Archives from Atlantic Canada.” This is followed by “edited by Jess Wilton”.

Continuing our showcase for Pride Month is the Queering Atlantic Canada Series, edited by Jess Wilton. It is ongoing and will have new posts soon, so make sure to stay updated!

Check out the series and our showcase here: linktr.ee/activehistory

“Time to Wake Up!”: Principal Currie and the McGill Labour Club’s Alarm Clock This is the first post in a three-part series about socialism at McGill in the 1930s. Raffaella Cerenzia Tick tock, tick tock. “Time to wake up!” In January 1933, deep in the midst of the Great Dep…

Today’s post “‘Time to Wake Up!’: Principal Currie and the McGill Labour Club’s Alarm Clock” is the first of three posts by Raffaella Cerenzia exploring socialism at McGill University in the 1930s.

For the historical context of migrant labour in Canada, check out the @activehist.bsky.social exhibit, The Human Cost of Food: Death, Injury, and Illness among Migrant Farm Workers in Canada

activehistory.ca/exhibits/the...

#foodhistory #migrantlabour #labourhistory #aghist #cdnhist

Rainbow and colourful background, dark purple text stating: “Celebrating Pride Month. Showcase from Active History.ca. First Spotlight post: “Ten Resources to Learn About Queer and Trans History in Canada.” Krista McCracken. Active History logo is in bottom right corner.

New showcase revisiting some of our posts for Pride Month!
Check out our first spotlight and the collection here: linktr.ee/activehistory

Green background, white text quoting: “His mastery of vocal harmonies and studio production thrilled many listeners and changed the game for musicians of his generation and beyond. His resilience in overcoming personal struggles and his artistic steadfastness have inspired many. I was blessed to meet him even fleetingly. Long may he run.”Underneath it says “James Cullingham” in white text and has a white Active History.ca logo in the bottom right corner, with white music notes around the borders.

In today’s post James Cullingham reflects on the life and music of Brian Wilson.

Read it here: activehistory.ca/blog/2025/06...

Green background, with a white graphic image of a tab open on a computer with black text quoting: “AI use and deep thinking don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, done right, the former might save some time for the latter.”Underneath it says “Mark Humphries” in black text and has a white Active History.ca logo in the bottom right corner.

Mark Humphries joins the ongoing discussion about AI in classrooms and history, responding to previous posts by Mack Penner and Edward Dunsworth.

Read it here: activehistory.ca/blog/2025/06...

On Generative AI in the Classroom: Give Up, Give In, or Stand Up Edward Dunsworth Two approaches dominate discussion about how professors should handle generative “artificial intelligence” in the classroom: give up or give in. Give up. Faced with a powerful new …

There is a lively discussion on @activehist.bsky.social this week about Gen AI. Ed Dunsworth started things off with a post encouraging historians to take a stand against Gen AI. Mark Humphries has now replied calling for a middle path. And there are good comments. activehistory.ca/blog/2025/06...

To all @activehist.bsky.social readers interested in this topic, please consider attending the CNHH event on June 25, virtually or in person @carleton.ca : "Tracing the History of Indigenous Women’s Internationalism: An Afternoon with Dr @jonathancrossen.bsky.social " carleton.ca/history/cu-e...

“Once you actually sit down to write, that boundless optimism meets an unceremonious death. Writing is hard. It’s painful. To write is to submit yourself to seasons of self-doubt.” Wonderful essay on AI use by Edward Dunsworth.

Thanks for this response to my previous @activehist.bsky.social post from Jody Mason. I appreciated learning more about the connections between critiques of development and Indigenous activism in Canada.

Green background, with a white graphic image of a tab open on a computer with black text quoting: “If writing is thinking, it follows that outsourcing writing is outsourcing thinking. And this outsourcing is accelerating at a staggering pace. This should concern us all: as educators, but also as citizens.”Underneath it says “Edward Dunsworth” in black text and has a white Active History.ca logo in the bottom right corner.

In today’s post Edward Dunsworth explores and critiques the use of AI in scholarship, academia, and the classroom.

Read it here: activehistory.ca/blog/2025/06...

Green background, white text quoting: “In times of increasing violence against trans and genderqueer folks around the world and anti-trans sentiment in the Maritimes specifically, it is even more necessary to explore these historical roots and highlight the histories of our communities.” Underneath it says “Jess Wilton” in white text and has a white Active History.ca logo in the bottom right corner.

Today’s post is a continuation of our Queering Atlantic Canada Series. Jess Wilton explores the life of Erica Rutherford in Prince Edward Island.

Read it here: activehistory.ca/blog/2025/06...

Against Lament: Developmentalism and Fourth-World Perspectives Jody Mason “CUSO Volunteer Wants More Indians to Go Overseas,” CUSO / SUCO Bulletin, Dec. 1968, p. 9, Vol. 103, file 2, “CUSO Bulletin, 1967–1971,” Canadian University Students Overseas fonds, Libr…

In today’s post, Jody Mason reflects on Indigenous thought, developmentalism, and lament in response to Jill Campbell-Miller’s previous piece on the closure of USAID.

Bay Area Outing Program – What’s Old is News By Sean Graham Sean Graham talks with Caitlin Keliiaa, author of Refusing Settler Domesticity: Native Women’s Labour and Resistance in the Bay Area Outing Program. They discuss the residentia…

On this week's What's Old is News @activehist.bsky.social I talk with Caitlin Keliiaa, author of Refusing Settler Domesticity: Native Women's Labour and Resistance in the Bay Area Outing Program
activehistory.ca/blog/2025/06...