Dr. Kathy Garay of the McMaster Library gave a lively and fast-paced talk exploring the nature of majesty to the Medieval and Early Modern Research Group. Her paper, “Manufacturing Majesty: Elizabeth of Hungary, Diana of England and the Construction of…
A good friend of mine has arranged access to the digitised records of the New York Emigrant Savings Bank for 1850-1883. What a wondrous treasure trove of information! These records contain the deposit details for thousands of newly-arrived immigrants to…
In my continuing effort to direct you away from my blog, I am compelled to note Bill Turkel’s follow-up to a post I referenced last week. In this one he ponders our conscious creation of “islands of stasis” and why…
Bill Turkel has written a thought provoking post at Digital History Hacks calling for a re-conception of how we ‘do’ history. He summarizes his understanding of the conventional process involving measured, concrete steps, that unfortunately presuppose that time essentially stands…
I just discovered at the HNN that George Macdonald Fraser, author of the acclaimed Flashman series of historical fiction novels, passed away yesterday. His ribald contributions to a true appreciation of the nuances of Victorian military and social history will…
The Wilson Centre for Canadian History was privileged to have John H Thompson speak today on “Managing in the Bush Leagues: The Canada-US Relationship since 2001.” Thompson’s lively talk was marked by his personal reflections on what it’s like to…
Perhaps there is an inner historian within me. The latest spate of reviews featuring the iPhone versus this challenger and that has me thinking that at the pace that we move today we don’t take enough time to reach a…
I was finally was able to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age today and was not disappointed. This a movie worth seeing at the theatre. The settings are sumptuous, superbly shot and Cate Blanchett seems to be able to do no…
The 2007-2008 Wilson series of lectures in Canadian History kicked off at McMaster University today. John Weaver, the acting Wilson Chair in Canadian History, has attracted an exciting list of speakers for the coming year. Lou Pauly spoke on ’Globalization,…
I attended a lively and effervescent talk by Marianne P. Fedunkiw at the History of health and Medicine Unit. Dr. Fedunkiw presented her work with the diary/scrapbook of Dr. Dorothea Maude, a rather atypical English medical doctor during the early…
In an earlier post, I pondered the occupational composition of the House of Commons and its implications on policy making. This post cast an historical gaze on the occupations of MPs at Confederation. It compared the occupational composition with the current…
A colleague and I were discussing this anecdotal perception that there has been a shift from relying on lawyers to craft policy and laws in Canada towards reliance on businessmen. This post ponders how our elected representatives self-identify themselves and what…