The Kennedy Assassination and the Dawn of the Information Age

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This past Saturday marked 51 years since the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. On 22 November 1963, Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas. In the age of television, the immediacy of the shocking news and rapidity of its spread meant that it was not Americans alone who can remember where they were when they heard Kennedy was dead. The President made an equally strong impression outside of the United States as he did at home. Today we discuss Kennedy’s charismatic reputation and how new media shaped his presidency, his death, and our memory of him today.

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Lament of 32: The Canadian Government and Information Control

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Over the past few weeks we have begun to explore the world of professional history as currently practiced in Canada. Some of our most recent blog posts have focused on student life, academic publishing, and the traditions and evolution of the specialized historical community. Today we investigate the role of the Canadian government in information control, in an effort to provide further insight into the mind of the historian.

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Post-Modern Malaise and the Truth About Stories

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One of the most significant developments in academics in the last several decades is the rise of Post-Modernism. For the uninitiated, post-modernism questions the truth of everything – from social tradition to personal ritual, a post-modernist would argue that every aspect of human existence is constructed by human themselves. If everything is a construct, nothing is “true,” or we might say nothing is “real.” Post-modern historians have likewise questioned the value of history, since every fact or idea a historian has about the past represents their bias and the choices they make about how and what history they are presenting. But if it is so constructed, is history valuable? Today we examine our struggle with that question.

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If Information is Currency, Politicians must Share the Wealth

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Politics in Canada is changing. New forms of connecting with voters is transforming how Canadian politicians interact with the public and present their policies to Canadians. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is praised for his tight control of information in an age when information spreads instantaneously. The Conservatives' control of the public “message” about their party and intentions is part of the reason behind their continuing electoral success. However, we think that this will no longer be the case. It's been noted that information is becoming a currency in the digital age. Today we explore some of the history behind that idea and its implications for Canadian politics.

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Nielsen to Netflix and Radio to Digital

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 Over the last year Netflix stock has excelled both literally and figuratively. More and more North Americans are using the online streaming service to watch TV shows, movies and documentaries. The capability to “binge” on a show, where you watch many episodes in one viewing, is more entertaining than having to wait week to week on network television. We know this because Netflix has detailed knowledge of its audience's viewing habits. The direct access to a consumer's behaviour has given Netflix the upper edge over traditional media outlets. They are able to shape their programming using massive amounts of data. It is dream that has been a chased for a long time in the world of media-providers, going all the way back to the age of radio.

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A Whole New World: The Digital Generation and the Road Ahead

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If you are under the age of 30 and reading this blog, you've probably read, heard, or experienced the stereotype of the young North American adult. We are apathetic, we are lazy, we need constant attention. We might be more “civic minded” but we do not act on our principles, only on our desires. Welcome to the Millenial Generation, or Generation Y, or whatever label that groups us together. If you believe everything you hear, we are failures-in-progress. We can't find jobs, we live with our parents far longer than we should, and we are entitled. We are the generation that just barely remembers a world without computers and the internet and we don't remember the Cold War at all. Even our major shared experience, the attacks of 9/11, does not strictly define who we are. We did not decide the path of consequent American or Canadian interventions, instead most of our generation passively watched it unfold or, as members of the armed forces, followed orders to act. We are a product of our times and we are on an uncertain road. Like Bob Dylan once said, the times they are a-changin'.

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The Virtual Public Sphere

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Earlier this week we examined some common threads connecting the emergence of an information society during the Renaissance, the invention of the printing press, and the spread of the printed book to today's digital information society. Let's continue that connection with an examination of another transforming aspect of digital society historians will have to consider: the public sphere in the age of the Internet.

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Precedents of the Digital Age

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One of the greatest questions of future historians will be how to address the digital age. The advent of personal computers, the internet, and more recently, increasingly powerful mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets, have transformed our society. Today we can access information, talk to one another, and interact with societal institutions in ways that were near unimaginable two decades ago. How will historians address the challenges raised by emergence of digital society?

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The Digital and Print Revolution

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All sorts of media are dealing with the consequences of the digital age. From movies and music, to newspapers and books, any industry involved in the distribution of media has been affected. There are signs that such changes are increasingly impacting the world of academic publishing, which might have an enduring effect on new scholars for years to come.

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