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.
Read MoreOne 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?
Read MoreIn this post, we look at "the other path" taken by some in times of war. In exploring how men from across Europe participated in the Spanish Civil War in 1936, we draw some parallels with the current situation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where men from various background living in European countries have traveled to and participated in uprisings against regimes.
Read MoreAccording to most contemporaries in the summer of 1914, a European war couldn't have been further from the imagination. After all, they were living through Europe's longest, general peace since the Napoleonic Wars and many had never witnessed war. The small crises which riddled global news bulletins were not at all tied to the survival of their own countries. Yet, when the Balkans erupted for a third time in just a decade, European peace was broken and the Great War engulfed nations from around the globe. In this post, we raise questions about similarities between the situation in Syria and how states have reacted to US and British plans to attack Assad's regime.
In this post, we take a look at debates surrounding public security in Toronto as the new "superjail" known as the Toronto South Detention Centre begins to take in inmates. Residents have voiced considerable opposition to the existence of the facility, and have claimed that never before has Mimico/New Toronto felt more insecure. This, however, is inaccurate and we use an example from the Second World War to highlight the issue.
Read MoreSince their election in 2006, the Conservatives have sold themselves as a big immigrant party. On October 31, 2006, after 10 months in power, the Tories declared they planned to accept between 240,000 and 265,000 newcomers as permanent residents in 2007. The 2006 budget had reduced the Right of Permanent Residence Fee from $975 to $490. What are some of their major changes and how do they fit in with Canada's historical position towards immigrants?
Read MoreFor about two and a half years, Western governments have stood idle whilst the leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, has contributed to a death toll of over 100,000. News of chemical weapons being used last week, however, has changed the posture of the US and the United Kingdom, who are now considering seriously military intervention. This post looks at the contradictory nature of the West's stance on Syrian intervention and the foreign policy issues associated with it.
Read MoreThis post comments on an article that appeared in the National Post on the 71st anniversary of the Dieppe raid in August 1942, when Canadian troops were tasked with penetrating the German defenses of the small French town. Dieppe has become one of the defining moments in many Canadian histories, and most often remembered as a failure because of disproportionately high causalities inflicted on Canada by Nazi Germany. By the end of 19 August 1942, about 901 Canadians had been killed in action, while 1,946 were captured and taken prisoner.
Read MoreAll 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.
Read MoreConversation is an unavoidably personal way to educate others about history. That connection leads to serious questions about how we relay the facts about the past. Outside of the lengthy space of articles and books, we are forced to condense our thoughts and sometimes deal with complicated issues in simple ways. The most problematic are the historical events that reflect on the terrible nature of humankind – the wars, atrocities, the cruelty of one human being towards another. How do we discuss these issues in conversation? Or, how do we as historians deal with morality, let alone convey it to others? Is it our place to judge the past?
Last week we discussed how Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Pierre Trudeau redefined Canada's history for their own purposes. Their attempts to reshape Canadians' national identity saw varying levels of success – Trudeau tried to do away with Canadian nationalism and failed while Harper has thus far tried to craft a modern Conservative vision of it with lacklustre results. Admittedly, it has been successful enough to ensure electoral success since 2006, but many Canadians still disagree with the national government expressed through the policy of our current Conservative government. Today’s post looks at another attempt at national government in Canadian history and its consequences for Canadian politics: Robert Borden's Union Government.
Read MorePerhaps no other news item generates as much controversy as debates over
whether gay marriage should be legalized. And perhaps no other issue is
as poorly understood or historically myopic either. This post delves into the historical evolution of church attitudes towards marriage.
Over the last several years, the Canadian government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been trying to revive Canadian history. They have provided millions of dollars to celebrate the bicentenary of the War of 1812. They have reattached the Royal prefix to our armed forces for the first time since 1968. These changes are trying to recreate, or at least reemphasize, an older British Canadian identity that has been on the decline for the last fifty years. The “British” Canada that once defined our nation was marginalized in the 1960s and 70s when it lost its resonance with most Canadians. Since the time of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Canada has moved away from its British past.
Read MoreIn his 2011 book, The Anatomy of Israel’s Survival, Israeli journalist Hirsch Goodman posed a question that politicians and observers have dealt with for decades: can Israel survive? For Zionists and pro-Israelis, the question is frustrating, and most emphatically answer positively. Yet, against the backdrop of the Arab Awakening, the ongoing war in Syria, and the uncertainty of a new Iranian president, the answer to Israel’s survival is not as clear as it once was.
Read MoreIn this post, we suggest that given such severe financial crises, the EU should place a moratorium on the accession process. Croatia, which became the twenty-eighth member of the EU last month, brings with it a series of new challenges whilst other EU countries try to remedy their own. The post raises an important question: has the EU overstretched its boundaries?
A report by Samara Canada garnered a lot of attention recently as pundits reacted to what has been the elephant in the room for a decade. Another report echoed Samara's conclusions. To no one's surprise, Canadians care less and less about politics. Less of us vote, less of us volunteer for campaigns, and less of us even talk about politics among ourselves. As a young Canadian, political disengagement among my generation has been a constant part of my life. Samara made sure to define political engagement as more than simply posting about it on Facebook or reading political news – it required active involvement in the political community. For Samara, participating in the politics of a democratic state requires action and effort. It does not work without it, which unfortunately is too much to ask many Canadians especially those under the age of 30.
Read MoreCanada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird has called for a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestine problem. It might not be the first time that such a solution has been sought, but Canada's support for it is questionable. Since coming to power in 2006, the Conservatives have been vocal supporters of the Israeli state. Though Canadian policy has often been supportive of Israel, it has never been as strong as it is today under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Read MoreAfter last week's conceptual history of humanitarianism, we would like to comment on the current state of humanitarian intervention and speak even more directly to the conflict in Syria, in which Western military intervention has been considered but rejected since it began more than two years ago. Today, we look at how intervention and human suffering have changed in the last decade since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Read MoreThis is the second and final part of our discussion on the history of humanitarian intervention. The previous post looked at long-term ideas as they relate to perceptions of suffering. As we move through the past, notions of who is suffering and from what have changed drastically. This can often dictate why and in what capacity states or organizations intervene in certain situations and not in others.
Read MoreThis week on Clio's Current we want to examine the history of humanitarianism in order to ask questions about pressing issues in the Arab world, notably in Syria. Before we do so, however, we think it's worthwhile to offer a short overview of the history of international humanitarianism, which stretches into the past much further than most might think.
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