History Chats

In 2011, historian Lisa Rumiel presented a talk entitled “Three Mile Island to Bhopal: the Life and Work of Environmental Activist Rosalie Bertell” in front of an engaged audience at Toronto’s Parkdale library.  Bertell, who has a PhD in biometrics, has long spoken out about the environmental consequences of nuclear power. The presentation was the second … Continue reading Three Mile Island to Bhopal: the Life and Work of Environmental Activist Rosalie Bertell →

In 2010, Megan Davies and David Reville presented an engaging talk on the ways in which mental health deinstitutionalization impacted psychiatric survivors and the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto.  In front of a packed audience at the Parkdale library, “Locating Parkdale’s Mad History: Back Wards to Back Streets, 1980-2010” examined the motivations behind deinstitutionalization and showed … Continue reading Locating Parkdale’s Mad History: Back Wards to Back Streets, 1980-2010 →

In 2010, historian Susana Miranda gave a talk called “Keeping the City Clean: Portuguese Women in Toronto’s Cleaning Industry, 1970-1990”  at the Bloor/Gladstone branch of the Toronto Public Library.   The lecture was part of the Toronto Public Library’s History Matters series. She started her presentation with a shot of the downtown office towers that grew … Continue reading Keeping the City Clean: Portuguese Women in Toronto’s Cleaning Industry, 1970-1990 →

Back in 2010, gave a talk called “A Public Technology: Building Toronto’s Yonge Street Subway”.  The lecture is part of the Toronto Public Library’s History Matters series. The lecture discussed various episodes surrounding the building of Toronto’s original Yonge Street subway line during the late 1940s and early 1950s, with particular attention paid to the impacts of … Continue reading A Public Technology: Building Toronto’s Yonge Street Subway →

Back in 2010, Canadian historian Craig Heron presented an entertaining talk at the second event of the History Matters lecture series, sponsored by the Toronto Public Library. Heron discussed a number of aspects in the social history of alcohol in Toronto, from the public importance of nineteenth-century taverns to the imposition of prohibition in the early … Continue reading Craig Heron on Toronto’s Booze-Soaked Past →

In September 2011, historian Ruth Frager presented a talk entitled “Spadina Sweatshops: Jews and Gender in Toronto’s Labour Movement 1900 to 1939.”  The lecture examined the dynamics of the Jewish labour movement in Toronto and focused on a strike at the clothing factory of the T. Eaton Company in 1912. [audio http://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Frager-History-Matters-lecture.mp3] Advertisements

On December 8, 2012, Accents on Eglinton, a community bookstore that specializes in publications on Africa and its diasporas, along with host Francesca D’Amico (PhD candidate in music history at York University), hosted an evening with Dalton Higgins, award-winning journalist, radio and TV broadcaster, to discuss his latest book Far From Over: The Music and Life of … Continue reading The Drake “Smoke Screen” Phenomenon: A Discussion with Dalton Higgins on Drake and Canadian Hip Hop History →

On June 2, 2015, a roundtable was held as part of the CHA Annual Meeting that examined the Canadian politics of charity through the history of citizen engagement and the historical relationships between state and charity and public and private. Chaired by Lara Campbell (SFU), the roundtable featured Sarah Glassford (UPEI), Ian Mosby (McMaster), Will … Continue reading Public, Private, Political: Charitable Organizations and Citizen Engagement →

On March 4, 2014, Teresa Iacobelli delivered her talk “Death or Deliverance: Canadian Courts Martial in the Great War.” It was delivered as part of the Ottawa Historical Association lecture series. [audio http://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Iacobelli-Ottawa-Historical-Association-lecture.mp3] Advertisements

On February 28, 2013, Franca Iacovetta delivered her talk “Public Spectacles of Multiculturalism: Toronto Before Trudeau.” The talk was part of the 2013 History Matters series in Toronto. [audio http://activehistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Iacovetta-2013-History-Matters-lecture.mp3] Advertisements