Cape Breton Island, now recognized for its natural landscapes and golf resorts, was once the industrial heartland of Atlantic Canada. By 2000, its coal and steel industries shut down resulting in a host of social and economic difficulties for the region. Learn why preserving the history of Cape Breton’s economic decline could help create a better future for postindustrial communities in Nova Scotia, Canada and beyond.

Find our transcript here: https://researchns.ca/beyondresearch-post-industrial-communities-researching-our-past-to-better-our-future/

In Season 1, Episode 11 – Post-Industrial Communities: Researching Our Past to Better Our Future, we cover: 

0:23 – Challenges facing post-industrial communities, like Cape Breton 

2:47 – Deindustrialization

4:34 – Outcomes and goals of the research

8:05 – Digitalizing history for public consumption

8:50 – The importance of oral history and storytelling

12:49 – Post-industrial landscapes

13:47 – Various communities impacted by deindustrialization

Thank you to our guest:

Dr. Lachlan MacKinnon is an Assistant Professor of History and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Post-Industrial Communities at Cape Breton University.

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