Corey Everrett

Daring to Make History Fun

2008-03-31T15:53:00.000-07:00

Today my former Canadian History professor, Graham Broad , sent me a link to the Ultimate Canadian History Site, explaining that it was created for the Grade 10 Social Studies class and very blog worthy. As I am always looking for interesting things to write about, I clicked on the link and was surprised by what I saw. This site did not appear to be a typical curriculum based history website at all, with the home page containing pictures of people with pretend Maple Leaf tattoos on their faces...but I knew I was at the right place when the first activity I noticed was “History Songs” which encourages students to “sing yourself through your social studies classes”.

Overwhelmed by curiosity I clicked on the History Songs section and started simultaneously reading into the background of the site and downloading a song entitled “Louis Louis Riel”. I quickly learned that this website was created by Shawna Audet, who began writing social studies songs to get her students more interested in Canadian History; not only did her creative approach work with her students, but Audet was also funded by Historica to compile her history songs into an album entitled Beaver Tales (academics will be happy to know she includes notes on each of her songs). Audet has still made all of the songs downloadable on her site, and encourages people to purchase the album to show they support the product.

Audet has also completed historical research in order to create history quizzes that allow to students to find out which historical figures they are most like, and her latest project “Mini-Canada” encourages students to think about what it means to be Canadian. The description of this project asks students, “What does it mean to be Canadian? This question doesn't come with a simple little answer that we can all memorize before we move on to our next social studies lesson. Instead, it leads to more questions. For example, what do Canadians look like? What do Canadians value?” This project involves students doing research using Statistic Canada, thinking independently about their findings, and presenting their information in video format, which can be uploaded and watched on the website.

The website itself has some serious weaknesses: I found it hard to navigate, some of the links did not work properly, and I could not find where to sign up so that I could take the quizzes. I also have not had the chance to really look into the quality of the historical content. That being said, I really like the enthusiasm and sense of fun that Audet brings to the study of history. As many of my blogs have stressed, I am really inspired by people and institutions that dare to present history in unique and dynamic ways. Audet demonstrates that getting people excited about history can be something as simple (and silly) as the history songs, which have the potential to make people laugh and learn at the same time.

Appealing to the Curious George in all of Us

2008-03-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

In a recent post, I wrote about the Waterloo Regional Children’s Museum’s attempt to improve the museum’s attendance by working on making the museum appeal to a larger audience and by drawing in visitors through the use of the highly anticipated traveling exhibit “Discovering Chimpanzees: The Remarkable World of Jane Goodall”. Upon actually visiting the Children’s Museum, I was equally impressed with both the permanent displays as well as the traveling exhibit.

From the moment one enters the building and walks into the “Grand Atrium” the museum exhibits evoke a sense of wonder and fun. Most noticeable is the abundance of colourful lanterns hanging from the ceiling, which the museum pamphlet explains are part of the Taiwan Lantern Festival of Colour. This cultural exhibit includes 200 lanterns that were hand painted by Taiwanese elementary school students. While waiting in line to pay admission ($5.00 to $7.00 per person during the regular season, and $8.00 to $10.00 during special exhibits), children and adults alike were pointing and gesturing towards the bright lanterns.

Similar to more traditional museums, the Children’s Museum does maintain a small collection of artifacts from Gaudie’s Department Store, who were the original occupants of the building. What distinguishes the Children’s Museum from their more traditional counterparts, is that they are no longer continuing to collect historical artifacts. Instead, the museum is more interested in acquiring more modern and interactive objects. For example, one display contains numerous computers whose manufacturing dates range from 1981 to 2002. Visitors are encouraged to play computer games on each, so that they can see how computers have changed over the course of the last twenty years. This type of focus is typical of children’s museums, as Edward Alexander explains in his text on the history of museums that, “A children’s museum collects objects, not for their rarity, but for their usefulness in interpretation or education. Their exhibitions may include objects, but their intent is to engage, intrigue, and inform their visitors.”[1]

The Jane Goodall exhibit itself was also more compelling than I had anticipated. The children visiting the museum loved the “Chimp Forest” which allowed them to climb into a chimp nest and walk like a chimpanzee. In the “Primates” section, both children and adults enjoyed stepping on special primate scale. The scale informed me that I weighed the same amount as a Chimp and concluded that the eleven year old girl that stepped on it before me weighed the same as a Baboon. My favourite part of the exhibit, however, was the display that mimicked Jane Goodall’s Gombe Jungle home. While sitting in the camp I was able to watch authentic video footage that Goodall took while researching chimps in Africa. As I both participated in the exhibit and observed other visitors’ responses, it was clear that both children and adults were equally captivated.

“Discovering Chimpanzees” has increased the amount of museum members and visitors, while also having a very positive effect on the museum staff’s morale. This was obvious by the friendly, enthusiastic, and helpful nature of the employees. One of the staff members who is in charge of museum fund raising explained that she used to have to call schools and recreational groups to try and convince them to book tours at the museum, but since the opening of “Discovering Chimpanzees” all of the schools and groups in the area have been calling them. Furthermore, the success of this exhibit has allowed for the Children’s Museum to line up a series of additional educational and exciting traveling exhibits. These include an upcoming and highly anticipated “A Celebration of Canada’s North: An Arctic Adventure” and “Dinosaurs Alive!”.

[1] Edward P. Alexander and Mary Alexander, Museums in Motion (New York, Altamira Press: 2008), 168

Podcastic History?

2008-03-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

My Digital History class is making a digital exhibit on the History of the Sky. My group in particular is making a display that will inform the public about the History of Comets. The idea is that a visitor will touch a button on a globe, which will then project the computer program Google Earth onto a large screen. This will display the precise location and description of where a famous Comet has been seen and the affect that the Comet had on History. My portion of the project so far has included making a Google Earth KMZ file, that works whenever someone clicks London, England, and shows a picture and brief description of the history of Halley’s Comet.

Today it was suggested to me that my group could look into making a Podcast to accompany our display. I must confess that until approximately an hour ago I knew very little about Podcasts, aside from the general idea that they are basically online radio shows that can be downloaded and listened to on an IPod. I have mentioned in previous posts how attached I am to my IPod, which has progressed to not only taking it with me everywhere, but also having a special IPod alarm clock that wakes me up each morning. So needless to say, I decided it was about time to become more informed, and I have started looking through what ITunes has to offer.

There are many Podcasts that grabbed my attention, and I have already become a subscriber to The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos. The second I clicked on this Podcast I was greeted by The Long Tail, and was informed that listeners who liked The Hour also liked “BBC History Magazine”. I decided to try out the latest BBC History Magazine Podcast, and although I did not find it nearly as entertaining as The Hour, I immediately understood Podcasts’ potential.

I think that Podcasts could definitely be used to get the public engaged with history. I do not think it will be easy, but some creative thinking could allow for students and/or the public to listen to interesting historical accounts the same way that they currently listen to their favourite songs. I am not positive that a Podcast will work for this particular project, but regardless I think this is something I will continue to look into, because Podcasts could serve as a fantastic tool for the Public Historian.

The Successful Combination of History and Celebrity Gossip

2008-02-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

I was introduced to the historical fiction The Luxe by Anna Godbersen in the Style section of last Saturday’s Globe and Mail.[1] There was something very appealing about the idea of reading a novel for “blog research”, so later that day I visited Chapters and purchased my own copy. I knew I had made a good decision when I read the blurb on the back cover of The Luxe by Cecily von Ziegesar, who is the author of the popular book/television series Gossip Girl, and describes the novel stating, “Mystery, romance, jealousy, betrayal, humor, and gorgeous, historically accurate details”. The Luxe most certainly contains all of these qualities, as it follows the lives of both rich adolescents and the young people who serve them, with the former being forced to choose between maintaining a life of luxury or being with the people they love.

Within two evenings I had begun and finished this easy and entertaining read, having reached many of the same conclusions as the Globe and Mail reviewer Leah McLaren: this novel is an 1890s version of Gossip Girl, that is also very reminiscent of today’s celebrities such as Paris Hilton, who are famous solely because they are rich. What McLaren failed to mention, however, is how brilliantly Godbersen understands the importance of “audience”. The Luxe is written for teens and young adults, who will easily be lured into the world of the 19^th century through the familiar theme of the wealthy behaving badly. Furthermore, once Godbersen has her readers firmly planted in the 1890s, she envelops them with an accurate historic atmosphere, which is created through the use of well researched details. Margaret Atwood, who covers a much more serious historical topic in her novel Alias Grace, takes a similar approach to writing historical fiction, and points out how involved in the details she became. Atwood explains, “...I found myself wrestling not only with who said what about Grace Marks but also with how to clean a chamber pot, what footgear would have been worn in the winter, the origins of quilt pattern names, and how to store parsnips.”[2]

My public history course touched on many of these same topics in our recent discussion of historical fiction. We came to a general consensus that novels should not replace academic texts, but rather they should be used as educational tools to set a historic tone and spark the reader’s interest to learn more about history. Although I would like to claim that The Luxe will inspire young girls everywhere to start researching 19^th century New York City, I am satisfied with that fact that if nothing else, this novel does give readers a glimpse into a historical period that they may never have previously encountered.

[1] Leach McLaren, “Tabloid Tales with a Twist” in The Globe and Mail , Print Edition 23/02/08 Page L3

[2] Margaret Atwood, “In Search of Alias Grace: On Writing Canadian Historical Fiction”, in The American Historical Review, Vol. 103, No. 5 (Dec., 1998)

The CBC Digital Archives: An Entertaining Presentation of History

2008-02-23T10:11:00.001-08:00

The more time I spend learning about Digital History, the more I become convinced that what makes the digital world such an important tool for the Public Historian, is that it allows us to give the public access to materials they otherwise would not easily be able to view. That being said, it still has been difficult to try and understand both the theoretical and practical components involved in actually doing digital history; nothing has motivated me more to continue to acquire more digital skills, than CBC’s Archives.

The CBC Archives website is attractive to look at while still being simple and user friendly; more importantly, the content of the site is so powerful and interesting that I have often been drawn into it for hours. The CBC’s Archives contain numerous audio and video clips from CBC’s vast archival collection, which depict all aspects of Canadian life. This website appeals to the general public as well as to long time CBC fans, because each a/v clip comes with the name of the program and the interviewer, a description of how this episode played into the climate of the time, while still emphasizing the effect it had on the company and particular interviewer.

The best feature of CBC’s Archives is the way in which clips are arranged and categorized. Immediately upon entering the site the visitor notices On this Day which features a past video or radio clip that had aired on this same day in CBC history. Underneath that section is my favourite portion of the site: Great Interviews. These clips feature CBC’s most famous and notorious interviews, most of which I have watched over the course of the last couple of months. Some of the people interviewed are extremely famous individuals, others I have never even heard of before. Due to my love of music, my favourite clip is Peter Gzowski’s interview in 1977 of Iggy Pop, who had been one of the founders of the punk rock movement in the 1960/70s. Interestingly, after watching this clip I realized that one my favourite post rock bands, Mogwai, has made use of this archival footage and used this particular interview in the background of their song “Punk Rock”.

If visitors are not as interested in the interviews as I am, one can easily use the site’s search engine or choose a specific clip category that appeals to them. Essentially, the visitor gets to decide for themselves what portion of Canadian or CBC’s history they are most interested in, which includes a wide range of topics such as interviews with Playboy Bunnies, radio reports about the world wars, or coverage of the past Olympic Games. Regardless of what they choose, users are able to engage with historical materials they otherwise would not be given access to. In this way, the CBC Archives are an example of how Digital History can be used to educate and entertain the public.

Reinventing the Children’s Museum, One Monkey at a Time

2008-01-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

Having been raised in Cambridge, Ontario, it is fantastic to see my hometown and the surrounding area, finally getting excited about the Children’s Museum of the Waterloo Region. The museum which opened in 2003 has had its’ share of struggles; these have included the deterioration of exhibits, lack of attendance, and inability to keep a solid director. However, over the past year I have been pleasantly surprised by the numerous articles in one of the local newspapers, The Record, which has outlined the reinvigoration of the Children’s Museum. In particular, one of the most recent articles by Raveena Aulakh entitled “He’s a Wizard in a Place of Wonder: Running a Children’s Museum isn’t Child’s Play” has outlined the multitude of positive changes that have taken place, and attributes them to the successful leadership of the latest director, David Marskell.

The article describes Marskell’s re-conceptualization of the museum as a combination of a children’s place and a science centre, so that the museum will appeal to people of all ages. Very cool exhibits have been installed to accompany this new approach to the museum. As Aulakh reports, the museum has a robotic chair that breaks and then puts itself back together, and has paired up with the University of Waterloo to create an entire floor dedicated to a Digital Media Centre which allows students to interact with advanced technological devices and use video conferencing to communicate globally with other students.

Currently, the region’s attention has been captured by the temporary Jane Goodall exhibit “Discovering Chimpanzees: The Remarkable World of Jane Goodall”. The exhibit which started on January 25^th and will remain until May 25^th is estimated to continue the Children’s Museum upward climb. This is an expensive exhibit, but Marskell is confident that it will not only bring people into the museum, but that it will encourage guests to come back, even after the temporary exhibit has moved on.

The Children’s Museum in Kitchener has demonstrated how crucial it is for cultural institutions to have good leadership, take risks, and to find innovative ways to allow people to interact with exhibits. Furthermore, I think that the Jane Godall exhibit is a fun and downright brilliant way to engage the public; after successfully completing my Cambridge rite of passage working at African Lion Safari for two summers, I have learned that monkeys truly are the key to the public’s heart.

* Picture by Aaron Logan, from http://www.lightmatter.net/gallery/albums.php

"Life-Changing" Museums

2008-01-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

I only remember vague details about the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum, but I clearly remember how visiting the spot had made me feel. Although I could not have been older than eight years old, the historical interpreters did a fantastic job of explaining the significance of the Boston Tea Party’s defiant behaviour, and the role that it had in leading to the American Revolution. I vividly remember being filled with a sense of awe, thinking how amazing it was that I was standing on the site where a crucial historical event took place. This brief amount of time spent on this old ship in the Boston Harbour had an immediate impact on me. It was my “aha!” moment, the point in time when my love for history had first been activated.

I found myself revisiting this experience when my museology professor asked us to read and respond to the article “Inside the ‘Black Museum’” by the historian Andrew E. Masich. Masich was awarded a grant to travel the world in search of museums that he felt had the power to change visitors’ lives. Museums that Masich deemed life-changing included well known museums such as the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and the lesser known Black Museum in Scotland Yard, London, which is only open to prospective law enforcers.

I easily reflected on what museum had changed my life, because I have never forgotten that moment of awe, and the wonder and excitement that the site of Boston Tea Party instilled in me towards the study of history. I do not know that the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum would make Masich’s list as one of the top “life-changing” museums in the world, but as Masich's article advocates, every museum has the power to make a long lasting impact if approached with the right mindset.

Unlocking My Own Family’s Past Part I

2007-12-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

My love for history has reached far beyond the classroom ever since I was a little girl, besides excitedly attending every museum my parents would take me to, I clearly remember how proud and intrigued I became as I learned that my great-grandpa, John William Everrett, had fought in World War One. My poppa, John Randall Everrett, who although named after his dad, had very little to tell me about my great-grandpa’s war time experience; when my poppa was only five years old, he had lost his father to cancer, and had always suspected that he had gotten sick from the horrible work conditions he was exposed to as successful mechanic in downtown Montreal. What my poppa did know was that John William was born in England, later moved to Canada, and had eagerly signed up to serve in the Great War. He had had the dangerous job of driving around Europe delivering messages to the front. My poppa also had a small container that was filled with the buttons, pins, and patches from his father’s wartime uniform, which he gave to me this November for my birthday, so that I can be the caretaker of our family’s history.

Until recently, I had to be satisfied with the very little I knew about his wartime experiences. This changed when one of my archive assignments required me to make a reference tool for people trying to find their relatives' war time records (I have included this at the bottom of this blog). I learned that Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has a webpage called "Soldiers of the First World War- CEF Search" where you can look up relatives’ attestation papers, which are the forms that prospective soldiers had to fill out before being admitted to the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). I quickly found John William, and using my own reference tool, ordered my great-grandpa’s full records.

I had the records sent to my parents' house, and they were waiting for me Friday night when I arrived home for Christmas Holidays. Upon reading them I found that although John William never received any medals or awards, he had an impeccable record as a soldier, and served his country well. I also learned through his medical records that while serving he was hit with Mustard Gas, which further deteriorated his already bad eye sight. Through further research, I realized that mustard gas also attacks the DNA, which often leads to cancer. This means that it might not only have been my great-grandpa’s job that made him sick, but that John William’s death was yet another casualty of the Great War.

This Christmas I am giving my poppa his father’s wartime records, in the hopes that they illuminate parts of his father’s past that my poppa never had the opportunity to ask him about.

How to Find the Records of Canadian Relatives who participated in World War I’s Armed Forces

Attestation Papers: Attestation Papers are the papers that prospective soldiers had to fill out before being admitted to the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force (CEF).

Search for your relatives attestation form at:

<http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/cef/001042-100.01-e.php>

Full Record: once you find the attestation form, you have to mail or fax the National Archives of Canada for the full record.

For help completing this process go to: <http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/archivianet/cef/001042-130-e.html#h>
Click “how to order a copy of the complete service file” which will explain the whole procedure and the information to include in your letter
The letter should then be mailed or faxed to:

ATIP and Personnel Records Division
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4
Fax: 613-947-8456

The Canadian Virtual War Memorial: this website contains the memorials and gravesites of over 116,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who died in World War One. Search your relatives name and you can find information such as service number, pictures, newspaper clippings, page number in the World War One Book of Remembrance, and the burial site.

Search The Canadian Virtual War Memorial Website at:

<http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=collections/virtualmem>

The Long Tail: The Research Skills I Learned from Christmas Shopping

2007-12-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

During the month of December insanity takes over, as people attempt to purchase gifts for both family and friends. I am no exception. In fact, I think that the madness of Christmas shopping has been inflicting me more since I started shopping online. My obsession with online shopping comes from something called “the long tail ”, which involves websites’ system of giving suggestions on books, DVDs, and various other products, that are based on the current purchase that is being made. Chris Anderson, who invented the term in his 2004 article "The Long Tail" in Wired magazine, explains that this system was created by companies like Amazon.com who use suggestions to lead customers to lesser known books. Anderson explains how this is changing all aspects of consumerist economy, stating:

This is not just a virtue of online booksellers; it is an example of an entirely new economic model for the media and entertainment industries, one that is just beginning to show its power. Unlimited selection is revealing truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it in service after service...People are going deep into the catalogue, down the long, long list of available titles, far past what's available at Blockbuster Video, Tower Records, and Barnes & Noble. And the more they find, the more they like.[i]

The long tail has affected my brother more than anyone else I know, allowing him to discover bands that would otherwise be virtually unknown. This consequently leads me on a frustrating, but extremely rewarding, online Christmas shopping journey to try to acquire merchandise for my brother. It seems that each year the bands that he sends me off to find are becoming more and more obscure.

However, the lessons I have learned from Christmas shopping, and in particular from my brother’s ability to unearth incredibly underrated bands, can also be applied to the way I do research. I have learned that when I find a good secondary source, I can simply search for it on Amazon.com, and see what other works that they can suggest. I have found that the suggestions not only recommend the important historical works on those topics that I must consult in order to present a thorough paper, but I also sometimes find little known published works. Therefore, the long tail is not only transforming the entertainment industry, it also has the potential to affect academia by bringing lesser known academic works into the hands of both amateur and professional historians alike.

[i] Anderson, Chris. “The Long Tail,” Wired 12, no. 10 (Oct 2004).

FreeMind: The Grown Up Grade School Approach to Organizing Research

2007-11-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

There is something exceedingly comforting about going back to the basics. This weekend I have done just that using a program called “FreeMind”. FreeMind is essentially the digital version of the brainstorming mind maps that I used to make when I was in grade school, in order to organize my thoughts and research ideas.

FreeMind starts with one “node” which is your basic idea, and then you can create as many nodes attached to that as you need, including different degrees of subtopics called “sibling” or “child” nodes. One can keep their FreeMind experience very professional and just have lines connecting words, or one can really make use of the program and enjoy the process by making it so all of the main topics have bubbles surrounding them. There are also multiple icons, such as question marks, numbers, and light bulbs, which can be added to thought bubbles to label which ideas are most important and which still need work. There is also the option of adding “notes” to specific nodes, where one could record any additional research needed on that particular topic.

I have been using FreeMind to organize my research for an exhibit I am proposing on the history of medicine. All of the sources I have been using so far have been from the web or excel spreadsheets, and I have easily been able to copy and paste artifact and archival reference numbers onto my digital mind map. In addition, I have been manipulating and maneuvering the FreeMind nodes as I find new sources, or as I change my mind about the order of importance of my research finds. This is the first mind map I have used in years, but I am definitely going to reintegrate them into my research habits, due to the efficiency in which FreeMind has enabled me to quickly organize my previously scattered thoughts.

The Role of Memory in History

2007-11-08T09:24:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of weeks, I have spent a lot of time analyzing the role that memory and oral history play in presenting or writing about history. In particular, I have been wondering how I should make use of these sources as a Public Historian. My thought process began at my visit to the Canadian War Museum to gather information for my Exhibit Review. I found myself extremely conflicted about the sole reliance on oral history in Bev Tosh's travelling exhibit War Brides: Portraits of an Era. I concluded that as a historical exhibit it could be strengthened through using a wider variety of historical sources. That being said, I still found this exhibit incredibly effective and have found myself trying to articulate ever since why this exhibit spoke to me in such a profound way.

I was afforded some answers to my questions this week while I was doing some very suiting readings on oral history for my Public History course. In Alessandro Portelli’s article “The Peculiarities of Oral History” it is argued that the meaning people make from events is just as important as what actually happened. Portelli states, “What the informant believes is indeed a historical fact (that is, the fact that he or she believes it) just as much as what ‘really’ happened”[i]. I think that is why War Brides had such an impact on me (indeed, two blogs worth), because although I left with very few conventional “facts” I still had obtained an exceedingly clear conception of what being a War Bride meant to the women involved in the exhibit.

However, I still was not satisfied on how to most effectively incorporate such sources into my own work. Interestingly, this month’s issue of National Geographic cover issue “Memory: Why We Remember, Why We Forget” addresses some of these same issues. The article “Remember This” by Joshua Foer explores the neurological side of making and retaining memories. Foer speaks extensively with “AJ”, a woman who remembers everything she has done, said, or felt, every day of her life.[ii] I found myself thinking how much easier it would be to do history if everyone had the ability to retain such rich memories of their past. However, AJ herself sees her gift as a burden, stating:

I remember the good, which is very comforting. But I also remember the bad- and every bad choice,” she says. “And I really don’t give myself a break. There are all these forks in the road, moments you have to make a choice , and then it’s ten years later, and I’m still beating myself up over them. I don’t forgive myself for a lot of things. Your memory is the way to protect you. I feel like it just hasn’t protected me.[iii]

AJ’s belief that memory is supposed to protect people by allowing them to forget some of the suffering they have encountered in their lives, finally made clear to me my own perspective on this topic. It seems that the Public Historian’s role is to make sure that people are not allowed to forget the past, even if it is painful. As Michael Frisch states in his book A Shared Authority, what should be the main concern of Public Historians is “...a fundamental commitment to the importance of that verb at the heart of memory, making it something alive and active as we confront out own world.”[iv] Therefore as idealistic as it might appear, it seems that it is the Public Historian's duty to use memories and oral history to help the public to face and learn from the past.

[i] Alessandro Portelli, “The Peculiarities of Oral History,” History Workshop Journal 12 (Autumn 1981), pg. 100

[ii] Joshua Foer, “Remember This” in National Geographic, November 2007, pg. 35

[iii] Ibid, 51

[iv] Michael Frisch, “Memory, History, and Cultural Authority,” A Shared Authority:
Essays on the Craft and Meaning of Oral and Public History (New York: SUNY Press, 1990), pg. 25

Canadian War Museum Exhibit Review

2007-11-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

War Brides: Portraits of an Era. Travelling exhibit organized by the Canadian War Museum in collaboration with Bev Tosh, contemporary Canadian artist. On display at the Canadian War Museum from May 12, 2007 to January 8, 2007, as viewed on October 7, 2007.

The travelling exhibit, War Brides: Portraits of an Era, is an alluring artistic interpretation of the physical and emotional journey many women made to foreign countries, alongside soldiers they had met and married during World War II. The war brides include 44, 000 women who moved with their new husbands to Canada, 1,000 who moved to Newfoundland, and 4,000 who moved from Canada to other Commonwealth countries. This exhibit is based on artist Bev Tosh’s travelling exhibit One-Way Passage which was comprised solely of paintings. War Brides: Portraits of an Era is an updated version by Tosh that includes mixed media photographs and additional portraits, and is currently hosted and organized by the newly built Canadian War Museum. Since thousands of Canadians today are descendants of the war brides, Tosh’s exhibit compliments the overarching theme of the Canadian War Museum, which is to demonstrate the effect war continues to have on the country. This is an engaging exhibit which draws on the war brides’ own stories and Tosh’s artistic interpretation of these women’s experiences. Although it relies too heavily on personal accounts and not enough on the historiography, this exhibit successfully juxtaposes the romantic vision these women had when they embarked for new countries, with the harsh realities they often faced when they reached their destination.

When one enters the exhibit, the beauty of the room is striking; the walls are painted a deep plum colour, and the room glows due to strategic placement of lights, which accent the abundance of both photos and paintings of the young brides. Upon a closer inspection, the visitor also realizes that the exhibit is not only aesthetically pleasing, but is also saturated with powerful interpretations and renditions of multiple women’s lives. In particular, this exhibit aims to let the visitor experience the overwhelming range of emotions that enveloped the war brides, whose journey began with love, excitement, and happiness, and often led to loneliness and loss. Therefore the appearance of the room combined with the focus on images over heavy amounts of text, encourages the visitor to absorb the emotion of the exhibit, rather than strictly read their way through it.

The displays themselves are a unique presentation of thought provoking mixed media photographs and portraits, personalized by Tosh’s own experience as a war bride’s daughter. An example of a mixed media display is “Leap of Faith” where the picture of the Canadian Air Force war brides is projected onto a World War II parachute set up like a wedding gown. Another innovative display includes framed photographs of individual women layered overtop of objects such as barbed wire. These manipulated, war-etched photographs are then juxtaposed with the joyful scrapbook of Tosh’s parents’ “honeymoon”, and the “Wall of War Brides” which is a collection of tea stained pictures of the women and their new lovers. The variety of ways these photographs are presented demonstrates to the visitor how multifaceted the war brides experience was; in particular it emphasizes the atmosphere of war in which the relationships were formed, and imply the complications that such marriages were bound to encounter. The paintings, unlike the pictures, tend to place emphasis on life after the war. In fact, most of the paintings are part of a display called “Bride Ships” and are portraits done on wood, which are arranged to represent the ships that the women travelled on to reach their new destinations. The wooden portraits are purposely placed so they are leaning on each other to represent how heavily the war brides found themselves relying on each other.

The exhibit also contains an interactive element, in the form of a wall where visitors are urged to “Please Share your Memories”. This portion of the exhibit promotes visitors to become personally engaged. The wall is especially relevant to relatives of war brides, and most of the letters and pictures posted on the wall are from grandchildren who have come to see the exhibit, and have left messages to or about their grandmothers. That being said, those who do not have a personal relationship with a war bride are still able to feel included by having a chance to read the poignant notes left to the women by their loved ones. The creation of the memory wall and its high levels of visitor participation, demonstrates that the exhibits foremost intended audience is the war brides themselves, along with their families and descendants. In addition to the families, however, this exhibit also appeals to social historians or people who are interested in hearing a less conventional narrative about the Second World War.

The main criticism of this exhibit is that much of the information presented comes from potentially unreliable personal accounts, which is a cause for concern considering that most museum visitors completely trust eye witness accounts of historical events. On one hand, this seems unavoidable in an exhibit that focuses on involving the actual people who lived through a particular historical event; however, this exhibit would have been able to present a more balanced historical interpretation had it drawn on the contemporary historiography available on this topic. To counter this, the Canadian War Museum has provided the museum gift shop with a wide variety of academic material on the subject, for anyone interested in a more comprehensive historical account on the war brides.

To conclude, this exhibit successfully captures the complexity and depth involved in thousands of women’s decisions to move to a new country with their recently acquired wartime spouses. Although this exhibit could be strengthened through the addition of historiographical interpretations; War Brides: Portraits of an Era would still be an excellent permanent addition to the Canadian War Museum, since most of the other exhibits do not focus on social history and present more traditional militaristic historical narratives.

Digitize First, Cutback Later

2007-10-28T21:24:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of months, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) has received plenty of criticism over their decision to reduce their hours. Frustration and dissatisfaction has been mounting towards LAC who repeatedly defends the cutbacks based on the claim that many of the archives resources are now available online. This decision was explained on their website on August 9, 2007, stating:

...we are adjusting our hours of operation, in keeping with the anticipated needs of clients and evolving information technologies. We are steadily adding documentary heritage material to our website, thereby increasing access to the collection for Canadians both in the National Capital Region and across the country.[i]

Clearly, it makes sense for LAC to encourage the public to access their expanding online collection. By digitizing their archives they are engaging in an increasingly popular conservation strategy, while simultaneously making their resources more accessible to a wider range of users. I can imagine for historians who live half-way across our very large country (or even for Ontarians such as myself who still live a solid six hour drive away from Ottawa) that it would be very convenient if researchers could gain access to the National Archives from their own homes. Furthermore, as much as LAC is currently being criticized, they do seem to be making significant improvements to the usability of their digitized collection.

LAC has stabilized their website and has improved its ability to handle the increased demand. Also, the website has replaced the outdated ArchivaNet: Online Research Tool, with the more comprehensive and thorough Archives Search, which allows users to search within archives, library, ancestors, and the website, or specify if they would like to search within one in particular. In addition, Archives Search allows for the user to make very precise searches of LAC’s holdings; researchers can specify the type of materials, the hierarchical level (such as fonds/collection, series, file, etc.), or the specific dates of the resources they seek. Finally, the search also lets the user know whether the document they want is available online or offline.

This is where things get tricky. As the Globe and Mail reported on September 29, 2007, it is currently estimated that only 1% of LAC’s holdings are currently digitized.[ii] In this way, the cutbacks on the hours of operation were not only pre-mature, but worthy of the Canadian public’s indignation. It is admirable to work towards improving the ability to search and use online collections, but until a much larger holding has been created, it is unfair to restrict the publics’ access to their national archives.

*Picture is of the sculpture “The Secret Bench of Knowledge” by Lea Vivot, which is found in front of LAC

[i] “New Hours of Operation” in What’s New, 9 August 2007 (28 October 2007)

[ii] Val Ross, “ Service Cuts at Ottawa’s Archives rile Researchers” in The Globe and Mail, Print Edition 29/09/07 Page R6

Zotero Might Change my Life...

2007-10-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I am becoming increasingly addicted to the digital world. I love the ease in which I can quickly scope out what has been written on the topics I am researching by using an internet search engine. It makes me enraged when such searches are hindered due to slow internet access, or if wireless internet is not available and I am forced to sit wherever I can plug in. I also cannot imagine what it would be like to do research without access to online journals via JSTOR. In fact, it makes me mad when I have to go to the library to photocopy journal articles that have not been digitized. Furthermore, Zotero, a Firefox extension that allows users to capture and organize web pages, is a research device which I have recently been introduced to, and is changing the way I organize my research.

I am well aware that this all makes me sound like a hypocrite after so strongly professing my attachment and enduring love for smelly books in one of my previous posts. But I am sticking with my belief that books and computers work together. For instance when it comes to a long read, I will always prefer reading off of paper as opposed to on a screen. But when doing initial research and searches for information, I always rely heavily on the internet.

In this way, I think that Zotero has the possibility of changing the way I do research. Before Zotero I filled bookmark folders with random websites that I thought I might eventually, sort of, kind of, maybe use for an upcoming project. Zotero allows the user to add notes to folders so that they can document, amongst other things, why they thought they might need that information. In addition, as my previous rage towards slow or inconvenient internet access made clear, being able to use the information stored on Zotero while offline is a major asset. The best part, however, is the cleanliness of it all. I waste so many sheets of paper jotting down bibliographic information, websites, and book titles. Now I can store all of these things neatly on Zotero. I am still figuring out all that Zotero has to offer me, but so far, I think Zotero might change my life.

Historical Truth vs. Historical Gossip

2007-09-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

Since I began taking university level history courses (and note it was not until that point) it has been ingrained in me that there is no one historical truth, but many historical interpretations. Still, I cannot help but search to find guidelines that will help me to create the most accurate historical interpretations that I can. Elena Cherney addressed some of these issues that have been occupying my thoughts in her article “The Tell-All that Doesn’t” which was featured in last Saturday’s Globe and Mail. [i]

Cherney illustrates that over the years biographers of the famous pianist, Glenn Gould, have collectively kept his lover’s identity secret; it was literally not until a few weeks ago that an article in the Toronto Star identified Cornelia Foss, the wife of the famous American composer Lukas Foss, as Gould’s lover. This article was only written because Foss chose to finally come forward and let the world know that she was the woman who had participated in this great affair. This is the crucial part of the story, because it was Ms. Foss, not the biographers, who finally decided to present the whole story on this public figure.

Cherney makes her opinion on the matter clear as she states, “The unexpected account highlights the striking decision by most Gould scholars to keep his lover’s identity quiet all these years. Ms. Foss’s willingness to be identified opens new avenues of research for Gould scholars that could have been probed years ago – when more sources were alive.” When probing biographers about why they would make this decision, most responded that they refrained from including information that would hurt a living person. This idea was reinforced when the authoritative biographer of Gould, Kevin Bazzana, who shared a wealth of unflattering material on Gould, but left out Ms. Foss and other lovers’ names, explained that he “...did it out of niceness.”

I understand where these biographers are coming from; while one of their subjects is alive it would be hard to be the one to expose their secrets to the rest of the world. At the same time, however, Cherney makes a very good point when she states that the biographers concern about hurt feelings is, “at odds with the biographer’s duty to history: If a name is excluded out of kindness, a piece of the puzzle could be lost forever.”

As much as I understand the biographers' anguish, I agree with Cherney. For one thing, even if the subjects are dead, by revealing a person’s sexual secrets, the writer is always at risk of upsetting family members or descendants who are still living. I think the better way for biographers to decide where to draw the line, is by analyzing whether they are revealing lovers for the sake of a true historical account, or to sensationalize their story. This article made it clear that in today’s society biographers are encouraged to tell all, because it makes their story more marketable and interesting. If the objective, however, is to create an honest historical account, the truth needs to be told, without turning the story into a malicious gossip column.

[i] Elena Cherney, “The Tell-All that Doesn’t,” in The Globe and Mail, Print Edition 22/09/07 Page F9

Buffy and the Digital Era

2007-09-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

When exploring ideas that surround Digital History, I can’t help but think back to one of the original episodes of the popular television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode “I Robot...You Jane” aired in mid 1997, and is about an ancient demon who is let loose onto the internet through the digitizing of old books. He then proceeds to gain access to the infinite amounts of information and resources that the World Wide Web has to offer him.

I know that by using the words “vampire slayer” and “demon” I may have lost readers already, but this show highlights very real fears that a lot of people still share today. No one can deny the existence of demons on the internet, such as the hundreds of viruses that are created and unleashed on our computers each day. Furthermore, this episode summarizes two extreme opinions held with regard to technology. The high school Librarian, Rupert Giles, argues against people becoming slaves to technology and proclaims his preference for books. The stereotypical computer nerd Fritz ominously responds, “The printed page is obsolete, information isn’t bound up anymore, it’s an entity, the only reality is virtual, if you are not jacked in you're not alive.” [i]

Watching this episode ten years after it was originally aired, I still find myself conflicted between both of these responses to the digital era. I am concerned about the idea of replacing bound books with digitized copies. Reading for me is more than a mere mental exercise; it is a physical, tactile experience that involves turning, highlighting, and writing notes in the margins of each page. Giles would very much agree with me, as in this same episode he notes the power of the sense of smell that is evoked through the “smelly” experience of reading old books.

That being said, there are many aspects of technology that I have completely embraced. It is because of the invention of DVDs that I am able to watch long past episodes of Buffy whenever I please. I also feel as if my iPod, cell phone, and laptop have become extensions of my body. More importantly, however, is that fact that as an Historian I cannot imagine attempting to study history without the aid of search engines and online databases. There are many journal articles and resources that I never would have read or had easy access to had they not been digitized.

In conclusion, I have decided that similarly to Giles, I am not ready to give up the tactile experience of reading bound books; I truly hope that Libraries never cease to fill their shelves with these wonderfully smelly things, if for nothing else but to leave something tangible for future generations to hold in their hands. I am, however, prepared to continue to open my mind to all that technology has to offer me. After all, my books and computer have been living and working together in perfect harmony on my desk for years.

[i] “I Robot...You Jane,” Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season One, dir. Stephen Posey, 6 hours, Mutant Enemy Inc., 1997, DVD.

The “Public” Part of Being an Historian

2007-09-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

As I begin my graduate school experience I have found myself rather conflicted as I attempt to define the kind of Historian I want to be/become. As a Public Historian, this type of self reflection seems especially important as it will be my job to try to appeal to a large and diverse audience. This itself seems to be a bit of a daunting task, which has been demonstrated quite clearly by the current War Museum Controversy.

The conflict that has erupted in Ottawa at the War Museum in the World War Two section over 67 words written about the British and Commonwealth countries’ “Bomber Command”, demonstrates the challenges the Public Historian will inevitably face; it will always be virtually impossible to please all members of the community, especially when dealing with emotional historical events. The issue is over a panel that explains how the morality and effectiveness of Bomber Command is still being debated today. Canada's National Council of Veterans Associations found the thought that people actually debate this fact to be offensive, and after two years of protests have finally succeeded in convincing the War Museum to re-write the panel. Margret MacMillan, who was asked by the War Museum to read and give her opinion on the Bomber Command panel, stated that the wording was correct, and any adjustments would make Canada appear cowardly.[i]

I share MacMillian’s sentiments and was quite disappointed about the War Museum’s decision. I first became acquainted with the debates that exist among Historians on this topic in my fourth year history class, when after being exposed to extensive literature on World War Two and Bomber Command, it was clear that neither the Historians writing on this topic nor the twenty five students in my class could agree on whether this aspect of the allied strategy was integral to winning the war. In addition, as Brian Gifford explained in his article in The Globe and Mail, not even Veterans agree about the outcomes of Bomber Command; Gifford’s father, who was a fighter pilot in Bomber Command, has become convinced that some of his missions were a mistake.[ii]

Regardless of whether I agree with the outcome at the War Museum, I have realized that it is through my analysis of this single issue that I have begun to better understand my role as a Public Historian. Writing History is not about attempting to paint the most pleasurable picture of the past, but instead it is the Historian’s responsibility to try to present the past to the public in an honest way. Therefore, the type of Historian I aim to be, is one who pleases the public through the presentation of an interesting but balanced view of the past.

[i] “War Museum to Rework Controversial Bomber Panel” in CBC.ca Arts
[ii] Biran Gifford, “The Bombing of Germany”, in The Globe and Mail, Print Edition 31/08/07 Page A14