Recent News

Architecture as Communication: A Medium Like No Other is an exploration of how architecture communicates meaning in people’s daily lives. Architecture, according to Ross Eaman, encompasses the multiplicity of communication as human interaction, preparing people for what they are about to encounter, signalling how they should act, and selectively enabling them to perform their expected … Read More >

The Right to Research: Historical Narratives by Refugee and Global South Researchers offers a critical reflection on what history means, who narrates it, and what happens when those long excluded from authorship bring their knowledge and perspectives to bear.

The Right to Research is part of the McGill-Queen’s Refugee and Forced Migration Studies Series, … Read More >

The October 1917 Russian Revolution and the subsequent Civil War triggered a mass exodus from Russia to the American west coast. Before We Disappear into Oblivion: San Francisco’s Russian Diaspora from Revolution to Cold War by Nina Bogdan examines the efforts of newly arrived Russians in San Francisco as they built communities and negotiated their acculturation … Read More >

From early reports of the invention to its wide application during World War I, photography created anticipation and participation in the modern world. A History of Photography in Canada, Volume 1: Anticipation to Participation, 1839–1918 by Martha Langford captures this phenomenon by looking at hundreds of early photographs and by listening to the chords they struck in the … Read More >

The Jesuit “Relations:” A Biography by Micah True explores the intricate relationships between the published Relations and the many other texts written in New France, revealing a rich picture of a historical source that has shaped public understanding of colonial North America.

In the piece below, Micah True gives us some fascinating backstory about the writing … Read More >

Our Subversive Voice: The History and Politics of English Protest Songs, 1600–2020 by John Street, Oskar Cox Jensen, Alan Finlayson, Angela McShane, and Matthew Worley establishes the protest song as a mode of political communication. Covering five centuries in England’s history, from street ballads and art song to grime, hymns, music hall, and punk, … Read More >

Sanctuary in Pieces documents the evolving nature of sanctuary in settler societies. Drawing on archival research and interviews in Montreal/Mooniyaang/Tiohtià:ke, Laura Madokoro explores the history of protection and hospitality over two centuries and the shifting political terrain upon which sanctuary has been sought and, on occasion, received.

In her guest blog below, Madokoro introduces us to … Read More >

Irrational Publics and the Fate of Democracy by Stephen J.A. Ward is a deep and engaging explanation of how evolution and extreme historical events can cause publics to become irrational, intolerant, and anti-democratic, from one of the most influential media ethics writers globally.

In his guest blog below, Ward gives us an introduction to his book … Read More >

In Restless in Sleep Country, Paul Huebener challenges the conventional view of sleep as a purely personal or biological matter. Instead, he examines it through a cultural lens, revealing how sleep is shaped by societal forces like politics, power, and inequity. By exploring sleep in Canadian and Indigenous contexts, he demonstrates the cultural significance … Read More >

In Pharmacopoeias, Drug Regulation, and Empires: Making Medicines Official in Britain’s Imperial World, 1618-1968, Stuart Anderson explores the many meanings now attached to the word ‘pharmacopoeia’ in scholarly writing. In this guest blog, he describes the origins and background to the book, some of the problems that can arise, and indicates what scholars can do to ameliorate … Read More >