Making public pasts : the contested terrain of Montreal's public memories, 1891-1930 / Alan Gordon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gordon, Alan, 1968-

Series:

Studies on the History of Quebec/Études d'histoire du Québec ; 14

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Canadians, English-speaking--Quebec (Province)--Montreal--Social conditions.

Canadians, English-speaking.

French-Canadians--Quebec (Province)--Montreal--Social conditions.

French-Canadians.

Canadians, English-speaking--Quebec (Province)--Montreal--Ethnic identity.

French-Canadians--Quebec (Province)--Montreal--Ethnic identity.

Memory--Social aspects--Quebec (Province)--Montreal--History.

Memory.

Monuments--Social aspects--Quebec (Province)--Montreal--History.

Monuments.

Public history--Political aspects--Quebec (Province)--Montreal--History.

Public history.

National characteristics, Canadian.

Montréal (Québec)--Ethnic relations.

Montréal (Québec).

Montréal (Québec)--Social conditions.

Physical Description:

xvi, [18], 233 p. : ill., maps, plans.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Gordon shows that while individual memory is crucial to establishing and maintaining identity, public memory is contested terrain - official customs and traditions, monuments, historic sites, and the celebration of anniversaries and festivals serve to order individual and collective perceptions of the past. Public memory is therefore the product of competitions and ideas about the past that are fashioned in a public sphere and speak primarily about structures of power. It conscripts historical events in a bid to guide shared memories into a coherent narrative that helps individuals negotiate their place in broader collective identities. The contest over public memories involves an exclusiveness that packages "others" according to the ideological preferences of the dominant cultures. Gordon shows that in Montreal ethnic, class, and gender voices strove to stake their own claims to legitimacy. Rather than acknowledging a single past, Montreal's many publics made and celebrated many public memories.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Tables

Abbreviations

Preface: Two Founding Peoples

Acknowledgements

Exploring the Boundaries of Public Memory

Crossroads: Montréal to 1891

Grounds For Disagreement: Social and Political Contexts of Montréal, 1891–1930

Fissured Heritage Elites

British Citizenship: Material Progress, Class Harmony, and Imperial Greatness

Devotion and Rebellion: The Contest for French Canada’s Public Memory

Contested Terrain, Contiguous Territory

Public Memory on the Move: Festivals and Parades

The Angel of History

Postscript: The Reconquest of Montréal’s Memory

Notes

Bibliographical Essay

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

"Bibliographical essay": p. [219]-228.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-85959-5

9786612859595

0-7735-6958-8

OCLC:

929120634