Last week at the annual meeting of the Canadian Historical Association in Calgary, I presented some of my research on the regulation of urban livestock husbandry in nineteenth-century Canadian cities. I also spoke about this a month earlier at the 2016 Calgary Institute for the Humanities community forum. Because […]
Animals
21 posts
It’s book launch month in Toronto and I am very excited to announce the launch event for Urban Explorations: Environmental Histories of the Toronto Region. This is an anthology published by the Wilson Institute for Canadian History and NiCHE that focuses on various aspects of Toronto’s environmental history. I wrote a […]
Animal history will be well-represented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Environmental History this week in Toronto. If you are already interested in attending the Saturday morning panel, “Controlling Animals? Human and Animal Agency in North America” featuring Susan Nance, Jessica Wang, Jennifer Bonnell, and Tina Adcock, […]
Episode 36 Histories of Canadian Environmental Issues, Part 6 – Agri-Food Systems, I: 31 March 2013 [audio: http://niche-canada.org/files/sound/naturespast/natures-past36.mp3][01:20:20] The history of Canadian food and agriculture is an enormous topic with both a global and deeply personal scope. All humans require food to live and agricultural products become food for our […]
Episode 35 Histories of Canadian Environmental Issues, Part 5 – Fisheries, Regulation, and Science: 28 February 2013 [audio: http://niche-canada.org/files/sound/naturespast/natures-past35.mp3][01:12:58] The need for thoughtful histories on contemporary Canadian environmental issues has never been more critical than it is regarding the present state of the country’s fisheries. In June 2012, funding for […]
Last year, I gave a short research talk at York University on some new research I am currently working on for a forthcoming presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society for Environmental History. This year’s conference will be in Toronto so I thought that this case study of […]
Download Episode A recent case of black bear gall bladder possession in northern Ontario prompted Mike Commito to investigate the transnational connections associated with bear hunting. Frequently black bears are harvested in one area but before or after processing their parts are destined for farther away locations, sometimes as part […]
This summer I have been busy wading into some very rudimentary historical geography for my current research project on the history of animals in Canadian urban environments. Like all historical geography research, I think, my intent has been to see whether or not spatial patterns emerge when looking at the […]
Download Episode The short video documentary Collective Recollections: Food Histories and Food Futures in the Kingston Region showcases community members interested in food histories with the hope of publicizing how such historical knowledge can be useful and insightful when imagining our food futures. The video is part of a larger […]
This weekend I am in Guelph, Ontario for the 2012 Canadian History and Environment Summer School, an annual gathering of environmental history faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students affiliated with NiCHE. This is one of the most interesting environmental history events and I look forward to attending each year. The […]
Episode 30 Environmental Histories of Montreal: 1 May 2012 [audio: http://niche-canada.org/files/sound/naturespast/natures-past30.mp3][49:44] Last year, the University of Pittsburgh Press published its first book on Canadian urban environmental history titled Metropolitan Natures: Environmental Histories of Montreal. This diverse collection of essays was edited by two leading scholars of Quebec environmental history, Stephane […]
Episode 27 Wildlife Histories: 24 January 2012 [audio: http://niche-canada.org/files/sound/naturespast/natures-past27.mp3][43:05] Last year, in an effort to foster conversation and discussion among scholars, the journal Environmental History published a special forum of short essays on wildlife histories and the legacy of Peter Matthiessen’s 1959 book Wildlife in America, edited by Peter Alagona. […]