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Perspectives on Canadian culture is a new Oxford series of brief surveys which includes Canadian film, and a general view and history of both English and French Canadian film. ... Read more

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The best book in the field of Film
Canadian Film (1987) by distinguished Professor David Clandfield is an important work in the field of Film.It is the best book I have ever read in that field.It builds strong foundations for understanding both English and French cultures in Canada.Every student in any film or cultural programs and anyone who deals with anything related to film or culture will benefit from reading this book.It includes the origins of first motion pictures in Canada in 1896, showing a breathtaking coverage of scenes such as, "the arrival of a train, a small boat going out to sea, the Lumieres playing cards, the demolition of a wall, and so on" (p.1).More important, the book covers four dominant categories of film: documentary, fictional, animated, and experimental.This slim book is not only easy to read and enjoyable, but also the fact that its content is powerful and useful. Tom William ... Read more

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This lively, readable survey describes how Canadian newspapers were born as a tool of government, gradually became a tool of various political parties, and freed themselves only after their popularity had been surpassed by television and other media.A valuable account of social history, this book traces the rise of Canadian newspapers from the Colonial Reform Press and their crucial political role through the western expansion and development of professional staff and reporters to the birth of independent papers. ... Read more

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Where do Canadians encounter religious meaning? Not where they used to!

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What do we really mean by phrases such as "western Canadian political culture," "the centrist political culture of Ontario," "Red Toryism in the Maritimes," or "Prairie socialism"? What historical, geographical, and sociological factors came into play as these cultures were forged? In this book, Nelson Wiseman addresses many such questions, offering new ways of conceiving Canadian political culture.

The most thorough review of the national political ethos written in a generation, In Search of Canadian Political Culture offers a bottom-up, regional analysis that challenges how we think and write about Canada. It will interest specialists in Canadian political culture and generalists in Canadian politics. ... Read more

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This volume brings together essays which suggest that the relationship between Canada and Europe is a two-way process, as historically the traffic between them has been: either may have something to offer the other. Europe too acknowledges situations today in which "difference" and "community" are hard terms to reconcile. "Difference" refers to gender, sexuality, race, nationality, or language. "Community" is the collective understanding which must continually be renegotiated and reconstructed among these factors. The Canadian-European connection is one in which it seems especially appropriate to explore such circumstances. The topics covered include pioneer women's writing, transcultural women's fiction, canonical taxonomy of the contemporary novel, the city poem in Confederate Canada, poetry of the Great War, various ethno-cultural perspectives (Jewish,South Asian, Italian; Native reappropriations; Quebec cinema), literature and the media, and small-press publishing. Some of the authors treated: Sandra Birdsell, Nicole Brossard, Jack Hodgins, Henry Kreisel, Robert Kroetsch, Janice Kulyk Keefer, Archibald Lampman, Malcolm Lowry, Lesley Lum, Daphne Marlatt, Susanna Moodie, Bharati Mukherjee, Alice Munro, Frank Paci, and Susan Swan.
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The performance of sacred song often involves the talents of cantors, chanters, precentors, and criers--also known as chantres, djaky, psalom-shchniki, hazanim, protopsalti, and muezzins. The present volume explores this unique class of musicians from a variety of perspectives to offer the first survey of its kind. Folklorists join with ethnomusicologists, cantors, and enthusiasts to illuminate the many facets of this rich, living tradition. ... Read more

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A Reader in Victoria, BC, Canada
Found this book extremely interesting reading about Orthodox, Catholic Christian, Jewish, and Muslim chant.

A knowledge of French is needed in order to read some of the articles therein.

Good bibliography. ... Read more

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First published in 1985, Jolts is a lively examination of the differences between Canadian and U.S. television.

In this provocative, funny book, Morris Wolfe argues that there are profound differences between Canada and the U.S., which are reflected every day on the "box populi". The author sees Canadian television as an oasis of compassion and realism, reflected in public affairs, drama and comedy programming.

Jolts offers a fascinating look at the great tradition of Canadian television programming, a subject that remains timely today. ... Read more

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The history of Aboriginal people in Canada taught in schools and depicted in the media tends to focus on Aboriginal displacement from native lands and the consequent social and cultural disruptions they have endured. Collectively, they are portrayed as passive victims of European colonization and government policy, and, even when well intentioned, these depictions are demeaning and do little to truly represent the role Aboriginal peoples have played in Canadian life. Hidden in Plain Sight adds another dimension to the story, showing the extraordinary contributions Aboriginal peoples have made ? and continue to make ? to the Canadian experience.

From treaties to contemporary arts and literatures, Aboriginal peoples have helped to define Canada and have worked to secure a place of their own making in Canadian culture. For this volume, editors David R. Newhouse, Cora J. Voyageur, and Daniel J.K. Beavon have brought together leading scholars and other impassioned voices, and together, they give full treatment to the Aboriginal contribution to Canada?s intellectual, political, economic, social, historic, and cultural landscapes. Included are profiles of several leading figures such as actor Chief Dan George, artist Norval Morrisseau, author Tomson Highway, activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, and politician Phil Fontaine, among others. Canada simply would not be what it is today without these contributions. The first of two volumes, Hidden in Plain Sight is key to understanding and appreciating Canadian society and will be essential reading for generations to come.

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Hidden in Plain Sight
The volume is divided into several main sections, including Treaties, Arts and Media, Literature, Justice, Culture and Identity, Sports, and Military. Editors David R. Newhouse, Cora J. Voyageur, and Dan Beavon have brought together leading scholars and other authorities in their fields who explore and pay tribute to Aboriginal peoples' contribution to Canada's intellectual, political, economic, social, historic, and cultural landscapes. Also included are profiles of important figures such as actor Chief Dan George, artist Norval Morrisseau, author Tomson Highway, activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, and politician Phil Fontaine. The first of illustrated volumes, this is a landmark that will greatly enhance our understanding and appreciation of the heritage of Canada's Aboriginal peoples. ... Read more

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At times the deep disagreements surrounding Canada's constitutional debates have led Canadians to wonder whether the country can - or should - survive. In "Reimagining Canada", Jeremy Webber argues that there is a viable basis for a Canadian community, one which would enjoy the robust allegiance of the vast majority of Canadians. Webber begins by showing how different conceptions of culture, language, and nation shaped Canada's constitutional negotiations from 1960 until the referendum of 1992. He then calls for a reconception of the terms of the debate, claiming that the terms now used, often borrowed from quite different societies, have made resolution of the constitutional issues more difficult. He rejects the language of nation and nationalism, and the tendency towards exclusiveness implicit in that language, arguing for a Canadian community founded not on a rigid set of "shared values" but on shared debates and shared engagements through time.Recognizing that Canadians belong simultaneously to the larger community and to other more local communities -- each generating its own sense of allegiance -- Webber describes how their relationships are shaped by institutional, linguistic, and cultural factors and notes that these multiple influences produce an asymmetrical structure. Webber offers both an overview of the constitutional negotiations and a set of reflections on the appropriate relationship between culture, language, and political community in Canada. These reflections, while rooted in the Canadian context, hold lessons for other pluralistic federations, or for nations confronting similar issues of cultural accommodation. ... Read more

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Reflect on this: You work hard; maybe you work two jobs. You do your best to pay the mortgage or the rent, not to mention other bills. You could use a few extra bucks for your kids' sports or education.

In short—you're responsible. Shouldn't the people in charge of governments and taxes be the same? Instead, a separatist sympathizer is chosen as Governor-General, political appointments expect entitlements, and too many politicians elected in one party opportunistically jump ship to another. The same people pass laws to prevent citizens from speaking up—at election time! While this happens, the same political-bureaucratic-judicial axis can't get tough on crime.

A Nation of Serfs?: How Canada's Political culture Corrupts Canadian Values is a tart, opinionated call for Canadians to re-think their politics, their dependencies, and the mistaken belief that nothing ever changes. But it can. It starts with truth-telling. It starts with remembering our history. It starts with this book.

"Nothing like this book has ever appeared in Canada. My favourite chapter is the one devoted to exploring some of Canada's true roots as a principles of limited government as any in the world."

—Terence Corcoran, Editorial Page Editor, The Financial Post

"This book is a must-read. Mark Milke makes the moral case against dependency for its own sake. On the right, the fallacy of government subsidies to corporate Canada is exposed; so too is the culture of apathy, entitlement and opposition to sensible reform, which is relentlessly encouraged by the political left. A Nation of Serfs? will open the eyes of average Canadians; it will hand them the 'ammo' to confront many tax-happy politicians and the rainbow of special-interest groups that cheer them on."

—John Williamson. Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation ... Read more