2014 History Matters series is here!

The History Matters lecture series is back for its 4th season, this time dedicated to the theme of “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Past and Present.”

The History Matters series is a collaboration between the Toronto Public Library (TPL), ActiveHistory.ca, a member of York University’s Graduate History Program (myself), and starting this year Heritage Toronto. The purpose of these free public lectures is to provide opportunities for professional historians and graduate students to present their research outside the context of academia and interact directly with local audiences.

Dr. Victoria Freeman will kick-off the season with her presentation titled “Remembering Toronto’s Indigenous and Colonial Pasts”, which asks: “what is the Indigenous and colonial history of the Toronto area and why don’t more Torontonians know about it?” Dr. Freeman’s talk will be held at TPL’s Spadina Road Branch on Thursday, February 27, starting at 7pm.

The series will continue with Dr. William Wicken’s lecture on “What Sir John A. Macdonald Thought About ‘Indians’ and Other Courtroom Tales”, held at TPL’s Dufferin/St. Clair Branch, Thursday, March 20, starting at 7pm.

Followed by a panel discussion titled “Before Ontario: Archaeology and the Province’s First Peoples”, featuring some of the authors of the recently published Before Ontario: The Archaeology of a Province (2013), Marit Munson, Susan Jamieson, Anne Keenleyside, Ron Williamson, Kris Nahrgang, Neal Ferris, and Andrew Stewart, held at Toronto Reference Library’s atrium on Wednesday, April 2, starting at 6.30pm.

Dr. Ian Mosby will conclude the season with his presentation: “Hunger, Human Experimentation and the Legacy of Residental Schools”, held at TPL’s Anette Street Branch on Tuesday, April 29, starting at 6.30pm.

For more information on each talk, read the article on the TPL’s What’s Going On. Podcasts of past History Matters lectures are also available on ActiveHistory.ca, here.

Hope to see you there!