Blog

This Pilgrim Nation: book pre-order

My first book This Pilgrim Nation: the Making of the Portuguese Diaspora in Postwar North America is coming out this Winter with the University of Toronto Press. The official publication date is December 9, 2019; just in time for Christmas. But you can pre-order your copy now at a 25% discount on the University of Toronto Press’ website: https://utorontopress.com/us/this-pilgrim-nation-2
Details about the book launch coming soon.

City Builders & Myseum of Toronto exhibit at the Columbus Centre

The City Builders’ exhibit at the Columbus Centre, part of this year’s Myseum of Toronto Intersections festival, was launched on March 24 with a reception held in that Italian-Canadian community space. About 50 guests attended the event, which started out with a series of brief speeches from Emanuele Lepri (Villa Charities/ Columbus Centre), Jeremy Diamond (Myseum of Toronto), Jason Ottey (LIUNA Local 183), Gabriele Scardellato (Mariano A. Elia Chair in Italian Canadian Studies), and a presentation by the project manager Dr. Gilberto Fernandes. After the audience members toured the exhibit, they were able to ask questions directly to Dr. Fernandes and Marino Toppan – a retired construction worker, union organizer, and key interviewee in the City Builders documentary. Members of the press were also present, including CityNews and OMNI TV (Italian programming), which reported about the event in their evening news.

Photos by Vincenzo Pietropaolo

The CBC (radio and online) also interviewed me for a story about the City Builders exhibit. You can read the article here. Unfortunately, the article attracted white supremacist and anti-immigration remarks in the comments section, which I addressed in Twitter thread, here.

Given the large public interest and turnout, we extended the length of the exhibit for an extra week. The end date is now April 7.

City Builders received Lieutenant Governor of Ontario’s Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation

The City Builders project was one of this year’s recipients of the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation. The awards ceremony was held at the Provincial Legislative Building, Queen’s Park, on Friday, February 22, presided by the Honourable Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. Thank you Ontario Heritage Trust for this wonderful distinction. It is a honour to share this with all the other great projects and individuals awarded that day.

Receiving the award plaque from Her Honour Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and the Ontario Heritage Trust Chair of the Board of Directors, Harvey McCue.
With Dr. Carolyn Podruchny (The Manitoulin Island Summer Historical Institute and York University) and Dr. Thabit Abdullah (Chair, Department of History, York University)

Canadian Immigration History Syllabus – ActiveHistory.ca

Thanks to Daniel Ross and Laura Madokoro for taking the initiative, and for inviting me to co-author a Canadian Immigration syllabus with some of the leading migration historians in Canada. The purpose of this open syllabus is to assist educators and students interested in disseminating information and knowledge “that can shed light on lies, falsehoods and mythologies” that animate many contemporary discussions and public policy debates on refugees and immigration.

See the open syllabus here.

City Builders featured in RTPi’s “Hora dos Portugueses”

My City Builders project was featured in an episode of the show “Hora dos Portugueses” on Portugal’s international public TV broadcaster RTPi. You can watch it here (starting at 9’15”).

O meu projeto City Builders foi foco de uma reportagem no programa “Hora dos Portugueses” na RTPi. Pode ver o episódio aqui (início ao minuto 9’15”).