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Roderick Benns: Posted on Thursday, May 17, 2012 12:18 PM
 First came the government announcements about the sheer breadth of celebrations we would have as Canadians to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Then came the naysayers, who quickly called this thinking ‘revisionist.’ Just war-like, selective historical memory from the Conservatives, others said. Personally, I think grand celebrations are in order for this bicentennial, and with good historical reasoning, I am reminded, after reading a recent blog post over atAssociation for Canadian Studies |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Wednesday, May 09, 2012 12:38 PM
Everyone loves a good movie. Movies that are anchored at a specific point in time often particularly captivate us. Victorian England, turn-of-the-century pioneer settlements, North Africa, the harsh Arctic or Australian outback…all of the places humankind has lived and conquered have been showcased in movies and often with magical results. It feels like we’re there. We may never visit in real life, but it’s a great second best. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 9:30 AM
According to a press release, more than 1,000 leaders from all sectors of Canadian society will gather at the testimonial dinner to pay tribute to distinguished Canadians who have made an outstanding contribution to the quality of public policy and public management in our country. If you have $600 to spare, sounds like a great event for political junkies. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Wednesday, April 25, 2012 5:22 PM
Macdonald served for 19 years, King for 21. Together, their personalities shaped Canada for four decades. Macdonald was likeable, clever, bold and sneaky. You could also make the case for dishonest, but not for personal gain. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Friday, April 20, 2012 9:09 PM
Librarians and teachers seem to be picking up the Leaders & Legacies series and this can only help. We appreciate the nod toward the series. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Friday, April 13, 2012 7:03 PM
 I wasn’t planning on writing about the role of the fiction author in its relation to history until I stumbled upon arecent interviewfrom thriller writer James W. Hall. Hall has 17 novels under his belt and recently wrote his first non-fiction book – a close examination of America’s bestselling modern novels and the qualities that bring them all together. The book is calledHit Lit: Cracking the Code of the Twentieth Century’s Biggest Bestsellers.The survey-oriented book looks at titles as diverse as |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2012 8:57 PM
 With historical fiction, the author's feet are planted firmly in the realms of both imagination and history, although I suspect there is an abiding love for the latter. (Otherwise they would have chosen a fiction-only career, most likely.) As my own chosen area of writing, I can tell you it creates an interesting dynamic. For instance, in May I will be speaking to the Peterborough Historical Society. Typically, I speak to service clubs like Rotary, Lions, Kinsmen, etc. To the generalist audience, I have been told my knowledge of the prime ministers is quite impressive. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 8:20 PM
A recent post over atEveryday Historyby Chris Dummitt got me thinking about the role of three different groups of writers -- historians, historical fiction authors and fiction authors. Each group has the capacity to impart valuable knowledge and to entertain, in their own way. Today, I’d like to take a brief look at the role of historians. I like this simple passage over atBBC Historyabout the role of historians. “…(historians) treat their sources with fidelity (that is, they do not pretend that the records say things that they do not, and do not deliberately ignore records that contradict the historian's argument). |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Wednesday, April 04, 2012 5:08 PM
 The Calgary Herald is beginning a new feature called‘Up for Debate,’where an informed reader raises a topic for discussion. Canadian history caught their attention in theirfirst installment. Tom Leppard, an education consultant and former teacher/school administrator laments Alberta’s new curriculum guidelines for high school history. Leppard writes: “Alberta Education’s recently revised high school social studies curriculum has relegated Canadian history to the margins. Yet, the department’s consultation with parents, teachers and historians revealed a strong desire to include a full measure of Canadian history (local, provincial and national) in the new curriculum. |
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Roderick Benns: Posted on Friday, March 30, 2012 4:19 PM
 As someone whose professional focus is about getting kids interested in Canadian history, I was happy to learn of‘The Canadian History Tunes’CD and download. Put together by a certified teacher, ACTRA performer and now homeschooling mom, Julianne has created a learning experience for kids that is outside most history teaching norms. “When I started out as a teacher and being a kinesthetic learner myself, all I knew for certain was that not all children learn the same,” she notes. |
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