Netflix: Canadian (Dis)Content. Competing Sovereignties and the Cultural Politics of Cultural Policy

Netflix has gained significant attention in Canada because it exemplifies the challenge posed by digital technology to Canada’s long-standing cultural policies. It is increasingly evident that such policies are limited in their ability to encourage foreign investment while safeguarding Canadian cultural expression. Indeed, the policies proposed thus far have generated “Canadian discontent” across the political spectrum, notwithstanding their promised benefits. This article uses Netflix to explore the cultural politics of cultural policy: the historical and political underpinnings that drive ongoing discussions about state intervention in culture. These politics include the debates about the effect of foreign investment on Canadian cultural sovereignty, and the ideological tensions within the notion of sovereignty itself, namely those between state and consumer and between center and periphery. Using a historiographical approach, this article investigates the controversy surrounding recent government responses to the disruptive force of foreign digital multinationals, such as Netflix.     

Routes of Resistance: Mobilizing Discourses of Opportunity in Ann Petry’s The Street and Austin Clarke’s The Meeting Point

Ann Petry’s The Street and Austin Clarke’s The Meeting Point provide important representations and affirmations of black people’s use of movements such as educational attainment and economic advancement to create routes to resist inequitable treatment and demand equal access to the benefits of belonging to American and Canadian national communities. In The Street, Lutie employs intellectual and economic movements to achieve her American dream but learns that systematic inhibitions block her intended ascension. In The Meeting Point, Bernice also tries to attain education and make financial strides to achieve her Canadian dream but finds herself barred from fully materializing that dream. Lutie and Bernice continue their quests to fulfill their mobility ideals, despite obstructions they face. Through that movement, which is driven by their knowledge of the implications of their exclusions from promises of the nations they call home, they counter boundaries intended to restrict them. While they do not accomplish fully their upward mobility ideals, their resistance demonstrates their refusal to be denied the benefits of American and Canadian discourses of opportunity. Petry’s and Clarke’s representations of this persistent resistance help inform and give voice to struggles against exclusionary practices blacks in the United States and Canada continually experience.     

The Good Neighbors and Their Undefended Fence: US–Canadian Cross-Border Military Excursions Before the First World War

This article analyzes US–Canadian military relations in the nineteenth and early-twentieth century through the lens of frequent cross-border visits between the Canadian Militia and the US National Guard. Beginning in 1857 and continuing until the eve of the First World War, Canadian and American citizen soldiers visited back and forth between cities across the continent, taking part in celebrations of Queen Victoria's birthday and the Fourth of July. After 1898 these recreational visits became an annual event for several regiments on both sides of the border, interrupted only occasionally by the vagaries of Anglo-American diplomacy, periodic shortages of regimental funds, or the disapproval of higher authorities in Ottawa or Washington. Although US–Canadian military relations in this period are typically remembered as being non-existent, with the two North American nations scarcely communicating unless it was through British intermediaries, this article explores the very friendly relations that existed between the Canadian Militia and their counterparts in the US National Guard.     

When “Bomb Canada” is Really Just a Metaphor: Using the American Jeremiad to Reinterpret Anti-Canadianism in the American Press

The most prominent motif in American social commentary is the jeremiad, a biblical prototype that bitterly laments the state of society and calls for its reform. In the post-9/11 period, as Canada and the US pursued diverging military policies, American pundits responded with a torrent of “anti-Canadian” criticism. Canadian pundits and scholars have argued that this critique fosters negative social attitudes and prejudice that could result in less favorable political relations. In contrast, this article evaluates political punditry through the framework of the jeremiad. It argues that these political pundits subject Canada to a unique form of self-criticism that identifies Canada as part of the national mission. The American Jeremiah scolds Canadian “apostates” as he would address American citizens who have backslid from the national ideal. The desired effect is spiritual, and will not necessarily lead to the political sanctions feared by Canadian observers.     

Cultural Nationalism,Anti-Americanism,and the Federal Defense of the Canadian Football League

ABSTRACT

During the 1960s nationalism flourished in Canada as did American influence, both cultural and economically, as well as separatist sentiment in Quebec. The Canadian federal government became more interventionist to combat threats to Canadian sovereignty: internal threats from Quebec and external threats from the United States. The federal government used sport as a nation-building tool and eventually acted to protect the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a display of resistance to Americanization and in an attempt to unite French and English. Canadian football had become a symbol of the nation and therefore could be used by the government in a symbolic way to resist cultural imperialism and promote national unity. On two occasions the federal government acted to ensure the CFL preserved its Canadian identity; first, to prevent Canadian-based football teams from joining an American professional football league, and second, to prevent American-based teams from joining the CFL. John Munro was the key Canadian politician who formulated policy to protect Canadian football.     

The Canadian Rebellion,the American South,and Slavery

ABSTRACT

In the past few decades, thanks in large part to the work of several historians that appears in my edited collection, Revolutions Across Borders: Jacksonian America and the Canadian Rebellion (2019), there is a growing trend to consider the Canadian Rebellion within an American historical and historiographical context. Despite this exciting new research, most studies on the Rebellion and the United States continue to focus on the northern borderland. However, the Canadian Rebellion was a significant event that gained attention all over the United States, including the American South. Similar to the North, the American South was also invested in the outcome of the Rebellion. This was due to one reason: slavery. By specifically focusing on the American South and, more importantly, its influence on American foreign policy during the period, I want to encourage historians to take a more definitive stance; that slavery—just like the Panic of 1837, the Anglo-American rapprochement of thepost-War-of-1812 period, or the fear of British retaliation—played a major role in the United States Government’s official opposition to the Rebellion.     

Reflections of the “Roving Britishers”: British Travel Writing on Canada 1900–1915

This article analyzes a selection of travel accounts by nine British authors who journeyed across Canada between 1900 and 1914. The monographs, all published in London, purported to present authentic and up-to-date observations of Canada, the eldest Dominion in the Imperial “family,” to British and Canadian audiences. Additional goals of their narratives, and less clearly acknowledged, were to convince English Canadians of the value of strengthening a British–Canadian identity and remaining within the British Empire. To that end, the narratives explore strikingly similar themes, including anxieties surrounding immigration and the United States threat to Canada, while reinforcing notions of Empire as an indissoluble family. The article illustrates how travel narratives reflect psychological as well as physical journeys and are thus valuable windows on complex cultural encounters among the British and Canadians in this period.     

SAMUEL GOMPERS AND THE FRENCH-CANADIAN WORKER, 1900–1914

Abstract

Current dissension among Quebec labor groups has its roots deep in the past. This essay argues that Samuel Gompers and the American Federation of Labor bear some responsibility for the contemporary divisions within Canadian labor. At the Berlin convention of the Trades and Labor Congress in 1902, AFL-affiliated international union delegates expelled seventeen groups containing the bulk of organized labor in Quebec. Gompers and his colleagues, sharing all the Anglo-Saxon biases of that era, fully expected to woo them into the American international unions within a brief time. They showed no awareness of the special cultural and historical circumstances governing the evolution of economic institutions in that province. They ignored the early efforts by Quebec clergy to establish independent locals under the guidance of church-appointed chaplains. The AFL continued to rely upon John A. Flett, an Ontarian, and other English-speaking organizers. In consequence dual unionism surfaced again and again in Quebec. Finally in 1909 the AFL hired a bilingual Montreal carpenter, Joseph Ainey, to organize the province, but Ainey soon quit to go into politics. Judging by the dearth of rival unions in Quebec at that time, Gompers concluded that there was little need for the AFL to replace him. Organizing at a leisurely pace and judging their successes by the number of dual unions threatening them, AFL unions generally failed to hire French-speaking organizers, to use literature printed in the French language, or to mount a vigorous campaign in the smaller cities and towns.     

Canadian studies and American geography: trends and issues

Geography is perceived to be a relevant contributing discipline within a growing Canadian studies community in the United States, and the Association of American Geographers (AAG) retains a viable Canadian Studies Specialty Group. Since the early 1990s, however, the number of American geographers affiliated with Canadian studies organizations has not significantly increased: the community of scholars remains small and geography holds a peripheral position in terms of its actual contribution to US‐based Canadian studies programs. This article documents and interprets these trends using membership data collected by prominent professional organizations in Canadian studies and geography. It also explores the question of why American geography's Canadian regional specialists are not engaging formal Canadian studies initiatives in greater numbers. The observations that emerge suggest that a diversification of research themes in Canadian studies, particularly in the realms of environmental and physical science, would both increase participation by American geographers and enhance the field's ability to address pertinent aspects of the Canadian experience. Although observations presented pertain directly to the state of Canadian studies in American geography, they may also shed light on the lack of involvement by geographers in a variety of area studies fields in the United States and elsewhere.     

Canadian and American Treatment of the Nikkei, 1890–1949: A Comparison

For many Japanese people, the 49th parallel was only a line on a map, yet there were differences for the Japanese residents in the United States and Canada. The two nations had different concepts of citizenship and constitutions but, in what has been called “hemispheric orientalism,” prejudice knew no border. Both countries severely restricted immigration from Japan. In the United States, immigrants, the Issei, were aliens ineligible for citizenship. Thus, states could deny their access to commercial fishing and the right to own or lease land. Because the American constitution bestows full citizenship on the native-born, their American-born children, the Nisei, could vote and acquire land, but experienced discrimination especially in employment. On paper, the Canadian Issei had more civil rights since they could become naturalized but this provided few advantages apart from the rights to own land and to fish commercially. The Canadian Nisei had no more rights than their parents. In British Columbia, where 95 percent of the Japanese lived, they could not vote and provincial laws and customs denied their access to many occupations. During the Second World War, both nations required all the Nikkei to leave the Pacific Coast, incarcerated some, severely restricted the mobility of others, and proposed to “repatriate” many of them to Japan. Drawing mainly on the previous scholarship which has examined specific themes, time periods, or comparisons, this article offers an overview of how between the 1890s and the 1940s the effects of prejudice varied more in detail and timing than in principle even though formal consultation between the two nations was sporadic.     

Canada’s Supply Management System and the Dairy Industry in the Era of Trade Liberalization: A Cultural Commodity?

ABSTRACT

Canada’s dairy farmers have spent the last 40 years fighting to preserve their supply management system despite increases in the desire to liberalize trade through the expansion of regional free trade agreements and the targeting of agriculture in recent rounds of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). How has Canada’s supply management system resisted trade liberalization thus far? Moreover, what strategies have Canadian dairy farmers used to lobby the government to preserve this system? The answer to these questions lay within the intersection of culture and economics. Canadian dairy farmers have been successful in framing Canadian dairy as a distinctly Canadian cultural commodity, and therefore framing supply management as the economic tool needed to defend this cultural commodity. In exploring this topic, this article will touch on Canada’s history of preserving cultural institutions, as well as the historical importance of Canada’s supply management system.     

Canadian Foreign Policy in an Era of New Constitutionalism

This article historically assesses Canada’s role in developing new constitutional mechanisms in the global economy. Drawing on the literatures of International Political Economy and analyses of Canadian foreign policy, a reassessment of Canada’s position in the international economic order is proposed. As a consequence of the geostrategic advantages afforded Canada between successive global hegemons, Canada’s path-dependent development has situated the country to benefit and insist on disciplinary mechanisms for all states. Canada’s defense of a rules-based order demands the country adopt an increasingly unfamiliar role as crisis threatens the stability of the global economy. Consequently, Canada has become a primary defender of the new constitutional order of global capitalism, a position that seems opposed to traditional cooperative visions of Canadian foreign policy. Moreover, as the Canadian state becomes an active global proponent of neoliberal economic reforms it undermines the intermediary role of the Canadian state in its own markets, potentially undermining one of the historical purposes of Canadian federalism.     

Algonquin Revisited: Biography to Hagiography to Label

Entitled “Canada and the United States: Principles for Partnership” and prepared at the behest of American President Lyndon Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson, the so-called Merchant–Heeney report set out a series of guiding principles for the smooth conduct of bilateral relations. Drawing on their vast experience at managing this relationship, Arnold Heeney and Livingston Merchant, two former ambassadors, devised their guidebook by tracing the nature of Canada–US relations, examining areas where problems commonly arose, and offering suggestions towards building a more successful partnership. “Principles for Partnership” may have been their swansong but it was not Merchant and Heeney's sole statement on the Canadian–American relationship. Drawing on speeches, memoranda, and diplomatic cables, this article shows how Merchant and Heeney each conceived of the partnership between their two countries and how they viewed the influence of factors such as Canadian nationalism and the United States' preponderant power.     

Kang Youwei and Confucianism in Canada and beyond, 1899–1911

ABSTRACT

Based on the new discovery of two of Kang Youwei’s writings composed in Canada in 1899, this article expands the historical research concerning his Confucian religious thoughts and movement within the Canadian context and the period of his overseas exile in 1899–1911. The article first focuses on Kang’s continual pursuit of Confucian religious cosmopolitism from China to Canada, especially his efforts to disseminate Confucianism overseas and to develop a new utopian vision that called for the removal of religious boundaries among human beings worldwide. Its second focus is on Kang’s use of Canada as both a starting point and a turning point in his search for the Confucian State Religion. He consequently sought to develop a conservative nationalism from traditional Chinese culture and through a utilitarian adoption of Christian institutions and Western cultures. The analysis of both Kang’s pursuit of Confucian religious cosmopolitism and his search for the Confucian State Religion reveals their positive and negative impacts on his reformist movement that affected Canadian Chinatowns and on the broader Chinese diaspora from 1899–1911. Kang’s promotion of Confucianism in Canadian Chinatowns and the Chinese diaspora in addition had implications for the failure of his religious movement in the early Republican Period.     

The Role of Provinces,States, and Territories in Shaping Federal Policy for Indigenous Peoples’ Health

ABSTRACT

Under both Canadian and United States law, the availability and quality of healthcare and health services to Indigenous peoples are primarily a federal responsibility. Nevertheless, sub-national authorities—most importantly provinces, states, and territories—play a crucial role by virtue of covering (often through federal mandate) services, and regulating health facilities and health personnel off-reserv(ation). While both federal governments have undertaken efforts to transfer, within their fiduciary obligations, their responsibilities for Indigenous peoples’ health to the management of Indigenous peoples themselves, that transfer has considered or included provincial, state, and territorial authorities and resources unevenly, and, in some cases, in tension with the objectives of respecting standards for quality and access. This article applies the methodology used by Canadian researchers of the sub-national health authority issue to the health transfer experience in the United States. The article summarizes findings that demonstrate similar deficiencies as those present in the Canadian transfer process. The article further outlines the experiences of Hawai`i and Ontario as offering models through which to address some of these deficiencies. The article finally suggests that there is a positive relationship between greater participatory models adopted by provinces, states, and territories and better health outcomes among Indigenous groups so included.     

美国基督教长老会在江苏的传教活动

美国长老会是美国基督教在华传教的三大差会之一,江苏是长老会尤其是南长老会传教的主要区域,其传教活动对江苏近现代社会生活和文化生活都产生过重大影响。从检索史料入手,首次对长老会在江苏100多年的传教活动进行了梳理。     

International Harvester,the U.S. South,and the makings of international development in the early 20th century

This article draws on insights into the making of an American empire and the formative nature of the early 20th century in order to interrogate the international imaginations and national practices of International Harvester Corporation, one of the United States' largest international corporations. Based on archival research, it documents how International Harvester imagined its new international markets as the inevitable extension of their national expansion, and the transformations that their products would bring to their new consumers similar to the transformations that those products were bringing to farmers living in the United States, particularly African-Americans in the American South. In addition, this article explores how International Harvester's interventions in the American South deployed tactics of governance that contributed to what became a dominant set of practices of postwar international development, in particular, the problematizing of a space/region, and the rendering of its solution as a technical one. This case study suggests that some of the practices that characterize American international development have their roots in the early 20th century, particularly in the American South.     

Afghanada,or How to be a Good (Canadian) Soldier

The CBC radio show Afghanada, a “grunt’s-eye” view of the Canadian Forces’ deployment in Afghanistan (2006–2011), is one of the few fictionalized engagements with the conduct and consequences of the war. Despite its significance, Afghanada has only received limited critical attention and was usually interpreted as a symptom of the “militarization” of Canadian culture. This article argues that Afghanada is more adequately conceptualized as a cultural site where the most important issues brought up by war were negotiated and new boundaries of legitimacy and acceptability drawn. Afghanada tackles the question of combat versus peacekeeping as the primary task of the Canadian military, cooperation with the United States, and national unity. While the show extends the boundaries of societal acceptability by portraying combat as necessary, it also negotiates new limits within which combat is legitimate and enables multiple interpretations regarding the desirability and costs of the evolution of Canada’s military.     

Power,Culture, and the Rise of Transnational History in the United States

This essay focuses on the impact of the cultural turn on the writing of international history in the United States. It argues that the cultural turn has significantly shaped the emergence and practice of transnational history in the United States, drawing foreign relations history closer to other fields within American history and distancing it from the way transnational history is practiced elsewhere, particularly in Europe. It has created a more vibrant and much less well-defined field that engages with issues of race, gender, decolonization, human rights, and the environment. At first glance, the trajectory from the cultural to the transnational turn is not necessarily an obvious one. Both represent distinct approaches with distinct methodologies, historical questions, and subjects. Nonetheless, their fusion in the United States has set the American approach to transnational history apart from its European and non-western counterparts.