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History General

Contours of the Nation

Making Obesity and Imagining Canada, 1945-1970

by (author) Deborah McPhail

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2017
Category
General, General, Gender Studies, Women
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442644502
    Publish Date
    Sep 2017
    List Price
    $78.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442612723
    Publish Date
    Nov 2017
    List Price
    $40.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442660731
    Publish Date
    Oct 2017
    List Price
    $30.95

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Description

The obesity epidemic that is said to plague nations around the world, including Canada, is not solely a medical condition to be managed. In Canada, the discourse on obesity emerged during a time of social upheaval in the postwar period.

Contours of the Nation is the first book which historically explores obesity in Canada from a critical perspective. Deborah McPhail demonstrates how obesity as a problem was affixed to particular populations in order to separate true Canadians from others. She reveals how the articulation of obesity contributed to the Canadian colonial project in the North; where Indigenous peoples were viewed as modern Canadians due to their obesity, thereby negating any special claims to northern lands. Contours of the Nation successfully demonstrates how histories can trace the actual materialization of bodies through relations of power, particularly those pertaining to race, gender, and nation.

About the author

Deborah McPhail is an assistant professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences in the College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba.

Deborah McPhail's profile page