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Social Science General

Desiring Canada

CBC Contests, Hockey Violence and Other Stately Pleasures

by (author) Patricia Cormack & James Cosgrave

Publisher
University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division
Initial publish date
Apr 2013
Category
General, General, Customs & Traditions
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442645653
    Publish Date
    Apr 2013
    List Price
    $78.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442613911
    Publish Date
    Mar 2013
    List Price
    $41.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442663305
    Publish Date
    Mar 2013
    List Price
    $31.95

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Description

What do Tim Hortons, Hockey Night in Canada, and Rick Mercer have in common? Each is a popular symbol of Canadian identity, seen across the country – and beyond – on television and in other forms of media. But whose definition of ‘Canadian’ do they represent? What does it mean to be Canadian? Do we create our own impressions of Canadian identity, or are they created for us? In Desiring Canada, Patricia Cormack and James F. Cosgrave delve into these questions, exploring the connections between popular culture, media, and the Canadian state.

Taking as their examples the popular CBC contests, Tim Hortons advertising campaigns, NHL hockey violence, television comedy, and the business of gambling, this lively, engaging book investigates the relationship between some of our more beloved popular expressions of national identity and the extent to which the interests of the state appeal in various ways through the popular media to the pleasures of citizens, thus shaping our understanding of what it means to be Canadian.

About the authors

Patricia Cormack is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at St. Francis Xavier University.

Patricia Cormack's profile page

James F. Cosgrave is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Trent University.

James Cosgrave's profile page