Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

History General

The Professionalization of History in English Canada

by (author) Donald A. Wright

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
May 2015
Category
General
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781442629295
    Publish Date
    May 2015
    List Price
    $42.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802039286
    Publish Date
    Aug 2005
    List Price
    $79.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442629301
    Publish Date
    May 2015
    List Price
    $32.95

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

The study of history in Canada has a history of its own, and its development as an academic discipline is a multifaceted one. The Professionalization of History in English Canada charts the transition of the study of history from a leisurely pastime to that of a full-blown academic career for university-trained scholars - from the mid-nineteenth to the late twentieth century.

Donald Wright argues that professionalization was not, in fact, a benign process, nor was it inevitable. It was deliberate. Within two generations, historians saw the creation of a professional association - the Canadian Historical Association - and rise of an academic journal - the Canadian Historical Review. Professionalization was also gendered. In an effort to raise the status of the profession and protect the academic labour market for men, male historians made a concerted effort to exclude women from the academy.

History's professionalization is best understood as a transition from one way of organizing intellectual life to another. What came before professionalization was not necessarily inferior, but rather, a different perspective of history. As well, Wright argues convincingly that professionalization inadvertently led to a popular inverse: the amateur historian, whose work is often more widely received and appreciated by the general public.

About the author

Donald Wright is an assistant professor in the Department of History and the Centre for Canadian Studies at Brock University.

Donald A. Wright's profile page

Awards

  • Runner-up, Sir John A. MacDonald Prize - Canadian Historical Association

Editorial Reviews

‘A thoughtful history of the historical profession.’

Urban History Review

‘A contribution to the considerable literature on the professionalization of history ... Wright employs significant archival research and interviews with a small but significant group of individuals to describe a process characterized by change rather than progress.’

Canadian Historical Review

‘[Wright presents] thoughtful comparative analyses and intriguing paradoxes that bring us closer to understanding what was at stake in the making of the historical profession in Canada ... A compelling history.’

Labour/Le Travail