Issue 2 (63)
| HOW CANADIANS COMMEMORATE THE WARS OF 1812–1814 and 1914–1918 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2019 | Number | 2(63) |
| Pages | 50-55 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 94(71) | BBK | 63.3(7Êàí)5 |
| Authors | Schimmelpenninck van der Oye David |
Topic | CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL MEMORY IN TEXTS AND PRACTICES |
| Summary | The article examines how Canadians commemorate their involvement in the War of 1812 and in the First World War. Unlike Russians, who observe Victory Day (Den pobedy) every year on May 9 as a festive holiday, the Canadian commemoration of the end of the Great War, November 11, is a somber event marked by two minutes of silence and quiet contemplation of the war dead. As a people that see themselves as peacekeepers rather than warriors, Canadians do not have a holiday that celebrates a military victory. However, they consider the participation in the war of their own units as an important step towards full independence from Great Britain. The War of 1812, the American attempt to wrest Canada from Great Britain during the Napoleonic Wars, was defeated by British troops. However, Canadians tend to see it as their victory, won by their volunteers in the militia. They see the War of 1812 as an event that unified them as a distinct nation. In this regard, one can talk about its significant role in the formation of the Canadian national identity. Studying the forms of commemorations and sites of memory dedicated to the wars of 1812–1814 and 1914–1918, reveals the specifics of the memorial culture of Canadians. | ||
| Keywords | First World War, British-American War of 1812–1814, Canada, Canadian nationalism, anniversaries, politics of memory, historical memory | ||
| References |
Comeau R. [Opposition to conscription in Quebec]. La Première guerre mondiale et le Canada: Contributions sociomilitaires québécoises [The First World War and Canada: Québec Socio-Military Contribution]. Montreal: Méridien, 1999, pp. 91–109. (in French). Cook T. Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting the Great War 1917–1918. Toronto: Penguin, 2008, vol. 2, 725 p. (in English). Cook T., Stewart W. War Losses (Canada). International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Available at: https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/war_losses_canada (accessed: 15.10.2018). (in English). Granatstein J. L. Canada. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Available at: https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/canada (accessed: 15.10.2018). (in English). Hitsman J. Mackay. The Incredible War of 1812: A Military History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965, 265 p. (in English). Laurendeau A. La Crise de la Conscription [The Conscription Crisis]. Montreal: Editions du Jour, 1962, 158 p. (in French). Marche S. That Time We Beat the Americans. The Walrus, March 2012. Available at: https://thewalrus.ca/that-time-we-beat-the-americans (accessed: 15.10.2018). (in English). McKay I., Swift J. The Vimy Trap: Or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Great War. Toronto: Between the Lines, 2016, 372 p. (in English). Morton D., Granatstein J. L. Marching to Armageddon: Canadians and the Great War, 1914–1919. Toronto: Lester & Orpen Dennys Limited, 1989, 288 p. (in English). Nicholson G. W. L. Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919: Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War. Montreal & Kingston: McGill University Press, 2015, 672 p. (in English). Stacey C. The War of 1812 in Canadian History. Ontario History, 1958, vol. 50, pp. 153–159. (in English). Stanley G. F. G. Canada Invaded, 1775–1776. Toronto: Hakkert, 1973, 186 p. (in English). Swettenham J. To Seize the Victory: The Canadian Corps in World War I. Toronto: Ryerson, 1965, 265 p. (in English). Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2007, 368 p. (in English). Wood J. Militia Myths: Ideas of the Canadian Citizen Soldier, 1896–1921. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2010, 384 p. (in English). |
||
| Download in PDF | |||
