When Things Fall Apart: The Nigerian Civil War and Intervention in Humanitarian Crisis with Walter McLean
On War & Society
The Nigerian Civil War which began in 1967 was precipitated by a series of military coups that destabilised the nation. The southeastern Igbo region declared itself the Republic of Biafra, prompting a retaliatory declaration of war and a crippling embargo by Nigeria's military government. The ensuing conflict lasted until 1970, resulting in over 100,000 military casualties and more than a million civilian deaths from ethnic cleansing, malnutrition and disease. Humanitarian efforts provided critical relief for up to two million people. Amidst the conflict international humanitarian...
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Oh! What a Visual War with Beatriz Pichel
On War & Society
In this episode of On War & Society, Dr. Beatriz Pichel, author of the new book Picturing the Western Front: Photography, Practices and Experiences in First World War France discusses the visual legacy of the First World War, the importance of treating photographs as primary sources, the controversies over colourisation and the future of photographic history in an age of visual abundance.
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The American War in Vietnam with Rob Thompson
On War & Society
In this episode, Dr. Robert Thompson explains the significance of pacification to America’s defeat, his thoughts on Ken Burn’s popular documentary, and some of the myths that have shaped our understandings of America’s War in Vietnam.
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In the Path of War with David Borys
On War & Society
In this episode, David Borys, producer of the Cool Canadian History podcast and author of the new book, Civilians at the Sharp End: First Canadian Army Civil Affairs in Northwest Europe, discusses the monumental task facing Canadian Civilian Affairs in the Second World War, their crucial role in military operations and humanitarian aid, and the myths and realities behind the liberation of Northwest Europe.
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Broken Promises with Christopher Capozzola
On War & Society
Christopher Cappozzola, Professor of History at MIT and author of Bound by War: How the United States and the Philippines Built America’ First Pacific Century, recently joined our program to discuss his new book, the colonization of archives, memory and forgetting, and the efforts of Filipino-American veterans to undo the broken promises of the past.
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A Curious Case of Shell Shock with Joy Porter
On War & Society
In this episode of On War & Society, Professor Joy Porter author of the new book Trauma, Primitivism and the First World War: The Making of Frank Prewett, discusses Pretwett's life and legacy, cultural appropriation, and the challenges of writing difficult histories.
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A War of Emotions with Lucy Noakes
On War & Society
In this episode, Lucy Noakes, Professor of History at the University of Essex discusses the truths and falsities behind the Blitz spirit and the process of writing an emotional study of the Second World War. Whether Britons confronted loss with a quiet stoicism, utilitarian memorials or personalised inscriptions on headstones, the Second World War was a war of emotions.
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The Great War at Home with Martha Hanna
On War & Society
In this episode of On War & Society, Martha Hanna author of Anxious Days and Tearful Nights: Canadian War Wives during the Great War, discusses the challenges and ethics of working with private correspondence as well as the differences between how Canadian and European wives experienced the Great War at home.
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Biodefense and the War on Terror with Gwen D'Arcangelis
On War & Society
In this episode, Professor Gwen D'Arcangelis observes how the anthrax scare, the war on terror, and the current COVID-19 pandemic are part of a broader and ongoing history of American bio-imperialism.
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Disaster in Halifax, 1917 with Roger Sarty
On War & Society
In this episode, Professor Roger Sarty, a leading Canadian Naval and military historian discusses the late T. Joseph Scanlon's book Catastrophe: Stories and Lessons from the Halifax Explosion and the military history of the disaster in Halifax.
info_outlineSince the late 1990s, Canadian historian Tim Cook has carved out a niche in the field of First World War history. In his two-volume social history of the war, he spoke of a soldiers’ culture, which bound Canadians together on the battlefields and helped them cope with the immense stress and strain of war from 1914 to 1918. This year, published with Allen Lane, Tim released The Secret History of Soldiers, a book dedicated solely to this soldiers’ culture that has become his most significant contribution to our understanding of the First World War in Canada.
Tim speaks of a few of the aspects of this soldiers’ culture, including swearing, slang and material objects. At the end of the war, this culture did not necessarily disappear. In Legion halls and reunions, veterans recreated this culture in a civilian world, however temporary it might have been.
Tim Cook is the First World War historian at the Canadian War Museum. He is the author of 11 books, including Shock Troops, Vimy and most recently, The Secret History of Soldiers. Among many others, he is the recipient of the RBC Taylor Prize, J.W. Dafoe Prize (twice), Ottawa Book Award (twice) and the C.P. Stacey Award (twice). He was recently awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media. He is a Member of the Order of Canada.
References
Tim Cook. “Battles of the Imagined Past: Canada’s Great War and Memory.” Canadian Historical Review 95, no. 3 (2014): 417–26.
------. The Secret History of Soldiers: How Canadians Survived the Great War. Toronto: Allen Lane, 2018.
------. Vimy: The Battle and the Legend. Toronto: Allen Lane, 2017.
Mark Humphries. “Between Commemoration and History: The Historiography of the Canadian Corps and Military Overseas.” Canadian Historical Review 95, no. 3 (2014): 384–97.
Amy Shaw. “Expanding the Narrative: A First World War with Women, Children, and Grief.” Canadian Historical Review 95, no. 3 (2014): 398–406.
Jonathan F. Vance. Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning and the First World War. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997.