Episode 13 New Directions in Urban Environmental History & Abandoned Mines: March 3, 2010. [audio:http://niche-canada.org/files/sound/naturespast/natures-past13.mp3][49:59] Next week the American Society for Environmental History will hold its annual meeting in Portland, Oregon. Environmental historians will gather from March 10-13 to share new research and ideas, roughly surrounding the theme of “Currents […]
Digital History
71 posts
Historians know that our work is entirely dependent on access to and availability of sources, especially archival primary sources. Anyone who has spent months (and sometimes years) awaiting approval of a Freedom of Information Act request in Canada knows how frustrating limited access can be. It is a barrier to […]
After months and months of hype, the long-awaited Apple tablet – the iPad – has arrived. It’s actually a real thing. Perhaps I too have just been caught up in the media spectacle that is an Apple product launch, but since I wrote a post back in November about the […]
Episode 12 Industrialization in Subarctic Environments: January 19, 2010. [audio:http://niche-canada.org/files/sound/naturespast/natures-past12.mp3][24:30] Between 1920 and 1960, Canada’s northwest subarctic region experienced late-stage rapid industrialization along its large lakes. These included Lake Winnipeg, Lake Athabasca, Great Slave Lake, and Great Bear Lake. Powered by high-energy fossil fuels, the natural resources of the northwest […]
If you’re a historical researcher, the Library and Archives of Canada wants to hear from you. LAC recently released a survey on the relationship between historians and the archives that focuses particularly on the digitization of archival materials. Unfortunately, it seems that LAC is under pressure to use digitization as […]
I just saw this morning that H-Canada’s editors are adding “BLOG” as a new listserv tag. Ioana Teodorescu, the listserv editor, put out a call for short descriptions and links to blogs that are “useful for historians.” These don’t necessarily need to be related to Canadian history. I’ll post a […]
Over the summer, I posted a quick story about the need for historians to take part in the Canadian copyright reform consultations. The Canadian Historical Association did just this with an excellent submission to Industry Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage that outlined many of the main concerns for […]
The Canadian Historical Association is in the process of re-designing its website and has announced a soft launch of the re-design. You can check out the new look for the website and vote in an online opinion poll about the site. Unfortunately, an online poll is a rather limited way […]
Episode 10 Digital Technologies and Environmental History: October 21, 2009. [audio:http://niche-canada.org/files/sound/naturespast/natures-past10.mp3][40:59] How have online digital technologies changed environmental history research, communication, and teaching? This episode of the podcast explores this question in the context of the recent NiCHE Digital Infrastructure API Workshop held in Mississauga, Ontario. Online-based Application Programming Interfaces […]
Episode 9 Environmental History Graduate Studies in Canada: September 21, 2009. [audio:http://niche-canada.org/files/sound/naturespast/natures-past09.mp3][34:22] After our brief summer break, the podcast returns with an episode that looks at environmental history graduate studies in Canada. Last May, we recorded a round-table conversation with four environmental history graduate students following the Canadian History & […]
John Lutz asks this very question in the most recent issue of the Canadian Historical Association Bulletin. Lutz takes historians to task for failing to adequately prepare their graduate students for both the present and future of digital history. It is bad enough, as Lutz argues, “that the current professoriate […]