Off-Campus History

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Because ”Based on a True Story” is more complicated than you think. This is a podcast about public portrayals of history—movies, games, museums, and more. On each episode, I (Louis Reed-Wood, a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto) have a conversation with a fellow historian about a public portrayal of the history they study! — Logo by instagram.com/nethkaria

Episodes

Monday Jan 16, 2023

Episode 27 - Nitro and Heritage Minutes with Melanie Ng

Monday Jan 16, 2023

Today we’re discussing the 1992 Heritage Minute “Nitro” and its depiction of Chinese Canadian history, as well as Heritage Minutes more generally!

For those unfamiliar, Heritage Minutes are a series of 60-second short films intended to depict major moments in Canadian history. “Nitro” introduces viewers to the experiences of Chinese workers who built the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/EE3ISzalVuo.

To discuss this clip, I’m joined by Melanie Ng. Melanie is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Toronto, a museum educator with the Royal Ontario Museum, and a trained public school teacher. Her research focuses on clandestine Chinese migration to North America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries! In our conversation today, we get into the history of Chinese migration, what aspects of Chinese Canadian history this Heritage Minute reveals and what it obscures, and the genre of Heritage Minutes themselves.

For those who would like to learn more about the history of racist immigration restrictions in Canada and abroad (which we discuss in the episode), check out Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds’s book Drawing the Global Colour Line: White Men’s Countries and the International Challenge of Racial Equality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008). Those interested in the history of Canada’s Chinese community should also check out Lisa Rose Mar’s Brokering Belonging: Chinese in Canada’s Exclusion Era, 1885-1945 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010). Also check out the RepresentASIAN Project, which discusses Asian representation and seeks to elevate Asian voices in popular media: https://representasianproject.com/!

Podcast logo is made by https://www.instagram.com/nethkaria; music is from “Mystery,” recorded in 1919 by Paul Biese and his Novelty Orchestra. Follow the show on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/offcampushistory/) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/offcampushistory)! You can also email the show at offcampushistory[at]gmail.com.

Monday Dec 12, 2022

Episode 26 - Kimathi at War with Julie MacArthur

Monday Dec 12, 2022

On today’s episode, we dig into the history of the Mau Mau Rebellion with someone working on a film about it!

I’m joined by Julie MacArthur, Associate Professor of History at the University of Toronto, to discuss a feature film she is presently co-writing. The film, currently with a working title of Kimathi at War, will centre on the experiences of Mau Mau rebels who fought against British colonial rule in Kenya during the 1950s. Julie is herself an expert on the history of the Mau Mau, as well as on African cinema!

In our conversation today, we discuss the history of the Mau Mau Rebellion, why it makes for a fascinating film topic, and how it and other aspects of African colonial and anti-colonial history have been depicted in film. We also get into what it’s like to research and write a historical film.

In interviewing Julie, I learned a lot about the history of the Mau Mau Rebellion, a topic I knew very little about coming into it. The interview is also a rare chance to peek behind the curtain of the early stages of an early historical film. So I think you’re going to really enjoy our conversation!

For those interested in learning more about the history of the Mau Mau Rebellion, I strongly recommend checking out Julie’s edited volume Dedan Kimathi on Trial: Colonial Justice and Popular Memory in Kenya’s Mau Mau Rebellion (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2017). The book features a combination of scholarly interpretations and primary-source historical documents that together make it a really useful and fascinating read. For those interested in learning more about the origins of the Mau Mau rebellion, also have a look at Tabitha Kanogo’s Squatters and the Roots of Mau Mau 1905-63 (London: James Currey, 1987).

Monday Nov 14, 2022

Episode 25 - The Founder with Steve Penfold

Monday Nov 14, 2022

On today’s episode, we’re talking about the history of fast food! Specifically, our conversation today focuses on the 2016 film The Founder. The film follows the early years of McDonald’s as a fast food chain in the 1950s, with Ray Kroc employing cutthroat business tactics to transform the restaurant into a huge chain and achieve what he views as success. Michael Keaton stars as Ray Kroc; Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini, and B.J. Novak all also star in key roles.

Today we dig into the history behind The Founder. Why do fast food franchises take off when they do, after the Second World War? How does the fast food industry fit into the bigger picture of the history of capitalism? How innovative was McDonald’s in its business model and system of food production? And what do we make of this historical film genre that traces the biography of a successful businessperson?

To discuss all this with me and much more, I’m joined by Steve Penfold. Steve is a Professor of History at the University of Toronto whose research interests include the history of fast food, as well as capitalism, car culture, and consumerism in Canada. For anyone interested in a fascinating case study in fast food history, read Steve’s book The Donut: A Canadian History (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008)! For those interested in learning more about the history of McDonald’s and fast food generally, check out Steve’s chapter “Fast Food,” in The Oxford Handbook of Food History, ed. Jeffrey M. Pilcher (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 279-302.

Monday Oct 10, 2022

Episode 24 - Hester Street with Miriam Borden

Monday Oct 10, 2022

On today's episode, we’re discussing the 1975 film Hester Street and its depiction of Jewish immigration to the United States at the turn of the twentieth century!

Hester Street is based on an 1896 novella by Abraham Cahan named called Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto. The film follows a Jewish immigrant family in 1890s New York who come into conflict over the extent to which they should adopt aspects of American culture and the extent to which they should maintain aspects of the culture they grew up with in eastern Europe. The film stars Carol Kane and Steven Keats; Kane was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance. Also worth mentioning is that much of the film is in Yiddish, which gives us an opportunity to talk about the history of the Yiddish language!

Today we dig into the history behind Hester Street, discussing the role of Yiddish in Jewish-American life at the time, how Jewish immigrants to the United States navigated the process of acculturating in America, how the Jewish immigrant experience compared to those of other immigrant groups like the Irish, and much more.

To discuss all this with me, I’m joined by Miriam Borden. Miriam is a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto specializing in Yiddish Studies. She’s an expert in the history of the Yiddish language in North America as well as Jewish culture and history. Check out some of her awesome Yiddish history finds on Instagram over at https://www.instagram.com/bikher_chick/ and every Friday at https://www.instagram.com/ontariojewisharchives/!

For those interested in the lives of turn-of-the-century Jewish immigrants, check out Susan A. Glenn’s Daughters of the Shtetl: Life and Labor in the Immigrant Generation (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1990). For those who’d like to learn more about Yiddish in the United States, have a look at Reuben Iceland’s From Our Springtime: Literary Memoirs and Portraits of Yiddish New York, trans. Gerald Marcus, 1st English ed. (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2013).

Monday Sep 12, 2022

Episode 23 - The Last of the Mohicans with Jonathan Bayer

Monday Sep 12, 2022

On today's episode, we’re discussing 1992’s The Last of the Mohicans. This epic adventure film stars Daniel Day-Lewis and was adapted from an 1826 novel by James Fenimore Cooper.

The film is set during the Seven Years War—sometimes known in the United States as the French and Indian War. The story centres on Hawkeye, the adopted son of a Mohican chief, who seeks to protect two daughters of a British military officer from an Wendat warrior who wants them killed. Both the film and the novel on which it’s based have been very popular.

Today we dig into the history behind The Last of the Mohicans, discussing how it depicts Indigenous people, relations between various Indigenous nations and European empires, and the Seven Years War in North America.

To discuss this with me, I’m joined by Jonathan Bayer. Jonathan is a PhD candidate in history at Western University who studies eighteenth and early nineteenth century North America. His research focuses on American media portrayals of Canadians during this period.

For those of you interested in reading an overview of the Seven Years’ War in North America, check out William M. Fowler, Jr.’s Empires at War: The Seven Years’ War and the Struggle for North America, 1754-1763 (Vancouver: Douglas and MacIntyre, 2005). For those who’d like to learn more about media portrayals of Indigenous people, have a look at Robert J. Berkhofer’s The White Man’s Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present (New York: Vintage, 1979). (Note that both of these books use dated terminology in reference to Indigenous people.)

Monday Aug 22, 2022

Episode 22 - Historical Board Games with Benjamin Hoy

Monday Aug 22, 2022

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Professor Benjamin Hoy to discuss teaching history through board games, with a specific focus on the 2013 game Lewis & Clark: The Expedition as well as board game portrayals of Indigenous history.

Lewis & Clark is based on—you guessed it—the Lewis & Clark expedition of 1804 to 1806 that was sent by US President Thomas Jefferson to explore lands in the Louisiana Purchase. The game sees players race each other to be the first to complete the trek from St. Louis to the Pacific Coast. Players will rely on extracting labour from, and trading goods with, Indigenous people in order to make their journeys. Thus, the game is an important depiction of relations between Indigenous people and Euro-Americans in the North American West.

My guest today, Benjamin Hoy, is an Associate Professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan whose research focuses on Indigenous people’s relationships to the creation and enforcement of the Canada-US border. Benjamin also researches the history of how Indigenous people have been represented in popular board games, and is an advocate for using games to teach history in classroom settings—he’s even designed his own historical board game.

Today we dig into the history behind the Lewis & Clark board game, and discuss historical board games more generally. How do board games teach history differently than other media like print or film? How have depictions of Indigenous people in board games changed over time? How does the game depict relations between Indigenous people and the Lewis & Clark expedition, and how does that compare to the historical reality? As we note in the episode, the game draws upon some tired and offensive stereotypes of Indigenous people—why do games continue to include these? And what advice does Benjamin have for educators who want to use board games to teach history?

If you’d like to learn more about representations of Indigenous history in board games, check out Professor Hoy’s article “Cardboard Indians: Playing History in the American West,” Western History Quarterly 49, no. 3 (2018): 299-324. Also check out his article “Teaching History with Custom-Built Board Games,” Simulation & Gaming 49, no. 2 (2018): 115-133. Last but not least, read his book A Line of Blood and Dirt: Creating the Canada-United States Border Across Indigenous Lands (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021), which won (among other awards) the Canadian Historical Association’s Best Book Prize!

Monday Aug 01, 2022

Episode 21 - ’71 with Nick Baker

Monday Aug 01, 2022

Today we’re discussing the 2014 film ’71 and its depiction of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

For those who aren’t familiar, the Troubles was a period from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. The Troubles saw significant political unrest and violence waged by paramilitary organizations and British forces over the status of Northern Ireland. The majority of the island of Ireland had secured political independence from the United Kingdom and the British Empire by the mid-twentieth century, but Northern Ireland remained—and continues to remain—part of the UK. During the Troubles, Irish nationalists and republicans who were mostly Catholic wanted Northern Ireland to unite with the rest of Ireland; loyalists and unionists, mostly Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to maintain its connection to the United Kingdom.

’71, a British-made movie, follows Gary Hook, a British soldier deployed to Belfast amid political unrest. Hook becomes isolated from his army unit in a republican-controlled part of the city and traverses Belfast to return to his unit. In doing so, Hook witnesses disturbing scenes of guerilla war.

Today we dig into the history behind the movie. Why did the Troubles begin, and why did they end? Does the film accurately depict Belfast in the 1970s, and how widespread was violence of the type shown in the film? How does the film depict relations between Catholics and Protestants, and how does that match the historical reality? And how do we think an Irish-made film would look different?

To discuss all this and more, I’m joined by Nick Baker. Nick is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Toronto whose research focuses on the history of paramilitarism in Northern Ireland.

For those who want to better understand a complicated event, have a look at David McKittrick and David McVea’s Making Sense of the Troubles: A History of the Northern Ireland Conflict, Revised and Updated (London: Penguin, 2012). Those interested in the IRA could consult Richard English’s Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA (London: Macmillan, 2003), and those wanted to learn more about loyalism in Northern Ireland should read James W. McAuley and Graham Spencer, eds., Ulster Loyalism and the Good Friday Agreement: History, Identity, Change (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2011).

Monday Jul 11, 2022

Episode 20 - Dallas Buyers Club with Elio Colavito

Monday Jul 11, 2022

Today we’re discussing the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club and its depiction of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

Dallas Buyers Club is based on a true story and follows Ron Woodroof, a straight, homophobic cowboy who contracts AIDS. In hospital, Woodroof meets a queer person who also has contracted AIDS named Rayon. The two of them start a business called the Dallas Buyers Club, in which they import and sell medication for AIDS that have not been approved by the FDA. The AIDS epidemic hit gay and bisexual men and other members of the queer community especially hard, and the movie is an important popular portrayal of LGBTQ+ history.

Today we dig into the history behind this portrayal. How does the US government’s response to the AIDS crisis compare to how it was depicted in the film, and how does it compare to places like Canada and the UK? How did the queer community respond to the AIDS crisis, and how did queer culture and society change as a result of it? We also chat about the film as an important depiction of the history of transgender and differently gendered people, and what the film does well and poorly in that regard.

To discuss all this with me and more, I’m joined by Elio Colavito. Elio is a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto and an expert in LGBTQ+ history in late twentieth-century North America. Specifically, their research focuses on the history of transgender mutual aid networks in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

For those who want to learn more about both government and community activist responses to the AIDS crisis, check out Jennifer Brier’s book Infectious Ideas: U.S. Political Responses to the AIDS Crisis (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009). For those interested in learning more about American transgender history, check out Susan Stryker’s book Transgender History: The Roots of Today’s Revolution, 2nd ed. (New York: Seal Press, 2017). Also, you can find some of Elio’s work at https://lgbtqdigitalcollaboratory.org/!

Monday Jun 20, 2022

Episode 19 - Making History Podcasts with Sean Graham

Monday Jun 20, 2022

Today we’re having a very meta discussion about history podcasts! As anyone listening to this right now can attest to, podcasting has become an important medium through which people learn about history, and enjoy history-focused entertainment. Shows ranging from Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History to Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History to Leah-Simone Bowen and Falen Johnson’s The Secret Life of Canada and many, many more have become a huge part of how the public engages with history.

I’m joined by Sean Graham to discuss the history podcasting space. Sean is an adjunct professor of history at Carleton University whose research focuses on the early history of CBC radio. He’s also the host and producer of the History Slam podcast. History Slam is affiliated with ActiveHistory.ca and has been running for about 10 years—Sean has released almost 220 episodes at the time we’re releasing this podcast. His show features conversations with historians about a wide variety of topics, mainly on Canadian history. Often his episodes involve interviewing a historian about a recent book they’ve published. It’s a really great podcast and if you’re interested in my show, I think you’ll also like the work that Sean is doing over on the History Slam. You can find the History Slam at http://activehistory.ca/podcasts/ or wherever you get your podcasts, and follow Sean at https://twitter.com/theseangraham!

Today we chat about the world of history podcasting. To what extent was historical content a part of early CBC broadcasting, and how is podcasting today different from that? What are some of the decisions and considerations that Sean has made over the course of creating a long-running history podcast? Why are so few history podcasts run by academic historians, and what are the benefits of academic historians getting into podcasting? What do popular history podcasts do well, and what are some of the limitations of the medium? All this and more on today’s conversation!

For those interested in the early history of radio in Canada, check out Mary Vipond’s classic work Listening In: The First Decade of Canadian Broadcasting, 1922-1932 (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1992). For those looking for some analysis of the world of history podcasting, have a look at Janis Thiessen’s article “Canadian History Podcasts,” Acadiensis 50, no. 2 (Autumn 2021): 236-247.

Monday May 30, 2022

Episode 18 - Our Flag Means Death with Chris Baldwin

Monday May 30, 2022

On today’s podcast, we’re discussing the brand-new television series Our Flag Means Death! (Spoilers ahead!)

Our Flag Means Death is a romantic comedy about pirates in the early eighteenth century. The story follows Stede Bonnet (played by Rhys Darby), a landed gentleman who abandons his comfortable lifestyle and family to become a pirate. Unfortunately for Stede, he’s not very good at piracy, which leads him and his ragtag crew to many misadventures. Stede eventually meets up with Blackbeard (played by Taika Waititi), who teaches Stede about how to be a pirate while Stede teaches him how to have fun and how to be emotionally vulnerable. The two become very close and develop a romantic relationship.

Today we dig into the history behind the show. How does the show challenge assumptions about gender and sexuality in the eighteenth-century Caribbean? How did race and slavery historically relate to piracy, and how does the show depict those subjects? And we often think of the late seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries as the “Golden Age of Piracy”—what caused it to begin, and why did it come to an end?

To discuss all this with me and more, I’m joined by Chris Baldwin. Chris is a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto whose research focuses on privateering, race, and slavery in the Caribbean during this period. He also recently taught a course on the history of piracy!

For those of you interested in learning more about the history of Caribbean piracy, check out Mark G. Hanna’s Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire, 1570-1740 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2015). We also made frequent reference in this episode to A General History of the Pyrates, a 1724 book by Captain Charles Johnson that is the source of many popular beliefs and myths about pirates. If you’d like to read it yourself (though be advised this book should not be taken as an accurate history), you can find it here: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102498705!