The Professionalization of History in English Canada / / Donald Wright.

• VerfasserIn: Wright, Donald,
• Place / Publishing House: Toronto : : University of Toronto Press, , [2019]; ©2005
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (280 p.)

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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- CHAPTER 1. History as avocation -- CHAPTER 2. From avocation to vocation: the beginnings -- CHAPTER 3. 'The post-1918 generation': professionalization continued -- CHAPTER 4. 'Mr. Newman, manifestly, is not a historian': the amateurization of history -- CHAPTER 5. The importance of being sexist: the masculinization of history -- CHAPTER 6. Protecting scholarly independence: a professional imperative -- CHAPTER 7. 'History cannot be too much professionalized': professionalization reconsidered -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index