 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | J. L. Granatstein |
|---|---|
| Subject | |
| Published | 1998 (HarperCollins) |
| ISBN | 0-00-255759-2 |
Who Killed Canadian History? is a 1998 book by the Canadian historian J. L. Granatstein. The book argues that Canadians lack national unity because of their failure to teach their country's history. Granatstein contends that multiculturalism, social historians and weak history teaching standards are responsible for Canada's lack of a historical narrative. He advocates for a greater emphasis on the study of Canadian history in schools and university history departments, especially political and military history.
The 1980s and 1990s saw increasing disputes among Canadian historians, splitting between political and social historians. The historian Adam Chipnick describes Who Killed Canadian History? as "the pinnacle" of these disputes, termed the "history wars".[1] According to Granatstein, the expanding reach of social historians in the history departments of Canadian universities has resulted in ineffectual and uneducated graduates. He further argues that poor teaching standards and political correctness have led to historical ignorance among Canadians, leaving them unable to properly appreciate their present and future. He suggests a number of measures to increase historical awareness, including implementing national teaching standards.
Upon release, the book was a national bestseller in Canada. It received positive reviews from the press, but was negatively received by most historians, leading to major debates in Canadian history journals. While many historians agreed with Granatstein's contention that Canadians are ignorant of their past, they disputed the book's argument that the blame lay with social historians and multiculturalism. Several criticized the book as poorly written and unfocused in its argumentation. Following its publication, the provinces Alberta and Manitoba implemented new history curricula emphasizing Canadian content; Historica Canada was founded, an organization whose stated goal is increasing awareness of Canadian history; and Granatstein was appointed director and CEO of the Canadian War Museum. Granatstein released an extensively revised and updated version of the book in 2007, though it received little attention compared to the original version.
- ^ Chapnick 2010, p. 726.