Methods & Mediums: Oral History Methodology with Dr. Janis Thiessen
August 10, 2026
Dr. Janis Thiessen
In June 2026, the Centre for Human Rights Research hosted a webinar on oral history methodology with Dr. Janis Thiessen (University of Winnipeg). Dr. Thiessen provided an overview of oral history methodology that addresses a number of crucial questions, including: What is oral history? When should scholars use this methodology (and when should it be avoided)? How should an oral history be conducted? How should archived oral histories be used and interpreted?
Watch a recording of the webinar below.
History in the Hot Seat: The Teaching and Knowing of Canada’s Past
History in the Hot Seat: The Teaching and Knowing of Canada’s Past
July 18, 2024
Hannah Belec
The “History in the Hot Seat: The Teaching and Knowing of Canada’s Past” Project is part of the 2024 Knowledge Synthesis Grant Competition, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in partnership with Canadian Heritage, Genome Canada, and UK Research Innovation’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (UKRI-AHRC). The theme of the 2024 Knowledge Synthesis Grant Competition, “Evolving Narratives of Cultures and Histories,” aims to assess and mobilize the existing knowledge on how factors such as globalization, war, colonization, racism, slavery, climate change, technology, social media, and more have shaped or changed cultural and historical narratives
Following the theme and goals of “Evolving Narratives of Cultures and Histories,” the “History in the Hot Seat” Project, in collaboration with the Centre for Human Rights Research and 101.5 UMFM, has produced a podcast series that explores what it means to learn and teach Canadian history, considering ongoing histories of colonialism and Indigenous dispossession
Episode 1
In the first episode of the “History in the Hot Seat: The Teaching and Knowing of Canada’s Past” Podcast, Dr. Adele Perry, Dr. Jarvis Brownlie, and Dr. Jocelyn Thorpe discuss the project’s objectives, outcomes, and impacts with interviewer Hannah Belec. The group also reflects on historical education and commemoration in Canada before and after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 2015 Report
About Phyllis Webstad and the Orange Shirt Society: https://orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story/
Whitfield, Harvey Amani. North to Bondage: Loyalist Slavery in the Maritimes. UBC Press, 2016.https://search.lib.umanitoba.ca/permalink/01UMB_INST/1f1g7b3/cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC5331322
Herstein, H.H., L.J. Hughes, and R.C. Kirbyson. Challenge & Survival: The History of Canada, 1970. https://search.lib.umanitoba.ca/permalink/01UMB_INST/gnigpm/alma99122656420001651
Menchú, Rigoberta and Elisabeth Burgos-Debray. I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala, 1984. https://search.lib.umanitoba.ca/permalink/01UMB_INST/gnigpm/alma99118874220001651
Frankenburg, Ruth. White Women, Race Matters, 1993. https://search.lib.umanitoba.ca/permalink/01UMB_INST/1f1g7b3/cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC5298946
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Volume One, Summary: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future, 2015. https://search.lib.umanitoba.ca/permalink/01UMB_INST/gnigpm/alma99148985229201651
Episode 2
In the second episode of the “History in the Hot Seat: The Teaching and Knowing of Canada’s Past” Podcast, Métis educator and administrator Kim Dudek and interviewer Hannah Belec discuss Kim’s evolving approach to teaching social studies in Manitoba; the relationship between curriculum mandates and classroom practice; recent updates to and the shortcomings of the curriculum that addresses Canada’s history of Indigenous dispossession; the role and availability of professional development for teachers to decolonize education; the importance of student activism; and the role of administration in advancing decolonization efforts in schools.
Episode 3
In the third episode of the “History in the Hot Seat: The Teaching and Knowing of Canada’s Past” Podcast, host Hannah Belec speaks with Dr. Lindsay Gibson, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Gibson discusses his research on commemoration controversies in Canada, exploring how historical figures and events are remembered in classrooms and the challenges educators face when teaching commemoration controversies that broach sensitive topics like colonialism and racism. The conversation delves into the role of teacher education programs in addressing these issues, how commemoration aligns with Canada’s current history curricula, and the broader debates surrounding statues and public memorials. Listeners will gain insight into the complexities of teaching history in an era of evolving public attitudes and the significance of pedagogical methods, historical thinking, and technology in navigating these controversies.
History in the Hot Seat Zotero Library
History in the Hot Seat Zotero Library
2025
Author
As a part of History in the Hot Seat; Colonialism and the Knowing and Teaching of Canada’s Past, a Zotero library was created to aid in gathering and organizing resources related to the project. Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research.
To access the Zotero library, click here.
The creation of this library was a collaborative project. We are grateful to student research assistants Hannah Belec, Katja Buchholz, and Jamie Nienhuysen for their work on this project.
History in the Hot Seat is a Knowledge Synthesis Grant funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) in partnership with Canadian Heritage, Genome Canada, and UK Research and Innovation’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (UKRI-AHRC) that aimed to mobilize, examine and synthesize social sciences and humanities research on Evolving Narratives of Cultures and Histories. To learn more about History in the Hot Seat, visit https://chrr.info/current-projects-2/past-projects/history-in-the-hot-seat-the-teaching-and-knowing-of-canadas-past/.
Resource Hub
Human Rights and Historic Wrongs in Canada: An Annotated Bibliography
2022
Lilja Best, Karen Brglez, Issac Hudson Foy, Ebrahim Jarkas, Kyla-Gabrielle Kent, Jayson Gislason, Cooper Grift, Victor Kliewer, Jonathan Hildebrand, Olivia Macdonald Mager, C. Papaioannou, Blake Mueller, Halle Rempel, Bailey Rostek, Ericka Santos, Thea Wortley
This annotated bibliography is a collaborative project of History 4000/7772, Human Rights and Historic Wrongs in Canada, University of Manitoba, Winter 2022, professor Adele Perry. Entries are in alphabetical order, and you can navigate by searching for keywords.
Resource Hub
The Patients who never came home: 'Indian' Tuberculosis and Indigenous Health Care in Manitoba, 1930s-1970s
March 28, 2022
Dr. Anne Lindsay, Dr. Erin Millions
In 2022, the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Human Rights Research annual seminar series was held online, and ran in conjunction with a senior/honours course in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts. Our theme was “Historic Wrongs and Human Rights in Canada.” Leading scholars from across Canada discussed their research examining different moments of dispossession, unfreedom, incarceration, and expulsion, and how researchers and curators have navigated them.
Across Oceans of Law
March 14, 2022
Dr. Renisa Mawani
In 2022, the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Human Rights Research annual seminar series was held online, and ran in conjunction with a senior/honours course in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts. Our theme was “Historic Wrongs and Human Rights in Canada.” Leading scholars from across Canada discussed their research examining different moments of dispossession, unfreedom, incarceration, and expulsion, and how researchers and curators have navigated them.
Civilian Internment in Canada: Histories & Legacies
March 2022
Dr. Rhonda Hinther, Dr. Jim Mochoruk
In 2022, the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Human Rights Research annual seminar series was held online, and ran in conjunction with a senior/honours course in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts. Our theme was “Historic Wrongs and Human Rights in Canada.” Leading scholars from across Canada discussed their research examining different moments of dispossession, unfreedom, incarceration, and expulsion, and how researchers and curators have navigated them.
Resource Hub
Experiences of Enslaved Black People in Colonial Canada
April 7, 2022
Dr. Harvey Amani Whitfield
In 2022, the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Human Rights Research annual seminar series was held online, and ran in conjunction with a senior/honours course in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts. Our theme was “Historic Wrongs and Human Rights in Canada.” Leading scholars from across Canada discussed their research examining different moments of dispossession, unfreedom, incarceration, and expulsion, and how researchers and curators have navigated them.
Resource Hub
Questions that convey Indigenous Historical Perspectives (That Challenge How Canadians View Indigenous History)
January 31, 2022
Dr. Robert Alexander Innes
In 2022, the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Human Rights Research annual seminar series was held online, and ran in conjunction with a senior/honours course in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts. Our theme was “Historic Wrongs and Human Rights in Canada.” Leading scholars from across Canada discussed their research examining different moments of dispossession, unfreedom, incarceration, and expulsion, and how researchers and curators have navigated them.
Resource Hub
The Constitution and the Declaration: Discussing Indigenous Rights with Dr. Patzer
August 18, 2021
Dr. Jeremy Patzer, Kayla Lariviere
The Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR) presents “The Constitution and the Declaration: Discussing Indigenous Rights” with Dr. Jeremy Patzer.
Interviewed by Kayla Lariviere, CHRR/ISSIP Research Assistant, August 18, 2021.
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