In the late 1970s, feminist historians urged us to "rethink" Canada by placing women's experiences at the centre of historical analysis. Forty years later, feminism continues to inform history writing and has inspired historians to look beyond the nation and adopt a more global perspective. This exciting new volume of original essays opens with a discussion of the themes and methodological approaches that have preoccupied historians over the past twenty years. The chapters that follow showcase the work of new and established scholars who draw on critical race theory, postcolonial theory, and transnational history to re-examine familiar topics such as biography and oral history, paid and unpaid work, marriage and family, and women's political action. Whether they focus on the marriage of Governor James Douglas and his Metis wife, Amelia, or on the experiences of Québécois domestic workers in the 1970s, the contributors demonstrate the continued relevance of history informed by feminist perspectives and open a much-needed dialogue between francophone and anglophone historians in Canada.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Productive Pasts and New Directions / Catherine Carstairs and Nancy Janovicek 1 James Douglas, Amelia Connolly, and the Writing of Gender and Women's History / Adele Perry 2 Using Diaries to Explore the Shared Worlds of Family and Community in Nineteenth-Century New Brunswick / Gail G. Campbell 3 "A Little Offensive and Defensive Alliance": Friendship, Professional Networks, and International Child Welfare Policy / Karen Balcom 4 "The Necessity of Going": Julia Grace Wales's Transnational Life as a Peace Activist and a Scholar / Lorna R. McLean 5 Feminist Ideals and Everyday Life: Professional Women's Feminism at Victoria College, University of Toronto, 1900-40 / Catherine Gidney 6 Singleness and Choice: The Impact of Age, Time, and Class on Three Female Youth Diarists in 1930s Canada / Heidi MacDonald 7 Sexual Spectacles: Saleswomen in Canadian Department Store Magazines between 1920 and 1950 / Donica Belisle 8 Gender and the Career Paths of Professors in the École de service social at Laval University, 1943-72 / Hélène Charron 9 Teaching June Cleaver, Being Hazel Chong: An Oral History of Gender, Race, and National "Character" / Kristina R. Llewellyn 10 The Ontario Women's History Network: Linking Teachers, Scholars, and History Communities / Rose Fine-Meyer 11 Fighting the "Corset of Victorian Prejudice": Women's Activism in Canadian Engineering during the Pioneering Decades (1970s-80s) / Ruby Heap 12 Ad Hoc Activism: Feminist Citizens Respond to the Meech Lake Accord in New Brunswick / Anthony S.C. Hampton 13 To Help and to Serve: Women's Career Paths in the Domestic Services Sector in Quebec City, 1960-2009 / Catherine Charron Contributors; Index