Social Democracy After the Cold War
edited by Bryan Evans and Ingo Schmidt
Subjects: Canadian History, History, Political History, Political Science, Political Theory, Western History
Imprint: AU Press
With lively, informative contributions by both scholars and activists, Bucking Conservatism highlights the individuals and groups who challenged Alberta’s conservative status quo in the 1960s and 70s. Drawing on archival records, newspaper articles, police reports, and interviews, the contributors examine Alberta’s history through the eyes of Indigenous activists protesting discriminatory legislation and unfulfilled treaty obligations, women and lesbian and gay persons standing up to the heteropatriarchy, student activists seeking to forge a new democracy, and anti-capitalist environmentalists demanding social change. This book uncovers the lasting influence of Alberta’s noncomformists—those who recognized the need for dissent in a province defined by wealth and right-wing politics—and poses thought-provoking questions for contemporary activists.
Bucking Conservatism is a must read for everyone interested in peering behind the stereotypes of Alberta conservatism, for a look at the grassroots rebels, radicals, queers, feminists, hippies, Indigenous activists, socialists, and environmentalists who tweaked the noses of the political elites and their business interests. This rich collection introduces us to a range of individuals who made change, defied convention, and spoke truth to power during Alberta’s 'long sixties.' Bucking Conservatism is a welcome chinook of revisionist social and political history that will resonate with scholars, students, and readers. Beautifully written, bristling with verve, insight and political nuance, this anthology deserves a wide audience of readers.
Valerie Korinek, author of Prairie Fairies: A History of Queer Communities and People in Western Canada, 1930–1985
The chapters of Bucking Conservatism recall the ‘Long Sixties’ as a time of small, diverse eruptions, often local ones, through which Albertans asserted rights, opened day care centres, stood down a bulldozer and a freeway, experimented in painting and poetry, and articulated a contemporary ethic of conservation.
Roger Epp, author of We Are All Treaty People: Prairie Essays
Bucking Conservatism astutely captures the tension in Canadian history and politics as it explores how Albertans have wrestled with the inherent contradictions of what it means to be a progressive Albertan.
Erika Dyck, co-author of Managing Madness
Through a discussion of significant moments and important movements, such as Indigenous rights, gay rights, New Leftism, and the counterculture, Bucking Conservatism offers a thoughtful and nuanced reassessment of Alberta's history and convincingly demonstrates that progressive politics helped shape the province in important ways. This book is a must-read for those interested in understanding the complex history of politics in Alberta.
Roberta Lexier, co-editor of Party of Conscience: The CCF, The NDP, and Social Democracy in Canada
[A] beautiful mosaic of activist history for many reasons. It’s an intersectional collection that takes for granted the links between social justice struggles. It’s well-written, well-organized and insightful. [. . .] Groups embarking on future projects will benefit from the robust list of references that marks each piece. [. . .] Bucking Conservatism offers a blueprint, a model, for others who want to continue this work, in whatever time period.
—Joe Kadi, Alberta Views
With such a breadth of subjects, there really is something for every reader in the book. This is a book I can imagine picking up off the shelf again and again and looking at for ideas and inspiration.
—Belinda Crowson, Canadian Journal of History
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