Search

Urban publics - the self-conscious interest groups that emerged to characterize much of the social and political climate of city life - claimed attention, contended for influence, and celebrated their values through performances of a wide variety of rituals in urban public space. In this paper our attention will focus on one dramatic and important episode expressing the nature of public ritual in Confederation-era Canada: the memorialization of Thomas D'Arcy McGee, assassinated in Ottawa, and buried in Montreal on Easter Monday, April 13, 1868. In paying homage to McGee, urban publics in Montreal and across the Dominion seized an almost unparalleled opportunity to bear witness to their images of themselves, in the very particular circumstance of an intensely felt moment in time. The nature of this ritual allows us to explore one significant aspect of a social geography of the city that is otherwise not easily recoverable and often forgotten: the evanescent but powerfully signifying geography of behaviour in public space. Key words: urban rituals, public space, T. D'Arcy McGee

An analysis of the contention and dialogue among the citizens of Toronto over the accessibility of public space in mid-nineteenth century Canada reveals the significance of the process of negotiations as the main resource of management and the importance given to the social geography of public space. Public space was a valued symbol in Toronto society and had an important role in the society. The negotiating process included petitioning to the government, regulating legislations put forward by the government and arrangements for public demonstrations.

The newspaper coverage and presentation of fire disasters in Quebec in 1845 reveals the existence of innovative methods in news gathering before the use of telegraphic systems. The worldwide similarity of the presentation of news of the Quebec disaster among the editors of different newspapers of several countries reveals that a good communication process existed before the advent of telegraphic systems. The editors often exchanged and circulated the news received by them to editors of other newspapers. Sometimes the editors even had similar interpretations of certain news items.

In the years between 1845 and 1875 the character of communications in Canada changed significantly. The arrival of the telegraph altered the technology of message transmission, and the spread of urban settlement across the continent changed the dimensions of the communications network. This paper aims to analyse the relationship between these developments and the flow of published economic information between and among the cities. Content analyses of non-local economic data, both advertising and editorial, in the pages of the urban newspapers were undertaken at intervals of a decade between 1845 and 1875. The results of these analyses suggest that the new technology had an evolutionary, not revolutionary, effect on the structure of information flows, encouraging both the centralization of control of news gathering and dissemination while allowing the periphery closer contact with the centre. The volume of economic values circulating increased significantly. Regional, national and international networks all became better articulated as the system of cities expanded and intensified.

'Yesterday a whole community--the population of a vast city--turned out into the highways to bury their dead ... Montreal has never before seen such a spectacle ... the crowds who [...]

The Right to the City. Social Justice and the Fight for Public Space by Don Mitchell, Guilford Press, New York and London, 2003, ix+270 pp. paper US$23.00 (ISBN 1-57230-847-8) The [...]

The decade of the 1970's was a period of critical reflection on the positivist social science for urban geography. The period ended in discord, with urban geography suffering a loss of coherence in the absence of a productive discussion of the issues, which confronted its practice.

There are three issues crucial to the practice of historical geography. Scholars in this field need to consider their intended audience, to discuss their motivation with peers, and begin to seek consensus on methodology.

Wynn, Graeme and Oke, Timothy, eds. Vancouver and its Region. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1992. Pp. xvii, 333. Illustrations, figures, tables. $45.00 and $29.95 (paper). The editors of [...]

Examines the nature of public ritual in Confederation-era Canada, focusing on the assassination of Thomas D'Arcy McGee in Ottawa and buried in Montreal on Easter Monday, April 13, 1868. Homage which was paid to McGee; Celebrations held by urban publics in Montreal and across the Dominion; Details on McGee's death and burial; Appeal by small urban communities to municipal authority.