Canada's Victorian Oil Town: The Transformation of Petrolia from Resource Town into a Victorian Community - Hardcover

Burr, Christina

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0773531122 ISBN 13: 9780773531123

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006

Synopsis

Departing from traditional historiography focused on the economic role of resource development, Canada's Victorian Oil Town incorporates an understanding of the connections between science and technology, nation and imperialism, and cultural nuances of community-building. Burr looks at the cultural importance of place and how collective identity was nurtured in the community. She also illustrates how the image of Petrolia as Canada's Victorian Oil Town has been used since the 1970s to develop a thriving tourist industry in the region. Interdisciplinary in scope, Canada's Victorian Oil Town draws from the history of imperialism, science, resource development, local history, gender studies, and cultural geography.

About this title

About the Author:

Christina Burr is the author of Spreading the Light: Work and Labour Reform in Late Nineteenth-Century Toronto and associate professor, history, University of Windsor.

Review:

"What an exciting story! I thoroughly enjoyed the exegesis of the relationship between natural science, ideas of social progress, and industrial capital - a story that allowed allusions to 'witchers, ' 'dousers, ' and 'oil-smellers.' It's a good read." Brian Osborne, geography, Queen's University "Burr has explored Petrolia's rich history and hitherto unexplored cultural and technological dimensions and taken into account many of the complexities, struggles, and tensions that made it the town it is today." Kerry Badgley, National Archives, Ottawa

About this edition

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0773531122
• ISBN 13: 9780773531123
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312