York Department of History professor Marcel Martel will help launch his new book Speaking Up: A history of language and politics in Canada and Quebec Wednesday December 5, at the Gladstone Hotel.
Published by Between the Lines, Speaking Up presents a wide overview of the history of the relationship between language and politics in Canada and Quebec from 1539 to the present. Language issues have always been subject to debate in Canada. From the Conquest to the Quiet Revolution, to the crisis of Regulation 17 to the various judgements of the Supreme Court, these often virulent debates have mobilized citizens—deeply concerned about recognition of their language and their rights—in the street, in the media, or in the courts. The state has responded with commissions of inquiry, legislation and legal action, and even police surveillance of citizens.
Speaking Up is a fascinating history of sound and fury, debates and struggles, tensions, but also of appeasement. The book traces the long history of the language issue in Canada. Nuanced and unbiased yet empathetic, it shows that language has been at the heart of this country's political life for centuries and offers a fresh look at one of the great issues of our time.
You can join Professor Martel in the upstairs gallery beginning at 7:00 pm. The Gladstone Hotel is located at 1214 Queen Street West at Gladstone Avenue.
For more information visit the Between the Lines web site.