Thomas Gallant, professor of history in York’s Faculty of Arts, has been honoured by the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada for his work and services rendered to the community. The award is one of 30 being presented to volunteers and community leaders from across the country and will be presented Thursday at Queen’s Park by Ontario Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman.
Gallant holds the Hellenic Heritage Foundation Chair of Modern Greek History at York. He has published six books and more than 40 scholarly articles in English and Greek. In 2003, he was one of the founders of the Canadian Hellenic Historical Society. He sits on the board of directors of the Canadian Institute in Greece and is the director of the Canadian Institute of Balkan Studies. Gallant says his cultural background has prepared him well for dealing with issues relating to multiculturalism, being the son of a Greek mother and a French Canadian-Mi’kmaw father.
Last year, Gallant gained considerable exposure in Toronto media for his recounting of a dark episode in the city’s history, an anti-Greek riot which few citizens seemed aware of. Gallant told the story in lectures and a book entitled The 1918 Anti-Greek Riot in Toronto, co-written with York colleague Michael Vitopoulos, a professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, and independent scholar George Treheles.
For more on this story, see the August 13, 2004, October 22, 2004 and June 27, 2005 issues of YFile.