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Journal

2014 | 15 | 91-102

Article title

The Last Best West: A Canadian Myth of Success

Title variants

Languages of publication

EN

Abstracts

EN
This paper demonstrates how social myths play an important role in creating the collective imagination and provides a more detailed look at the Canadian frontier myth. At the turn of the twentieth century, Canada was actively promoted as the Last Best West. The idea that Canada would follow the American experience (or even that the twentieth century would be “Canada’s century”) lies behind the characteristic settlement propaganda around the turn of the twentieth century, which also lies at the core of one of the most familiar social myths – the American Dream. This paper constitutes a sociological examination of such propaganda.

Keywords

Journal

Year

Issue

15

Pages

91-102

Physical description

Contributors

References

  • Albański, Łukasz. “Blood will tell: The Eugenics Movement in Canada Prior to World War II.” Politeja 13, 2010: 241‑250.
  • —. “Etniczność i dyskurs. Analiza prasy codziennej i etnicznej w Winnipeg, 1896‑1919.” Studia Socjologiczne 4 (207), 2012: 177‑205.
  • —. “Social Darwinism.” The Encyclopedia of Populism in America. Ed. Alexandra Kindell, Elizabeth Sherburn Demers. Santa Barbara: ABC‑Clio, 2014: 656‑659.
  • Albański, Łukasz, and Małgorzata Krywult‑Albańska. “Seks, nauka i czystość rasy: Jak ruch eugeniczny za oceanem chciał stworzyć społeczeństwo doskonałych jednostek.” Nowiny Lekarskie 5 (80), 2011: 407‑413.
  • Anderson, Benedict R. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (revised and extended). London: Verso, 1991. Barlett, Donald L., and James B. Steele. The Betrayal of the American Dream. New York: Public Affairs, 2012.
  • Connor, Ralph. The Foreigner: A Tale of Saskatchewan. Toronto: Westminster Co., 1909.
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  • Hochschild, Jennifer. Facing up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1996.
  • Katz Yossi, and John C. Lehr, The Last Best West: Essays on the Historical Geography of the Canadian Prairies. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1999.
  • Kipling, Rudyard. Letters to the Family: Notes on a Recent Trip to Canada. Toronto: Macmillan Co., 1908.
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  • Turner, Frederick J. “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” Web. 13 September 2013. http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/frontierthesis.html.

Document Type

Publication order reference

YADDA identifier

bwmeta1.element.desklight-5173b890-d65b-49fe-b3c8-d0985642aa16
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