Memory, Militarism and Citizenship: Tracking the Dominion Institute in Canada's Military-Cultural Memory Network

MEMORY, MILITARISM AND CITIZENSHIP: TRACKING THE DOMINION INSTITUTE IN CANADA'S MILITARY-CULTURAL MEMORY NETWORK by Howard D. Fremeth A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication Carleton, University Ottawa, Ontario © 2010 Howard D. 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Canada ABSTRACT This study examines the recent cultural shift in the representation of the Canadian Forces from a peacekeeper to a warrior. It explains this transformation by applying Actor-Network Theory to discursive policy inquiry in order to uncover a network of actors engaged in the production and circulation of cultural memory. This network has its roots in a period of crisis over the representations of the military, citizenship and memory that occurred during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Employing a case study of the Dominion Institute, a history advocacy organization, this dissertation examines how a "military-cultural memory network" has emerged as a central node. The urgency and the resources for this network emerged after the 1995 Quebec referendum. Several actors are tied into the web of associations: historians, citizenship groups, veterans, teachers, policymakers, the media, the cultural industry, the corporate community, politicians, philanthropic foundations, the military and many others. The core of this dissertation is an analysis of how the Dominion Institute has played a key role as both a practical network builder by drawing other actors together and as a purveyor of discourse guiding the content that results from these interactions. In sum, the creation of this network is a communicative act. Over the course of its development, the Institute has positioned Canada's warrior tradition as the primary lens for the construction of citizenship and the transmission of cultural memory. This strategic shift occurred in the context of September 11,2001 and it has allowed the group to expand its reaches into Canadian classrooms. Finally, official governmental representations of citizenship presented around Remembrance Day of2009 mark the ascendance of the network and the normalization of its discourse. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is the outcome of a long and arduous journey. If not for the encouragement and assistance of a few individuals, I would not have reached this point. I want to first extend gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Ira Wagman, for helping me to conceive of such an interesting project and for pushing me to effectively communicate it in the appropriate form of a dissertation. As well, this work is indebted to the contributions of Dr. Peter Hodgins and Dr. Josh Greenberg who each drew upon their own unique expertise to provide insightful direction. I am also grateful to the staff of Carleton University's School of Journalism and Communication including Michelle Bateman, Carole Craswell and Cindy Kardash-Lalonde as well as the university's ethics coordinator, Leslie MacDonald-Hicks, and librarian Nancy Peden. Thank you to my fiancee, Melanie, who stood by me even during a difficult first few months of living together as I spent most of the time in front of a computer. Thank you also to my family—Mom, Dad, Robyn and Adam—who have always been there to support me. To my close friends—liana, Michael, Kyle, Danny, Joel and Harris—I appreciate our lifelong friendship and your persistent encouragement. In addition, thank you to those in my PhD cohort who have been such valuable colleagues. I especially want to acknowledge the efforts of Jason and Gina in creating a scholarly community. Finally, thank you to everyone who participated in my project and agreed to be so candid in our interviews. This dissertation would not have opened up such an interesting period of Canadian cultural history if it were not for the many people who made time for a junior scholar. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the valuable transcription service of Judi Rawls. ii DEDICATION To the memory of my grandmother's brother, Israel Herzwolf, and the rest of her family who perished well before their time at the hands of a deeply militaristic culture. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii DEDICATION iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF IMAGES, TABLES AND DIAGRAMS vi INTRODUCTION: 1 FROM PEACEKEEPING TO POLICING 1 THE MILITARIZATION OF CULTURAL MEMORY 10 TRACKING THE MILITARY-CULTURAL MEMORY NETWORK 14 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW: MEMORY, MILITARISM AND CITIZENSHIP 21 CULTURAL MEMORY 22 MILITARIZATION OF CULTURE 26 CULTURAL CITIZENSHIP 29 CHAPTER 2: CONCEPTUALIZING A MILITARY-CULTURAL MEMORY NETWORK 37 THEORY 39 METHODOLGY 53 Tracking the Shift in Symbolic Culture 55 Tracking the Dominion Institute's Network 58 Observing the Dominion Institute's Influence on Symbolic Culture 69 Constructing the Historical Narrative 71 CHAPTER 3: TRACES OF THE NETWORK: THE CRISES OVER THE REPRESENTATION OF THE MILITARY, HISTORY AND CITIZENSHIP, 1988- 1995 73 THE CRISIS OF REPRESENTING CITIZENSHIP 76 THE CRISIS OF REPRESENTING HISTORY 84 THE CRISIS OF REPRESENTING THE MILITARY 92 THE 1995 QUEBEC REFERENDUM 98 SUMMARY 103 CHAPTER 4: PROBLEM ATIZATION: THE LAUNCH OF THE DOMINION INSTITUTE, 1996-1997 108 IN THE SHADOW OF THE CRISIS OF REPRESENTATION: FRAMING THE PROBLEM Ill SUMMONING AN EPISTEMIC COMMUNITY: THE STORTYLINE EMERGES 117 TRANSLATING SOCIAL INTO ECONOMIC CAPITAL: THE DONNER FORTUNE 127 SUMMARY 137 CHAPTER 5: INTERESSEMENT: POLLING, ADVOCACY AND SOLICITING A CULTURAL MEMORY NETWORK, 1997-2001 141 iv THE LINK BETWEEN HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE AND CITIZENSHIP: BUILDING INTEREST IN POLITICIANS AND THE CORPORATE COMMUNITY 144 Politicians 145 The Corporate Community 152 THE END OF THE HISTORY WAR?: BUILDING INTEREST IN EDUCATION POLICYMAKERS AND HISTORY EDUCATION SCHOLARS 155 THE URGENCY TO REMEMBER: BUILDING INTEREST IN VETERANS 165 SUMMARY 174 CHAPTER 6: ENROLMENT: CONVERGING MEMORY, CITIZENSHIP AND THE MILITARY, 2001-2008 180 ENROLMENT: THE MEMORY PROJECT AND THE MILITARIZATION OF THE CULTURAL MEMORY NETWORK 183 Veterans 185 Teachers 188 Government/Politicians 190 The Canadian Forces 194 Youth 197 ENROLLED: THE CDFAI AND THE MILITARIZATION OF THE STORYLINE 202 SUMMARY 212 CHAPTER 7: MOBILIZATION: PASSCHENDAELE, THE MILITARY- CULTURAL MEMORY NETWORK AND THE ASCENSION OF THE DOMINION INSTITUTE'S STORYLINE, 2008 221 MOBILIZING THE STORYLINE: CONTENT 224 MOBILIZING THE NETWORK: CONTEXT 232 SUMMARY 246 CONCLUSION: THE MILITARIZATION OF CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP, REMEMBRANCE DAY 2009 251 BIBLIOGRAPHY 279 APPENDIX A: CHRONOLOGY OF MILITARY TEXTS IN CAND IAN CULTURE SINCE 1992 295 APPENDIX B: A CHRONOLOGY OF THE DOMINION INSTITUTE 298 APPENDIX C: LETTER OF INFORMATION 303 APPENDIX D: LIST OF INTERVIEWS 305 APPENDIX E: RESEARCH INSTRUMENT 306 v LIST OF IMAGES, TABLES AND DIAGRAMS Image 1: Canadian Forces at Dundas Square, Toronto, ON (June 17, 2009) 10 Table 1: Ottawa's Military memorial renaissance, 1999-2010 12 Table 2: Attendees of the framing group meeting held on May 5,1997 123 Diagram 1: The Dominion Institute's network at the time of its launch circa 1997 140 Table 3: Dominion Institute's storyline at the time of its launch circa 1997 140 Diagram 2: The Dominion Institute's cultural memory network circa fall of 2001 178 Diagram 3: The Dominion Institute's epistemic community circa fall of 2001 179 Table 4: The eleven phases of the Memory Project, 1999-2009 184 Image 2: Team Canada Mission to Kandahar, October 19, 2005 217 Table 5: The Dominion Institute's revised storyline circa 2008 219 Diagram 3: The Dominion Institute's network circa 2008 220 Image 3: Military themed

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