Description
Book SynopsisIn this well-researched book, Philip Massolin takes a fascinating look at the forces of modernization that swept through English Canada, beginning at the turn of the twentieth century. Victorian values - agrarian, religious - and the adherence to a rigid set of philosophical and moral codes were being replaced with those intrinsic to the modern age: industrial, secular, scientific, and anti-intellectual. This work analyses the development of a modern consciousness through the eyes of the most fervent critics of modernity - adherents to the moral and value systems associated with Canada's tory tradition. The work and thought of social and moral critics Harold Innis, Donald Creighton, Vincent Massey, Hilda Neatby, George P. Grant, W.L. Morton, Northrop Frye, and Marshall McLuhan are considered for their views of modernization and for their strong opinions on the nature and implications of the modern age. These scholars shared concerns over the dire effects of modernity and the need to
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"Historians and students of Canadian history will find Canadian Intellectuals, the Tory Tradition, and the Challenge of Modernity, 1939-1970 an interesting read as it is eloquently written, rich in thick description, and impressively comprehensive in its sources." -- Helen Raptis History of Education Quarterly "Well argued, well worth reading, this is a lively book." -- Fred Jones British Journal of Canadian Studies "An impressive piece of scholarship ... Canadian Intellectuals makes a solid contribution to Canadian intellectual history." -- Ira Wagman American Review of Canadian Studies "Philip Massolin's thoughtful and well-written study ... contribute[s] much to our understanding of the death of British Canada and to the motivations of those who fired the last cannon shots of resistance." -- John English University of Toronto Quarterly
