History, Applied is me, Pete Anderson, a historian working in the Ottawa area. A graduate of Carleton University's Bachelor of the Humanities and Master of Arts in Public History programs, I am passionate about Canadian history. My research focused on the social politics of history education in early twentieth century Ontario and the diverse approaches to civic education in public schools during that period.

I have worked as a historical researcher at a government agency and am a volunteer with a local museum. Currently, I work as a public history consultant, completing projects for individuals, companies, and government agencies on topics ranging from genealogy, military, local Ottawa, educational, agricultural, and economic history.

I am always looking for new projects, so if you have one please don't hesitate to contact me at peter[at]historyapplied[dot]com, or take a look at the consulting tab.

A Brief Musical Interlude - Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! by Corb Lund

Things have been quiet here at History, Applied since the launch a few weeks ago, but this doesn't mean that I've been idle. I have five new posts in the works in the background, including two for the Histories of Futures Past series and three more that touch with various depths on places and events in the history of Ottawa.

In the meantime, here's the title track from Corb Lund's Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! album, a catchy ride through the history of cavalry:

If you're in Ottawa this afternoon, Corb is playing at the Ottawa Folk Festival at Hogsback Park at 5pm.  (And then stick around for Great Lake Swimmers!)

Histories of Futures Past #1

How we think about the future shines a light on how we see our present time. For example, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy paints a far future world filled with 1950s gender values and one of the most common criticisms of Jack McDevitt’s Alex Benedict and Academy series that I’ve seen is that his far future is a bit too close to our early 21st century home.