In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • Introduction / Présentation
  • Faye Hammill (bio) and Michelle Smith (bio)

Introduction

This is the first special journal issue in the field of Canadian studies to take up the topic of middlebrow culture. Mobility and travel, by contrast, have always been key themes in research on Canada, while print culture is an expanding, interdisciplinary field of study which is attracting increasing attention from Canadianists. These three themes are interlinked in a variety of ways, as the articles in this issue demonstrate.

The papers were initially prepared for an advanced research seminar, held in Ottawa in May 2012. Those invited are all members of the international advisory board for the project “Magazines, Travel and Middlebrow Culture in Canada, 1925–1960,” based at the University of Strathclyde, UK. Participants were asked to respond to one or more of the key terms in our project title. The result is a constellation of essays which focus on the circulation and reception of texts within and beyond the Canadian literary marketplace—or, as Susan Brown puts it, on the way that “words move.”

Among them, these articles cover a wide range of print forms, including newspapers, magazines, popular novels, illustrated books, and tourist guides. They also consider the translation of print media into other formats, through film adaptation, performance, digitization, and data visualization. Intercultural exchange is central to this special issue: the contributors explore crossovers between francophone and [End Page 5] anglophone print cultures in Canada; uncover parallels with Australian periodical publishing; and analyze Canada’s hemispheric and transatlantic literary relations.

These essays engage with practices of editing, transmission, and censorship; with issues of gender, race, and nation; and with questions about modernity, aspiration, and cultural value. The notion of “middlebrow” is addressed in various ways; indeed, the special issue itself enacts current debates about the resonances and political valency of this contested term. The special issue as a whole opens up important avenues for future research. Several of the articles concentrate on unexplored archives of periodicals, either assessing their value as historical resources or considering possible ways of analyzing popular magazines as texts. Other contributions focus on comparative, collaborative, digital, and interdisciplinary methodologies for studying Canadian literature, culture, and history.

The editors would like to thank Peter Hodgins and his colleagues at Carleton University, for hosting the seminar; Cristina Judge and her colleagues at Strathclyde, for work on the project website, which was integral to the seminar; all the anonymous reviewers of these essays, for invaluable input; Claude Couture and the ICCS staff, for supporting and encouraging the publication of this issue; Susan Brown and the Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory, for collaboration on our project; and our [End Page 6] funders, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (see <www.middlebrowcanada.org>). [End Page 7]

Présentation

Nous sommes heureuses de vous présenter le tout premier numéro thématique consacré à la culture moyenne dans le domaine des études canadiennes. Les enjeux liés à la mobilité, au voyage et à son imaginaire ont toujours été des sujets importants au sein des recherches sur le Canada, et l’imprimé est un domaine d’étude interdisciplinaire en pleine expansion attirant de plus en plus l’attention des canadianistes. Ainsi les différents articles du présent numéro vous permettront de constater à quel point ces trois thèmes, à savoir l’imprimé, la mobilité et la culture moyenne, sont interreliés de multiples façons.

Ces articles ont tout d’abord été préparés en vue d’un séminaire de recherche, qui s’est tenu à Ottawa en mai 2012. Y ont pris part tous les membres du comité consultatif international du projet intitulé « Les magazines, l’imaginaire du voyage et la culture moyenne au Canada, 1925–1960 » de l’Université de Strathclyde (Royaume-Uni). Les participants avaient pour mission de réagir à l’un ou à plusieurs des termes clés du titre de ce projet. Le résultat consista en une myriade d’essais abordant la circulation et la réception de textes non seulement au sein, mais aussi au-delà, du marché littéraire canadien, ou, comme le dit si bien Susan Brown, abordant la façon dont « les mots circulent ».

Tous ces articles font appel...

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