Although the 1960s are overwhelmingly associated with student radicalism and the New Left, most Canadians witnessed the decade’s political, economic, and cultural turmoil from a different perspective. Debating Dissent dispels the myths and stereotypes associated with the 1960s by examining what this era’s transformations meant to diverse groups of Canadians – and not only protestors, youth, or the white middle-class.

With critical contributions from new and senior scholars, Debating Dissent integrates traditional conceptions of the 1960s as a ‘time apart’ within the broader framework of the ‘long-sixties’ and post-1945 Canada, and places Canada within a local, national, an international context. Cutting-edge essays in social, intellectual, and political history reflect a range of historical interpretation and explore such diverse topics as narcotics, the environment, education, workers, Aboriginal and Black activism, nationalism, Quebec, women, and bilingualism. Touching on the decade’s biggest issues, from changing cultural norms to the role of the state, Debating Dissent critically examines ideas of generational change and the sixties.

Lara Campbell is an associate professor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Simon Fraser University.

Lara A. Campbell's profile page

Dominique Clément is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta. He is the author of Human Rights in Canada: A History (WLU Press, 2016), Canada’s Rights Revolution, and Equality Deferred, as well as the co-editor of Alberta's Human Rights Story and Debating Dissent. He is the author of numerous articles on human rights, social movements, women’s history, foreign policy, and labour history.

Dominique Clement's profile page

Gregory S. Kealey is a professor emeritus in the Department of History at the University of New Brunswick. He is the editor of University of Toronto Press’s Canadian Social History Series and former president of the Canadian Historical Association and the Canadian Federation of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Gregory S. Kealey's profile page

‘If you are looking for a collection of introductory essays on a broad range of topics on the Canadian 1960s, there is no other book I would recommend ahead of Debating Dissent.’

Histoire sociale / social History vol 47:92:2014

‘Debating Dissent should emerge as a preeminent anthology on the sixties for Canadian scholars… Ideal for courses on postwar Canada, social movements, and the sixties themselves….The synergy between established and new scholars makes this a particularly vibrant and valuable contribution.’

Canadian Historical Review vol 94:4:2013

‘Scholars who are interested in nuanced analysis of social change in the late twentieth century should read Debating Dissent. Students and a broader non-academic audience will enjoy these histories, too.’

BC Studies vol 181: Spring 2014