Media
activehistory.ca, August 2, 2018Radio/Podcast
URL: http://activehistory.ca/2018/08/history-slam-episode-120-decoding-monuments-and-memorials/
In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Tonya Davidson of Carleton University about the meaning of monuments. We talk about monuments from a sociological perspective, the controversies around taking monuments down, and whether we should have monuments to individual people. We also visit two monuments in downtown Ottawa to talk about their designs meaning, and use in public spaces.
The importance of historical and social context to public art: Fearless Girl and Charging Bull
activehistory.ca, May 3, 2017Online
URL: http://activehistory.ca/2017/05/fearless-girl-and-the-charging-bull/
In the cover of night in 1989, Arturo Di Modica installed his bronze statue Charging Bull at Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District.He had been working at it since shortly after the stock market crash some two years prior.
Big in Canada: Throwing Axes for Fun
The Atlantic, September 1, 2016Online
URL: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/canada/492749/
Ax throwing taps into widespread nostalgia for the era of the lumberjack, a figure deeply embedded in the national consciousness, says Tonya Davidson, a Carleton University sociologist.
Ottawa’s monumental communism controversy
Toronto Star, June 22, 2015Online
URL: https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/06/22/ottawas-monumental-communism-controversy.html
Controversy surrounds Ottawa's planned Victims of Communism monument
Gumby love for a new generation
Toronto Star, January 28, 2015Online
URL: https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2015/01/28/gumby-love-for-a-new-generation.html
'Trippy' TV adventures of first stop motion character have been remastered and get marathon airing on Teletoon Retro.
Biography
As a sociologist, Tonya Davidson is broadly interested in urban spaces, public memory, nostalgia, popular culture, and Canadian identity. Specifically, she has spent many years studying the social lives of statues in Ottawa. She enjoys writing sociological critiques for broader audiences and has published in the magazines: Briarpatch, Canadian Dimension, This and Herizons.