The Multicultural History Society of Ontario (MHSO) is a not-for-profit educational institution and archives located in
Toronto, Canada
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...
. Established in 1976, the Multicultural History Society of Ontario collects, preserves, and makes available records of histories of migration and ethnicity.
History
The MHSO was established in 1976 by Professor
Robert F. Harney of the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
and a few close colleagues. They believed that the chronicling of immigrant and ethnic stories was essential to understanding Ontario history.
Professor Harney, a renowned scholar in the field of migration and ethnic studies, served as the MHSO's Academic Director from its establishment until his death in 1989.
Born in
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
, Harney received a Bachelor of Arts degree from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. For twenty-five years, he taught history at the University of Toronto, where he stimulated and steered a generation of students. In 1989, he was appointed to the newly endowed Professorship and Program in Ethnic, Immigration, and Pluralism Studies. Following his death, this collaborative graduate program was renamed the Robert F. Harney Professorship and Program in his honour.
Programs and services
The MHSO has produced and distributed publications, mounted and circulated exhibitions, and staged conferences, public lectures, and special events. In recent years, it has focused on virtual programming. The MHSO also provides professional and technical services and training to teachers and students, scholars and community historians, heritage and cultural organizations, and members of ethnocultural and indigenous communities.
An example of MHSO services is the case of Dr. Joseph Pivato whom Robert Harney invited to be Research Fellow for 1984 and edited the book, ''Contrasts: Comparative Essays on Italian-Canadian Writing'' (1985) and later held The Mariano Elia Chair in Italian-Canadian Studies at York University (1987–88). And thus inspired by Robert Harney he promoted research and publications in ethnic minority writing in Canada.
Archives
The MHSO is the creator of an extensive collection of archival materials which document immigrant and ethnic experiences in Canada. Assisted by ethnic and indigenous associations and community researchers, the Society undertook oral history interviews, and collected historical photographs and personal and institutional textual records during the first decades of its operation.
More recently, it has undertaken additional collection activities in connection with specific projects. In the early 21st century, as a result of these efforts, more than 50 ethnocultural communities and
First Nations, and some 240 municipalities in every region of the province are represented in the MHSO's archival holdings.
See also
*
History of Canada
*
History of Ontario
The history of Ontario covers the period from the arrival of Paleo-Indians thousands of years ago to the present day. The lands that make up present-day Ontario, the most populous province of Canada as of the early 21st century have been inha ...
*
Multiculturalism in Canada
Notes
External links
Multicultural History Society of Ontario
{{Authority control
Research institutes established in 1976
History organizations based in Ontario
Scientific organizations established in 1976