Thesis (D.Min.)--Acadia University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (D.Min.)--Acadia University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

This thesis investigates the development of commercial leisure in a northern community, Halifax, over a period of 200 years. It examines a range of leisure pursuits including the public house, theatre and sports and traces their development during a period of population growth and industrialization which came to be based increasingly around the factory. It analyses whether Halifax was typical in the way commercial leisure developed or whether particular local conditions influenced the development of commercial leisure. During the period, Halifax, an ancient town, developed from an important centre of the textile trade in England into a classic Victorian mill town supporting a broad base of industries. Leisure developed from a leisure culture based around traditional holidays and pastimes to a highly commercialized leisure experience increasingly provided by regional and national companies and a sporting calendar that included structured leagues with professional clubs and games played seasonally.

Despite considerable research on the British North American colonies and their political relationship with Britain before 1776, little is known about the administration of Nova Scotia from the perspective of Lord Halifax’s Board of Trade in London. The image that emerges from the literature is that Nova Scotia was of marginal importance to British officials, who neglected its administration. This study reintegrates Nova Scotia into the British Imperial historiography through the study of the “official mind,” to challenge this theory of neglect on three fronts: 1) civil government in Nova Scotia became an important issue during the War of the Austrian Succession; 2) The form of civil government created there after 1749 was an experiment in centralized colonial administration; 3) This experimental model of government was highly effective. This study adds nuance to our understanding of British attempts to centralize control over their overseas colonies before the American Revolution.

Despite considerable research on the British North American colonies and their political relationship with Britain before 1776, little is known about the administration of Nova Scotia from the perspective of Lord Halifax’s Board of Trade in London. The image that emerges from the literature is that Nova Scotia was of marginal importance to British officials, who neglected its administration. This study reintegrates Nova Scotia into the British Imperial historiography through the study of the “official mind,” to challenge this theory of neglect on three fronts: 1) civil government in Nova Scotia became an important issue during the War of the Austrian Succession; 2) The form of civil government created there after 1749 was an experiment in centralized colonial administration; 3) This experimental model of government was highly effective. This study adds nuance to our understanding of British attempts to centralize control over their overseas colonies before the American Revolution.

<p>A fire in Salem, Mass., in 1914 and an explosion in Halifax, N.S., in 1917 provide an opportunity to explore working-class institutions and organizations in the United States-Canada borderlands. In a historical moment in which the state greatly expanded its responsibility to give protection and rescue to its citizens, after these two disasters ordinary survivors preferred to depend on their friends, neighbors, and family members. This dissertation examines which institutions--including formal organizations like unions and fraternal societies as well as informal groups like families and neighborhoods--were most relevant and useful to working-class survivors. Families, neighbors, friends, and coworkers had patterns and traditions of self-help, informal order, and solidarity that they developed before crisis hit their cities. Those traditions were put to unusual purposes and extreme stress when the disasters happened. They were also challenged by new agents of the state, who were given extraordinary powers in the wake of the disasters. This dissertation describes how the working-class people who most directly experienced the disasters understood them and their cities starkly differently than the professionalized relief authorities.</p><p>Using a wide array of sources--including government documents, published accounts, archived ephemeral, oral histories, photographs, newspapers in two languages, and the case files of the Halifax Relief Commission--the dissertation describes how elites imposed a progressive state on what they imagined to be a fractured and chaotic social landscape. It argues that "the people" for whom reformers claimed to speak had their own durable, alternative modes of support and rescue that they quickly and effectively mobilized in times of crisis, but which remained illegible to elites. By demonstrating the personal, ideological, political, and practical ties between New England and Nova Scotia and Quebec, it also emphasizes the importance of studying American and Canadian history together, not only comparatively but as a transnational, North American whole.</p> / Dissertation

Youth councils are an increasingly popular tool that both government and non-governmental organizations use to inform policy and program development, to increase the participation of young people, and to improve the connection of youth to their communities and to civic life more broadly. In this thesis, the youth engagement experiences of local governments in Amherst, Nova Scotia, and Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia are examined. Both municipalities initiated youth councils in recent years in an attempt to consult on issues affecting youth in their communities. The two communities have experienced varied degrees of success in implementing these strategies. In broad terms, youth councils operated more successfully in the smaller, more self-contained community of Amherst than in the more sprawling urban municipality of the Halifax area. The divergent experiences of these two municipalities inform a discussion about the merits of youth councils as a tool for engagement for local governments. It is concluded that while youth councils can be both effective in terms of achieving immediate objectives, success is not easily reproduced in all scenarios and depends to a large extent on the characteristics of the community itself, the level of support from adults and facilitators, and the ability of the councils to meet their objectives and thus achieve legitimacy among stakeholders, creating a positive feedback look which engenders further effectiveness.

Urban renewal and rampant suburbanization, like in many North American cities, has led to the decline of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. This thesis proposes a small-scale, child-oriented in?ll project as an alternate mode of development that retains historic fabric and repairs the urban ethos. A narrow, T-shaped, vacant lot in the heart of downtown provides the testing grounds for this intervention. Dynamic program combinations, and playful architectural propositions are presented as strategies to reintegrate children as active participants within the downtown area.

This thesis examines the 1960’s relocation of over eighty families from the former community of Africville, in the North End of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada into nearby public housing. It investigates the narrative of what was, is, and could perhaps one day be. Rebuilding Africville challenges the idea of re-stitching community and character back to the former site of Africville. The intent of this dissertation is to design multi-owned housing for the site, as well as a central civic structure that will act as the community’s anchor. The homes are designed to be inclusive to three groups of homeowners: former Africville residents, Africville descendants, and new Africville community members who simply have an interest in reestablishing Africville. Rebuilding Africville does not attempt to replicate what once existed over forty years ago; it will, however, attempt to extract elements that were once highlights of Africville and graft them with modern ideas. / Rebuilding Africville follows on the heels of both the United Nations’ recommendation to Canada to consider paying reparations to the former community of Africville, as well as the recent official public apology from Halifax Regional Municipality to former Africville residents.

Between 1985 and 1997 a hip hop culture emerged in Halifax, Nova Scotia through rap music artists' live performances at various venues, and by releasing original music on commercial and non-commercial cassette tapes and compact discs. This thesis examines the evolution of this grassroots musical culture through the lenses of Halifax's geography, innovative musical and technological trends, ever-present racial politics, and a strong "do-it-yourself" ethic. This thesis argues that hip hop in Halifax during these years can be divided into two eras distinguished by dynamic racial and stylistic changes. While the 1980s saw a predominantly Black hip hop community take root around Uniacke Square and Gottingen Street, the 1990s saw a geographic and demographic shift as the rap music scene expanded and competed with the mainstream music scene of the city. In doing so, the integrated downtown hip hop community produced a significant amount of work, overcoming institutional opposition