Thresholds, Walls, and Bridges

Thresholds, Walls, and Bridges is a collection of public lectures delivered by historian Dr. Elizabeth Jameson during her tenure as Imperial Oil-Lincoln McKay Chair in American Studies at the University of Calgary from 1999 to 2017.

Together, these lectures represent the intellectual evolution of an important and influential scholar told through engaging original research. Thresholds, Walls, and Bridges presents insightful and challenging discussions of historical questions informed by contemporary debates. Ranging from the gold camps of California to northwest Alaska, from North Dakota homesteads of the late 9th century to New Jersey cities of the 1960s, they address the boundaries that divide people and the ways that private acts in everyday lives can make meaningful change.

Dr. Jameson explores the histories of borderlands, labour, women, workers, people of colour, and the connected pasts of Canada and the United States. Rejecting approaches that write most people out of history, she makes humanity visible again and again. Thresholds, Walls, and Bridges is a record of a remarkable career.