The conference also offers an opportunity to come together and explore ways in which oral history helps to bring untold stories into the broader narrative around military service. This “hidden history” of the veteran experience adds to our understanding of the impact of conflict and military service over time on individuals, their families, and society at large.
Conference keynote speakers will include Dr. Michael Petrou, the Museum’s Historian, Veterans’ Experience, as well as Dr. Tim Cook, the Museum’s Chief Historian and Director of Research.
The event will also feature over 20 experts and veterans from across Canada presenting research grouped into six panels.
- Using Veterans’ Oral Histories in Museums and Universities examines the use of veterans’ oral histories in museums and universities, focusing on innovative projects that preserve and share the experiences of military personnel and their families.
- The Bonds of Veteranhood After Uncelebrated Missions explores the bonds formed among veterans of missions and units that have been forgotten, overlooked, or tarnished by scandal.
- Personal Impacts of Military Service is a bilingual conversation about how veterans are shaped by their service in the armed forces, touching on veteran reintegration into civilian life and the lasting effects of military service.
- Veteranhood and Veterans’ Communities examines veteranhood as it is experienced collectively — shaping not just individuals, but communities and the place of veterans within them.
- Military Testimony and the Arts explores how some veterans use art to communicate their experiences. This panel will draw attention to creative works that reflect on the realities of military life, post-traumatic stress disorder, and war.
- Recognizing, Compensating, and Accepting Veteranhood examines the relationship — both historical and contemporary — between veterans and the government, and between veterans and wider Canadian society.
