Preserving, exploring, and sharing Portuguese Canadian history
WHAT’S NEW?
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PCHP chapter in edited volume “Identity Palimpsests” out this month
The book Identity Palimpsests: Archiving Ethnicity in the U.S. and Canada, edited by Dominique Daniel and Amalia Levi, was published this month by Litwin Press. This edited volume contains a chapter written by the PCHP team, titled “Archiving ‘From Below’: Preserving, Problematizing and Democratizing the Collective Memory of Portuguese Canadians – the Portuguese Canadian History…
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Thank you Ink Book Club and Anthony de Sa!
The Ink Book Club has generously made a financial donation to the PCHP on behalf of Toronto author Anthony de Sa. In Anthony’s words: “The PCHP has been a tremendous resource while writing Kicking the Sky. Often, it was the images collected in the exhibits that triggered memories allowing me to move back into the…
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PCHP | PHLC in Visão História
The Portuguese magazine Visão História has dedicated its December 2013 issue to the topic of emigration from Portugal, of which four pages refer to the Portuguese in Toronto. The piece was authored by the prized-journalist Luis Ribeiro, with the contribution of the PCHP’s Gilberto Fernandes, and based largely on historical records donated to the Clara…
WHO WE ARE
The Portuguese Canadian History Project (PCHP) is an incorporated non-profit organization founded in Toronto in 2008 by Dr. Gilberto Fernandes and Dr. Susana Miranda, and later joined by Dr. Raphael Costa and Dr. Emanuel da Silva. Since 2009, we have partnered with the Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections (CTASC), York University Libraries. Our objectives are to:
- Preserve the collective memory of Portuguese immigrants and their descendants in Canada.
- Democratize access to historical knowledge in its production and consumption.
HOW WE CAME TO BE
As graduate scholars researching the history of Portuguese immigrants and their descendants in Canada, we encountered few records in public archives that reflected the complex experiences, networks, and dynamics in the communities that we studied. In the course of our oral history fieldwork, we found that multiple individuals and organizations held on to rich collections of historical records that they produced and amassed. In some cases, these collections were at risk of being lost forever. The PCHP emerged in response to this reality and to bridge the gap between public archives and immigrant communities.
What we do
Archive
We seek historical records in the hands of private individuals and organizations; assess their contents and state of preservation; facilitate their donation to the CTASC; provide context, translation, and metadata for their archival processing; and assist in their digitization. Since September 2009, we have helped transfer 10 collections from authors, community advocates and organizers, a documentary filmmaker, a newsman, a poet, a politician, scholars, a social service agency, and a union local.
Educate
Using the records that we have transferred to the CTASC and our own expertise has historians of the Portuguese in Canada, we have developed multiple public and digital history initiatives, including physical and online exhibitions, public lectures and panels, TV documentaries, and walking tours. When possible, we include our archival donors in the development of these educational projects.
Collaborate
Besides creating and animating the archives, our model is predicated on a pragmatic collaborative approach, whereby we complement and empower our partners as we seek common goals. Besides the CTASC, we have worked with numerous organizations and individuals, including academics, artists, researchers, diplomats, high school teachers, secondary and post-secondary students, documentary filmmakers, public history professionals, and local businesses. We are also proud to have served as a template and inspiration to other community archives and public history organizations in Toronto.
Portuguese Canadian History Project 