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Nicholas Bowers Thesis 4-5-22.pdf (1.83 MB)

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"Of Course They Get Hurt That Way!": The Dynamics Of Culture, National Identity, And Strenuous Hockey In Cold War Canada: 1955-1975

Bowers, Nicholas Clark
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu164881382559108

Abstract Details

2022, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, History.
Hockey holds a central place in Canadian national identity. Despite the traditional dominance of Canadian teams in the pre-war and immediately post-war years, European nations such as the USSR, Sweden, and Czechoslovakia developed their hockey programs quickly in the post-war years, challenging Canadian dominance, and thus jeopardizing, in the eyes of Canadians, one of the most central aspects of their national culture. This loss of hockey supremacy compounded an already challenging period in which Canadians struggled to define what it meant to be Canadian in the US-led Cold War world. This thesis examines the Canadian cultural dynamics of Canadian participation in international hockey competitions during the 1960s and 1970s. These tournaments and exhibition tours played against foreign teams were commonly detailed by the Canadian press using no uncertain terms to express their contempt for their opponents. This thesis suggests the public focus on international hockey during this period reflects the uncertainty of Canadian culture and politics at home. Faced with trouble defining Canadian national identity in the Cold War world, Canadians looked to their national sport as a means of reaffirming their identity, rooted in northern masculine toughness and “Canadianness.” This work uses sports periodicals from the period between 1955 and 1975, to assess the shifting attitudes towards Canadian hockey in international competitions, and how Canadians viewed themselves in relation to the wider Cold War world when confronted with a domestic cultural crisis. This work expands on the diligent work of scholars of Canadian culture and those in the expanding subfield of hockey studies by providing a look at the thoughts of Canadians, and how their attitudes towards hockey reflect their attitudes towards Canadian culture.
Benjamin Greene, Ph.D (Advisor)
Rebecca Mancuso, Ph.D (Committee Member)
116 p.
Canadian History; Canadian Studies; History
History; Sports History; Hockey; Hockey Studies; Canadian History; Canada; National Identity; Cold War; Summit Series; Cultural History; Sports Journalism; Anti-Americanism; Anglophone; Amateur Sports; Olympics; International Ice Hockey; Soviet Union; Sweden; Czechoslovakia; 1970s; 1960s; Communism; Violence; Masculinity; Culture War;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Bowers, N. C. (2022). "Of Course They Get Hurt That Way!": The Dynamics Of Culture, National Identity, And Strenuous Hockey In Cold War Canada: 1955-1975 [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu164881382559108

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Bowers, Nicholas. "Of Course They Get Hurt That Way!": The Dynamics Of Culture, National Identity, And Strenuous Hockey In Cold War Canada: 1955-1975. 2022. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu164881382559108.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Bowers, Nicholas. ""Of Course They Get Hurt That Way!": The Dynamics Of Culture, National Identity, And Strenuous Hockey In Cold War Canada: 1955-1975." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu164881382559108

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu164881382559108
465
© 2022, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.