James S. McLean

The federal election campaign of 2005-06 offered the usual mix of lofty rhetoric, competing interests, and skullduggery. Nonetheless, this campaign laid the foundation for a major shift in Canadian politics, bringing the Conservative Party to power and changing the balance of opposition parties. Inside the NDP War Room takes readers behind the scenes to investigate the nature of credibility in the complex communicative game of election campaigns. James McLean considers the ways in which the idea of credibility is used to explain how messages are crafted and articulated, how journalists are implicated, and what the Canadian public needs to know about what is at stake in the competition for votes. He talks to insiders about their communication practices and strategies, and reflects upon the grand narratives and small opportunistic moments brought before the Canadian public when power is up for grabs. A vivid, first-hand account of campaign strategizing, Inside the NDP War Room offers insights into the NDP breakthroughs of 2011, the full meaning of Quebec's "orange wave," and the future of a party preparing for a new reality.

Competing for Credibility in a Federal Election

Inside the NDP War Room

Annie Gérin

Arguably, public art is experienced daily by more people than most offerings in galleries, yet our notion of what constitutes public art is surprisingly limited. Public Art in Canada broadens the critical discussion by exploring public art's varied means of engaging with public space and the public sphere. Annie Gérin and James S. McLean have assembled contributions from new and established Canadian scholars, curators, and artists. Each contributor enlivens our understanding of public art as a practice and its place in the social and aesthetic formation of which it is a part. As a result, the book provides an overview of the current debates in the field of public art that are informed by the theories and critical literature of art history, communication studies, cultural studies, sociology, and urban studies. The rigorous essays and original works of art collected in this volume present a compelling demonstration of the strategies, aesthetic and otherwise, used by artists to elicit intellectual, sensual, or emotional responses that can only be obtained through artistic practices in public places. Public Art in Canada is a major contribution to the study of Canadian art and culture.

James S. McLean

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