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Dale Cairns Thomson Fonds DATES: 1849-1999; predominant 1936-1999 EXTENT: 4.6m of textual records. - 83 photographs. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: Dale Cairns Thomson was born in Westlock, Alberta, on June 17, 1923.
Thomson studied history and political economy at the University of Alberta from 1945 to 1948, receiving a B.A. degree. He went on to study at the Institute d’Études Politiques at the Université de Paris from 1948 to 1950, where he received a diplôme in international relations. In 1951 he was awarded a doctorat from the Faculté des Lettres of the Université de Paris; his thesis was entitlted "General Haushofer and his Ideas on Geopolitics." From 1953 to 1958 he worked as an Associate Private Secretary to the Right Honourable Louis St. Laurent, both in the Prime Minister’s Office (1953 - 1957) and when St. Laurent was leader of the opposition (1957 - 1958). He continued to be involved in party politics throughout his life, specifically with the Liberal Party of Canada and the Quebec Liberals.
Canadian politics was also the central focus of his academic career. Thomson taught in the Département de Science Politique of the Université de Montréal from 1960 to 1969, and was departmental director from 1963 to 1967. He was then a professor of international relations and founding director of the Center of Canadian Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. from 1969 to 1973. Following this, he moved to McGill University in Montreal to fill the new post of Vice-Principle (Planning), a position that included developing the university’s relations with contemporary Quebec society (1973-1976). He also taught in McGill’s Political Science Department from 1973 until his retirement from teaching in 1994.
Dale Thomson published several books and numerous articles, mostly on Canadian politics and governance. His major works are: Alexander Mackenzie: Clear Grit (1960); Louis St. Laurent: Canadian (1967), also published in French; Canadian Foreign Policy: Options and Perspectives (co-author), (1971); Quebec Society and Politics: Views from the Inside, (editor), (1973); Jean Lesage and the Quiet Revolution (1984), also published in French; and Vive le Québec Libre (1988, French edition 1990). He also wrote articles in the Canadian press and appeared on television and radio, mostly as a commentator on Canadian politics.
During his academic career, Thomson belonged to several professional organisations, such as the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, the Canadian Political Science Association, the International Society for Political Psychology, la Société Canadienne de Science Politique and the International Association for Mass Communication Research, amongst others. He was on the Board of Directors of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies located in Sri Lanka. In addition, he lectured and carried out research in Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. Dale Thomson died on April 27, 1999 following a prolonged illness.
CUSTODIAL HISTORY: The fonds was acquired in three accessions, one from Dale Thomson (97-043) and two from his estate (01-016 and 01-082). An earlier accession made by Dale Thomson (81-058), consisted of one item. This was de-accessioned because it replicated material acquired later.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: The fonds consists of correspondence, course material, research and interview notes, articles, speeches, transcripts and grant applications [NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST] pertaining to Dale Thomson’s activities as a researcher, professor, journalist and Liberal Party activist from the 1940s to 1999 in Canada, The United States and other parts of the world. There is also a considerable amount of original, primary source material collected by Dale Thomson for his books. The fonds is composed of the following series:
Although there are three separate series, it must be noted that some information contained in series files is often relevant to more than that area of activity. This is especially true of correspondence files. Chris Lyons |