Recreational birdwatching, empire, and gender in southern Ontario, 1791-1886

This thesis addresses the historical and cultural development of the recreational birdwatching in southern Ontario, 1791-1886, and the efforts of empire and gender on birdwatchers’ identities and ideas about birds. By deconstructing recreational ornithological discourse, I suggest that recreational birdwatching reproduced the imposition of British colonial rule in Canada, together with condescension towards aboriginal peoples and non-British immigrants; and the reinforcement of British, middle-class, gendered identities in southern Ontario. This research therefore shows that recreational ornithological texts provide a medium to deconstruct the impact of birdwatching on people’s lives in their gendered approach to the activity