Melissa J. Gismondi | The Walrus

Black and white illustration of a room corner, done in a pointillist style. There are two doorways: one leads to an airplane, the other to a forest and riverbank. A suitcase waits by the door.

Living Rooms

You Can’t Run Away from Homesickness

November 18, 2020January 29, 2021 - by Melissa J. Gismondi

What it means to miss home in our globalized, climate-changed world

Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight, Twentieth Century Fox, Focus Features, Universal, and Annapurna Pictures

Film

Why the Wrong Movies Win Oscars

February 28, 2019November 14, 2019 - by Melissa J. Gismondi

Audiences are drawn to feel-good films like Green Book because they’re “based on a true story.” But movies that misrepresent and simplify history distort our understanding of the past

old canada parliament building and soundwaves

Society

Canadian History Isn’t Boring

September 2, 2018November 13, 2019 - by Melissa J. Gismondi

As a historian, I used to think our country’s past wasn’t worth studying. Podcasts helped change my mind

White Nationalists and Antifa clashing in charlottesville virginia

Current Affairs

Charlottesville: One Year Later

August 11, 2018June 2, 2020 - by Melissa J. Gismondi

The Unite the Right rally proved the American Civil War has never been resolved

Jagmeet Singh marching at the Pride Parade

Politics

Why Media Obsession With Male Charisma Has to Stop

October 19, 2017April 3, 2020 - by Melissa J. Gismondi

Men use their style to get ahead in politics—but women have to play by different rules

Society

When It Comes to White Supremacy, Historians Can’t Stand on the Sidelines

August 28, 2017June 6, 2020 - by Melissa J. Gismondi

Scholars must tell the truth about our past—and that doesn’t stop with Confederation