Alvin Finkel

Alvin Finkel is professor emeritus of History at Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada and the long-time president of the Alberta Labour History Institute. He is a prolific historian whose books include seven editions of the two-volume History of the Canadian Peoples (co-authored with Margaret Conrad and Donald Fyson), Compassion: A Global History of Social Policy, Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History, Working People in Alberta: A History, The Social Credit Phenomenon in Alberta, Our Lives: Canada Since 1945 and In Our Time: The Chamberlain-Hitler Collusion (co-authored with Clement Leibovitz). His latest book, upon which this article is based, is Humans: The 300,000 Year Struggle for Equality. Alvin was the editor of the journal Prairie Forum from 1984 to 1993 and book review editor for Labour/ Le Travail from 2001 to 2012. He also served as president of the Canadian Committee for Labour History from 2008 to 2014. Alvin earned his BA (1970) and MA (1972) from the University of Manitoba and his PhD from the University of Toronto in 1976. He was the first historian hired by Athabasca University (1978) where he taught for 36 years before his retirement. Alvin is a white Canadian but both of his adult sons are Black. His older son, Antony, is a Black Carib from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. His younger son, Kieran is of mixed African and Cree Indian descent.

Articles by Alvin Finkel