I think of R. Thomas Naylor, longtime McGill history professor who died the other day, as one of a brotherhood (mostly guys, I think) who emerged from the 'sixties to build an influential network of new left/old left/Marxist/radical historians and to enliven the Canadian historical scene for a long time with their untraditional academic styles and their challenges to the standard narratives of Canadian history.
His obit says proudly:
His analyses irked some colleagues while others lionized Tom as a direct intellectual descendant of Harold Innis. Such responses neither deterred nor encouraged him. As Tom told a McGill News interviewer in 2014, "I don't think I set out to disturb things. I think things deserve to be disturbed."
Naylor was a prolific author on many aspects of economic, financial, and business history. His best-known book may have been his two-volume History of Canadian Business from 1975.
BTW, the brotherhood endures. Bryan D. Palmer is speaking in Calgary in a few days about his new two-volume history of Canada, Colonialism and Capitalism.
