Muir, James
Dr James Muir
(Assistant Professor)
Ph.D. York University
M.Phil. University of Waikato
M.A. York University
B.A. University of Manitoba
2-34 Tory Building
University of Alberta
Edmonton AB T6G 2H4
Tel. (780) 492-0858
| Expertise & Research Interests |
My most recent major project was on civil law in Halifax Nova Scotia, in the years immediately following its founding in 1749. Tracing debtor-creditor, commercial, divorce, employment, and vice-admiralty law, I analysed who sued whom and why. A significant part of this project was an analysis of how Nova Scotians made law or applied law from England, New England, and elsewhere.
In general, I am interested in the intersection of law, colonialism, and the economy. In addition to the work on Nova Scotia, I have studied liability and tort law in Nineteenth century Nova Scotia, laws about the natural environment in New Zealand between 1840 and 1920, and labour regulation in Hudson’s Bay Company posts in the Eighteenth century.
I am working on two projects right now. First, I am completing a short biography of Douglas Campbell, premier of Manitoba from 1948-1958, for a history of Manitoba to be published in 2007. Second, building off of my Nova Scotia research, I am studying the relationship between law and the development of a capitalist economy in British North America/Canada up to 1896.
| Teaching & Research Interests |
Legal history of Canada and the British Empire
| Courses |
HIST 490 TOPICS IN BRITISH EMPIRE & COMMONWEALTH HISTORY:
Law, Capitalism and Empire, 1660 - 1900