Stay the Blazes Home: StFX sociologists earn honourable mention for best article published last year in Journal of Canadian Studies

When former Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil uttered the now famous pandemic motto, "Stay the Blazes Home," the phrase took on a life of its own-so much so that it captured the attention of two StFX sociologists, Dr. Lynda Harling Stalker and Dr. Patricia Cormack, who began to investigate the cultural phenomenon.

Now, their paper "Staying The Blazes Home: Group Charisma, Government Messaging and COVID-19," has won national recognition, earning an honourable mention award for the best article published last year in the Journal of Canadian Studies.

"We were pleased about this honour because the Journal of Canadian Studies publishes articles from many disciplines and perspectives. We were excited that our sociological analysis of the COVID crisis in Nova Scotia was recognized by the selection committee of peers," says Dr. Cormack.

Dr. Harling Stalker, who is now the director of StFX's Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, says the Canadian Studies Network often only selects one article to be recognized each year, so for theirs to be given an honourable mention is certainly a wonderful acknowledgement of the innovativeness of their analysis, while still being recognizably Canadian. "It also shows that doing local/regional research is valuable."

A press release from Canadian Studies Network announcing the honour says Dr. Harling Stalker and Dr. Cormack develop a compelling argument about the ways that the Nova Scotia government framed COVID-19 restrictions and appealed to seemingly folksy provincial identities tied up with expressions of whiteness. "This is a theoretically nuanced demonstration of the ways that power operates through unifying statements. Engaging and articulate, this article has broad interdisciplinary appeal, and it is a topical and timely reflection on the regional experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. This regional approach, fundamental to Canadian Studies writ large, will be a welcome addition to classroom teaching," the release says.

Using theorist Norbert Elias, the two StFX faculty members say they analyzed how Nova Scotia government messaging during the COVID lockdown played up feelings of community.

"While in other provinces, premiers and medical officers were reduced to scolding bad behavior, the Liberal's 'stay the blazes home' slogan did more. It worked on the idea that Nova Scotians were a highly integrated and proud community that would naturally pull together for the common good. The explosion of support for the government in social media, willingness to stay home, and high vaccination rates point to the success of this strategy. Even the word 'blazes' was carefully considered to resonate with folksy, down-home speech," the two say.

"Historically, Nova Scotians have long practiced being a community while suffering distance and longing for home. One problem with this type of collective integration is who it might push to the margins - visible minorities within the province, those coming from 'away.' And while we did not discuss it in the article, we think this collective ethos is also leveraged toward hospitality and the welcoming of newcomers as seen in Antigonish with refugees fleeing war and oppression. 'Home' can be a static or dynamic idea."

Dr. Cormack says the idea to work together was an easy one.

"The StFX Sociology Department is a highly collaborative environment, with projects often sprouting from conversations in the hallways," she says.

"'Stay the blazes home' was just too fascinating to ignore. It was a response to a crisis. It had to work and quickly. Even government officials were shocked at the way it galvanized collective action. We started to think about the irony that people had to show their sense of community by not being out in the community - hence the signs, songs, videos, t-shirts, beer, etc."

"As Dr. Cormack has mentioned, Sociology at StFX is a highly collegial and collaborative group of people. In this paper, we built on our previous collaborations, knowing each other's strengths, hiring sociology graduates to help collect data, and thoroughly enjoyed working together to piece together this puzzle of 'staying the blazes home,'" Dr. Harling Stalker says.

It's not the first time the duo has collaborated. They've worked together on two previous articles, and they say collaboration is a department hallmark, both directly in co-authored work like this and indirectly in their support for each other's work through feedback and suggestions about new projects or those underway.

"In a sense, all our work is collaborative. That is the great pleasure of working in the Sociology Department at StFX."

Dr. Harling Stalker and Dr. Cormack first presented this work at Congress meetings in 2021, where it garnered national media attention. It appeared in the Journal of Canadian Studies in 2022 online and then in print in 2023.