Expert Knowledge and the Social Imaginary: The Case of the Montreal Check Census

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Expert Knowledge and the Social Imaginary: The Case of the Montreal Check Census
Abstract
The author argues that the debate provoked by the publication of the 1871 Canadian census findings was an early instance of public attention to social scientific practice. It also raises questions of the "accuracy" of census data. Dissatisfaction with the 1871 findings led the Montreal City Council to undertake a re-enumeration of the city in 1872. The 1871 census claimed a Montreal population of 107,225 residents, while the 1872 Montreal census discovered a city population of 117,865 people. As a comparison of the results shows, the design of a census shapes all aspects of reporting and defines how "population" is configured in the results.
Publication
Histoire sociale/Social History
Volume
Vol. 28
Issue
no. 56
Pages
313-331
Date
1995
Language
en
URL
Citation
Curtis, Bruce. “Expert Knowledge and the Social Imaginary: The Case of the Montreal Check Census.” Histoire sociale/Social History Vol. 28, no. 56 (1995): 313–331. http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/hssh/article/viewFile/16639/15497.
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