One (Wo)man’s Shopping is the Same (Wo)man’s history? Immigration, Advertisement and Consumption Patterns in the Greek community of Montreal 1960s—1970s

Abstract

A knowledge of a community’s consumption habits can be derived from advertisements in common materials, such as local newspapers. For Montreal Greeks throughout the 1960s and 70s, one such newspaper is The Greek Canadian Tribune (Το Έλληνοκαναδικόν Βήμα). Common themes in the newspaper, such as the frequent use of Greek, suggest the newspaper was part of a larger effort to maintain the Greek migrants within their imagined national community. Other advertisements, such as advertisements for factory work and newer household appliances, suggest that integration of the Greek community into larger Quebec society was still taking place throughout the 1960s and 1970s, thus establishing a unique Greek-Canadian identity.