Abstracts
Abstract
Portrait of a Labour Spy: The Case ofRobert Raglan Gosden, 1882-1961
Mark Leier
This paper examines the life of Robert Raglan Gosden, 1882-1961. Gosden was an unskilled worker who joined the Industrial Workers of the World and advocated violent revolution. He took part in the Vancouver Island mining strikes of 1912-1914, and was a key player in the 1916 provincial election scandal. By 1919, however, he was an informant for the RCMP. The paper outlines Gosden's career and analyzes the complex way his class experience shaped his construction of masculinity as well as his radical politics and his later activity as a labour spy.
Résumé
Cet article étudie la vie de Robert Raglan Gosden, travailleur non-qualifié et membre des Industrial Workers of the World, une organisation syndicale engagée dans la violence révolutionnaire. En 1912-1914, Gosden participa aux grèves des mineurs de l'île de Vancouver. Il joua aussi un rôle de premier plan dans un scandale électoral en 1916. En 1919 toutefois, il se retrouve indicateur pour la Gendarmerie Royale du Canada. Cette étude esquisse la carrière de Gosden et analyse la complexité avec laquelle son expérience de classe contribua à sa construction de la masculinité, de ses activités radicales et, plus tard, de sa vie d'espion des travailleurs.
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