Un Destin Plus Grand Que Soi

Au cours des deux derniers siècles, la Banque de Montréal s’est trouvée au cœur du développement économique et financier du Canada. Publié à l’occasion du bicentenaire de la première banque canadienne, Un destin plus grand que soi puise dans l’iconographie de cette institution financière pour raconter son histoire de ses origines jusqu’à nos jours. Retraçant le passé de la Banque de Montréal grâce à des images d’objets, de ses dirigeants, de documents essentiels et de publicités aujourd’hui tombées dans l’oubli, Laurence B. Mussio illustre son émergence progressive. En dévoilant petit à petit sa perception de sa direction, sa culture, la communauté, ses triomphes et ses difficultés, il offre un aperçu de la personnalité de cette banque, de ses innovations, de ses technologies, de ses projets d’édification de la nation et de son héritage architectural. La mosaïque qui en résulte jette un éclairage unique sur l’expérience vécue par la Banque de Montréal au fil des ans. Si chacun des éléments visuels évoque un épisode particulier aussi divertissant qu’extraordinaire, collectivement, ces objets révèlent une histoire beaucoup plus complète. De la lecture de ce livre se dégage l’image d’une banque qui a façonné l’univers canadien et nord-américain tout en se laissant modeler par lui. À partir d’une gamme incroyablement vaste de documents, Un destin plus grand que soi célèbre l’évolution d’une banque et la manière dont elle a laissé sa marque.

For the past two centuries, the Bank of Montreal has been at the centre of Canada’s economic and financial development. Marking the bicentennial of Canada’s first bank, A Vision Greater than Themselves tells the story of the financial institution from its origins to the present through its iconography. Exploring the Bank of Montreal’s past through images of objects, its leaders, key documents, and forgotten advertisements, Laurence Mussio illustrates how the Bank of Montreal emerged over time. He shares perspectives on leadership, culture, community, triumphs, and challenges to offer a glimpse into the bank’s personality, innovations, technologies, nation-building projects, and architectural legacy. The mosaic that emerges provides a unique understanding of the Bank of Montreal’s experience over the years. Individually, each visual reveals a self-contained story that is both entertaining and extraordinary. Collectively, these objects impart a much larger story. Throughout this volume’s pages, a picture emerges of a bank that has shaped and been shaped by Canada and the North Atlantic world. Examining an astonishing range of material, A Vision Greater than Themselves celebrates the evolution of one bank and how it made its mark.

The present volume offers a contemporary, multicultural approach to the controversial relationship between politics, media and society. The contributors here analyse such links from a variety of different perspectives, and represent perspectives from various countries across Europe, Asia, North America and South America. Despite their geographical diversity, they manage to reach a common language in their studies, offering a re-positioning of the study of media, society and politics. The new perspectives offered by this volume will be of interest to any media studies scholar, because they bring to light new ideas, new methodologies and results that could be further developed. It allows readers to explore these unique insights, and to easily digest the content and acknowledge the impact of media on society and politics.