POLI 211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Collective Identity
17 May 2018
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THE QUESTION OF QUEBECOIS IDENTITY CONT’D (02.16)
Definition of the nation and of the collective memory is made from historical facts
- Historical facts are there and they form the basis of this definition of identity & memory of it
- There’s also another process involved in the definition of identity & memory: interpretation
o Some scholars might speak of a construction of an imaginary (imaginaire collectif)
o This interpretation or this process of construction is one of the Quebecois nation that is
offered & popularized by a number of factors
o Which actors can we think of here that provide an interpretation:
▪ Catholic church
▪ Politicians
• Their contribution is also more direct bc politicians make history
• They contributed to actually making history (and providing new facts) very
directly
• In this sense, their role is two-fold
• Mean used by some politicians: holidays → Queen’s Day vs. Patriots’ Day
(changed around 2002 – before it was called Fete de Dollar-des-Ormeaux)
o They have means to promote a specific collective identity
o The will to make the remembrance of the past distinctive in QC
• Community leaders
• Interest groups: people w/ specific political goals in mind
▪ Artists
• Loco Locas: write songs about QC’s past which offer a specific narrative
• Promotion of a specific angle to be kept alive
▪ Intellectuals
• Historians, sociologists, political scientists: provide a way to see the past
▪ People – citizens – families – professors
• They don’t fosters these interpretations to the same extent at the other actors
• They’re more a vehicle of transmission of a specific memory
▪ Media: act as a vehicle of transmission of these interpretations, like people
- Collective identity & memory = process of facts & interpretation of those facts
- These interpretations don’t come from nowhere
o We need these actors & we need vehicles of transmission of these interpretations
How do we define Quebecois identity? Markers:
The romantic-conservative view (Maclure)
✓ Language: speaking French
✓ Religion ?
✓ Origins: French ?
✓ Self-definition: feeling of “belonging”
✓ Culture (food, hockey)
- It’s more sociological: rests on more sociological markers
- You start embarking on a majority vs. a minority
- Not everyone on QC territory shares these markers: not everyone speaks FR, some have different
origins, some don’t share the goal of self-determination (& separation), culture is more pervasive
- Inclusion/exclusion that comes w/ this view → us vs. them
- This view sees Quebecois identity as fixed in time
The civic-pluralist view (Maclure)
✓ Territory: w/i borders of province of QC
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Definition of the nation and of the collective memory is made from historical facts. Historical facts are there and they form the basis of this definition of identity & memory of it. Interest groups: people w/ specific political goals in mind: artists, loco locas: write songs about qc"s past which offer a specific narrative, promotion of a specific angle to be kept alive. Collective identity & memory = process of facts & interpretation of those facts. These interpretations don"t come from nowhere: we need these actors & we need vehicles of transmission of these interpretations. It"s more sociological: rests on more sociological markers. You start embarking on a majority vs. a minority. Not everyone on qc territory shares these markers: not everyone speaks fr, some have different origins, some don"t share the goal of self-determination (& separation), culture is more pervasive. Inclusion/exclusion that comes w/ this view us vs. them. This view sees quebecois identity as fixed in time.
