FREN 380 - Special Seminar

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2014/15b: Je me souviens: Imagining Québécois Nationalism in the 21st Century. This course analyzes multiple strands of contemporary Québécois nationalisms as they are represented and imagined in juridical, political, and cultural texts. We will examine the platforms of current-day political parties interested in separation from Canada, and revisit larger policy debates regarding the place of the French-language, immigrants, and religious accommodations in Québec as they played out in recent, province-wide controversies surrounding the use of the word “pasta” on a restaurant menu, a turban on a soccer field, and the place of Muslim women’s headscarves among Québécois civil servants. In our analysis of the contested space of national identity we will draw upon important cultural representations of Québec from filmmakers such as Claude Jutra (Mon oncle Antoine) and Denys Arcand (Les invasions barbares); musicians from Gilles Vigneault (variété québécoise) to Loco Locass (contemporary hip-hop) and Les Cowboys Fringants (rock québécois); and literary works from Gaston Miron, Dany Laferrière and others. After completing this course, students will have acquired a solid foundation for contextualizing other cultural and political expressions of Québécois nationalism and will have acquired a nuanced, theoretical vocabulary for discussing the state of nationalism in the twenty-first century more broadly. No prior knowledge of Québec is assumed. Course conducted in French. Mr. Reyes.

One 2-hour period.