{"id":32838,"date":"2020-09-04T16:04:17","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T16:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?post_type=cu_story&p=32838"},"modified":"2025-02-03T11:30:16","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T16:30:16","slug":"continuing-the-legacy-of-quebec-studies-at-carleton","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/story\/continuing-the-legacy-of-quebec-studies-at-carleton\/","title":{"rendered":"Continuing the Legacy of Qu\u00e9bec Studies at Carleton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Continuing the Legacy of Qu\u00e9bec Studies at Carleton\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n\n

New Minor offers students a unique opportunity to specialize in Qu\u00e9bec Studies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Nick Ward<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unbeknownst to many, Carleton University was one of the first Canadian universities to offer courses in Qu\u00e9bec literature outside of Qu\u00e9bec.

Although this rich history of studying the province is sometimes overlooked, the 2020 addition of a Qu\u00e9bec Studies Minor to Carleton\u2019s academic programming is sure to renew the university\u2019s remarkable legacy of studying Qu\u00e9bec.

Professors Anne Tr\u00e9panier<\/a> (Indigenous and Canadian Studies and French) and Catherine Khordoc<\/a> (French and Indigenous and Canadian Studies) are the architects of the Qu\u00e9bec Studies Minor which will be available to students in the Fall of 2020.

Khordoc and Tr\u00e9panier believe the study of Canada must always be broad, diverse, and critical \u2013 straying away from any simplistic, flag-waving approach. Any critical analysis of Canada, of course, then must include a significant focus on Qu\u00e9bec society which is foundational in its contribution to understanding Canada and its national identity.”

Carleton is at an interesting crossroad, being Canada’s Capital University here in Ottawa, and at the same time, a stone’s throw from Qu\u00e9bec. It is difficult to ignore a neighbour that is situated less than ten kilometres away,” says Khordoc. <\/p>\n\n\n

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“Qu\u00e9bec’s history and culture are inevitably shaped by being a part of Canada, despite, and probably because of, its complicated relationship to the rest of the country; but Qu\u00e9bec also shapes Canada’s culture and history,” explains Khordoc.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

“Both entities, separately, together, and in tension with each other, are inextricably connected. Failing to understand Qu\u00e9bec’s specificity and role is a grave oversight to anyone who wants to understand Canada. I don’t think you can maintain that you know Canada if you ignore Qu\u00e9bec,” she says.

“Furthermore, there is much to be learned about Qu\u00e9bec as a unique, distinct entity, in the same way, that we feel it is important to learn about Germany, the US, Scotland, France, China, or any other geopolitical region or state.”

Importantly, Khordoc and Tr\u00e9panier believe there is an innate value in studying Qu\u00e9bec from an external vantage point. “There is much to be learned from studying from the outside. Even if we are very close to the boundary that places Carleton outside of Qu\u00e9bec, in some ways, we have the advantage of being almost-inside, but outside,” says Khordoc.

Khordoc has long been interested in creating deeper connections between the study of Canada, French Studies (broadly understood: the study of linguistics and literature, encompassing diverse francophone regions), and Qu\u00e9bec. Her previous administrative duties as French’s Departmental Chair and as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences did not allow for much extra time to create the Minor.   <\/p>\n\n\n

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“Until 1880, the idea of a French-Canadian nation was not defined by geographical boundaries, even after Confederation! Things dramatically changed during what is called the Quiet Revolution in Qu\u00e9bec. The revolution caused an identity shift for French Canadians living in the province \u2014 one which transformed the relationship to history, politics, and language for all Canadians, and this continues today.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Building the New Minor  <\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Khordoc is now back in her full-time faculty role, and her friend and collaborator, Professor Tr\u00e9panier, has returned to Canada after spending four years teaching in Italy. The pair were able to put the required thought and effort into developing pedagogy which will both compel and challenge students to refine and reconfigure their understandings of Qu\u00e9bec. “I think it is more important than ever to be able to assess our relationship with Qu\u00e9bec, its history, and the French language,” says Tr\u00e9panier who researches the history and historiography of the province. “In the case of Qu\u00e9bec, we need to open our eyes to various approaches and from diverse perspectives and in a multicultural, intercultural, and bilingual framework.”

Having taught the Introduction to Qu\u00e9bec course to more than a thousand Carleton students over a decade, Tr\u00e9panier is eager to implement a more in-depth follow-up programme that encompasses various aspects of Qu\u00e9bec culture and literature, including the French language.

“Qu\u00e9bec was the first colonial Canada. The term was appropriated by Jacques Cartier and used to describe the Saint-Lawrence Valley for more than a century,” explains Tr\u00e9panier. “Two hundred years later, the Little Canadas or les petits Canadas were French Canadian enclaves in the North of the United States.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A view of the Montreal Olympic Stadium in Quebec, Canada.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

An Interdisciplinary Approach & Cultural Immersion<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Minor will be based out of two distinct units, the Department of French<\/a> and the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies<\/a> and can be added to a student’s Major or Combined Major. This pliability means that students will receive a truly interdisciplinary education in Qu\u00e9bec Studies.

“In the Department of French, the study of Qu\u00e9bec, both in terms of linguistics and literary studies, has always been an important element, along with the study of the French language,” says Khordoc.

“My feeling is that it is not enough to study a language solely. It is essential to link language proficiency with knowledge of the people who use the language in their everyday lives, be it France, Qu\u00e9bec, other parts of Canada or other countries such as S\u00e9n\u00e9gal or Ha\u00efti. In the case of my home department, why not learn about Qu\u00e9bec while also becoming proficient in the French language? This thought can be applied to any major, French or otherwise, once paired with the Qu\u00e9bec Studies Minor \u2013 be it through coursework in Journalism, Literature, Political Science, or Art History, for example.

Important to note is that students will be required to have a reasonable level of language competency. The rationale being that capability in French will help facilitate practicum, community engagement, co-op<\/a>, and experiential learning<\/a> opportunities. Such opportunities include the chance to take one of the immersive Spring courses which take place in Qu\u00e9bec City. For these courses, students will immerse themselves in the culture of the historic city as they study the literature of New France (taught by Professor S\u00e9bastien C\u00f4t\u00e9) and national lieux de m\u00e9moire<\/em> evoked in works and novels which take place in Qu\u00e9bec City (taught by Professor Tr\u00e9panier).

One of the principal reasons why Tr\u00e9panier and Khordoc were so intent on adding the Minor is that significant and diverse expertise on Qu\u00e9bec already exists at the University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carleton’s Impressive Qu\u00e9bec Expertise<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“We have many faculty members at Carleton who are from Qu\u00e9bec, who studied there, or who study Qu\u00e9bec from another perspective. I am always amazed at how often I can speak French at Carleton,” says Khordoc.

The long list of faculty members who research and teach on various aspects of Qu\u00e9bec includes Professor Dominique Marshall<\/a> in History; Professor Rafael Iacovino<\/a> in Political Science; and Khordoc’s colleagues in the Department of French, Professor S\u00e9bastien C\u00f4t\u00e9<\/a> who works on New France, and Professors Randall Gess<\/a> and Carmen LeBlanc<\/a> who focus on linguistics. Tr\u00e9panier and Khordoc are delighted that the Film Studies program has appointed a new faculty member who specialized in Quebec cinema and they welcome Professor Kester Dyer<\/a>, whose courses will be added to the list of elective courses for the minor. Also in this impressive Carleton directory of Qu\u00e9bec experts is Chancellor’s Professor Emerita, Patricia Smart<\/a>, who, as a member of the Royal Society of Canada and recipient of the Order of Canada is one of the world’s most prolific scholars on Qu\u00e9bec literature.

“Professor Smart was friends with important poets and artists during the Quiet Revolution, and she has given her readers several book-length essays on Qu\u00e9bec literature and culture which have received both the Governor General’s Award and the Gabrielle Roy Prize”,” says Tr\u00e9panier.

“Whenever I am at a Qu\u00e9bec Studies conference, and I mention that I am a professor at Carleton, I’m invariably asked if I am in the same department as Professor Smart,” says Khordoc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This reputation is a testament to Carleton’s storied tradition of world-class scholarship on Qu\u00e9bec literature. Even during periods when we had to defend the study of Canadian and Qu\u00e9becois literature as being valid.” <\/p>\n\n\n

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“This reputation is a testament to Carleton’s storied tradition of world-class scholarship on Qu\u00e9bec literature. Even during periods when we had to defend the study of Canadian and Qu\u00e9becois literature as being valid.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tr\u00e9panier also offers the reminder that Carleton’s School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies was home to Robert Dunton. Famously, Professor Dunton (the namesake of Dunton Tower), was one of the two commissars of Canada’s biculturalism and bilingualism commission.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Quebec City<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

International Appeal<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Interest in Qu\u00e9bec is not limited to Canadian scholars. In fact, there are Qu\u00e9bec Studies associations in many regions of the world, including the Association for Canadian Studies in Ireland<\/a> which concentrates heavily on Qu\u00e9bec and the American Council for Qu\u00e9bec Studies<\/a>, which is a separate, unique entity from their Association for Canadian Studies in America<\/a>. Khordoc believes this wide-reaching fascination of Qu\u00e9bec occurs for a variety of reasons. As a separate, yet connected entity, the province commands particular lines of inquiry.

“The province has overcome the odds of assimilation, so in places like Ireland, it is interesting to see how French is revitalized, promoted and constantly on the radar.

Khordoc also feels that due to its consistently thriving economy, Qu\u00e9bec has the ability to shape a uniquely independent society within Canada. Departures are seen in its education, social supports, and culture at large. Similar comparisons can be drawn around the world; Catalonia and Scotland are just two examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further demonstrating the borderless appeal of Qu\u00e9bec is l’Association internationale d’\u00e9tudes qu\u00e9becoises<\/a> with its 5000 Qu\u00e9bec specialists around the globe. Impressively, Professor Trepanier is currently the vice-president academic and scientific of the AIEQ.  She cherishes this role, as it allows her to connect her Qu\u00e9bec focused students with like-minded scholars and students from around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also the case in India, where several French departments have famous specialists on Qu\u00e9bec literature and Qu\u00e9becois queer literature. Quebec culture and literature is also studied in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Italy, Brazil, Poland, Japan and Korea.<\/span>” Khordoc also feels that due to its consistently thriving economy, Qu\u00e9bec has the ability to shape a uniquely independent society within Canada. Departures are seen in its education, social supports, and culture at large. Similar comparisons can be drawn around the world; Catalonia and Scotland are just two examples. Further demonstrating the borderless appeal of Qu\u00e9bec is l’Association internationale d’\u00e9tudes qu\u00e9becoises with its 5000 Qu\u00e9bec specialists around the globe. Impressively, Professor Tr\u00e9panier is currently the vice-president academic and scientific of the AIEQ.  She cherishes this role, as it allows her to connect her Qu\u00e9bec focused students with like-minded scholars and students from around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Value of Qu\u00e9bec Expertise in the Workforce<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Canada, having in-depth knowledge about Qu\u00e9bec is a sought-after asset for employers. Areas of employment such as journalism, civil service (at federal or provincial levels), policy work, heritage and cultural organizations, national museums, education, translation and interpretation, and many more, often require a refined familiarity and comprehension of the province and of French. “Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that bilingual Canadians, such as those who would take the Qu\u00e9bec Studies Minor, are consistently more employable and better paid than unilingual Canadians,” says Tr\u00e9panier. “This is especially the case in the National Capital Ottawa region, in which most of its major employers give preferential treatment to bilingual job candidates in the two settler official languages.”

“For students planning to pursue academic careers, bilingualism in English and French and an understanding of Qu\u00e9bec expands job opportunities considerably.”

Tr\u00e9panier also submits that studying Qu\u00e9bec in French will be useful for student who will pursue graduate studies, at Carleton or elsewhere. “French has been one of the two official settler languages of this country for only 50 years, but academic literature and other written discourses in French about Canada, its peoples and its resources date back to the 1500s. Resources for academic discourses as well as literary, archival, and popular discourses in and about Canada exist in languages other than English, but they have often evaded scrutiny. There is much critical research yet to be accomplished, and many institutions want to increase their scholarship,” says Tr\u00e9panier. “When studying Canada, particular attention should be given to those resources existing in French \u2013 given the long and sustained academic tradition \u2013 not to mention the important cultural and recording tradition of French language documents in Canada.”

Professors Tr\u00e9panier and Khordoc have both been pleasantly surprised by the extraordinary support they have received from colleagues and students for the Qu\u00e9bec Studies Minor. “The feedback we have received has been tremendously positive. People are excited,” says Tr\u00e9panier.

“It is amazing to meet people in Poland, or India \u2013 places all over the world \u2013 who know quite a lot about Qu\u00e9bec. And yet, few universities in Canada offer a focused, interdisciplinary study of Qu\u00e9bec,” says Khordoc.

“Carleton is already known for its excellence in terms of the study of Canada. This minor will enhance that reputation and show Carleton’s creativity and innovation. Many of our students go on to work for the federal government. In my opinion, our civil servants must be well-versed in the specificities of all regions and people including, of course, the rich and nuanced history and culture of Qu\u00e9bec.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More About Professors Tr\u00e9panier and Khordoc<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

Professor Anne Tr\u00e9panier<\/strong> teaches identity narrative, Quebec history and historiography and their connection with the performance of the national in the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies and in the Department of French. Prof. Tr\u00e9panier regularly publishes in French and English on Qu\u00e9bec culture, history and literature and frequently participates in conferences relative to these subject matters. Her books Un discours \u00e0 plusieurs voix : la grammaire du oui en 1995<\/em> (PUL 2001) and (PUO 2010) will be followed by another book about satirical representations of Canada prior to Confederation.  Since 2019, Professor Tr\u00e9panier has been the vice-president scientific of the International Association international d\u2019\u00e9tudes qu\u00e9b\u00e9coises, a network of 5000 international scholars whose research involve Quebec culture and literature. Prof. Tr\u00e9panier, now graduate supervisor in SICS, was awarded both the prestigious D2L award in Teaching Innovation and the Provost Fellowship in Teaching Award in 2019 and is since a teaching fellow of Carleton University. She teaches Introduction to Qu\u00e9bec Society, Critical Nationalism and Qu\u00e9bec ville d\u2019histoire(s) which are well developed online courses.  Her favourite Qu\u00e9bec locale is \u00eele d\u2019Orl\u00e9ans where she spends a few weeks each year in her yurt, picks blueberries and apples, and watches the migration of the snow geese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Professor Catherine Khordoc<\/strong> teaches contemporary Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois literature (mainly from the 1960s to the present), with a particular emphasis on literature produced by writers who have immigrated to Qu\u00e9bec, and whose writing contributed to a critical reconsideration of what the term \u201cQu\u00e9bec culture\u201d actually means. Literature produced by writers of diverse cultural origins participates in the evolution of Qu\u00e9bec culture which cannot simply be thought of as being francophone, with French and Catholic roots. Professor Khordoc is also interested in how contemporary Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois writers have integrated diverse geographic and cultural dimensions into their work, in some ways, bringing \u201cthe world\u201d into their world.  Khordoc is also a former president of the Association for Canadian and Qu\u00e9bec literatures, author of Tours et d\u00e9tours: le mythe de Babel dans la litt\u00e9rature contemporaine<\/em> (2012) and co-editor of Comparing Migration: The literatures of Canada and Qu\u00e9bec \/ Migrance compar\u00e9e: Les litt\u00e9ratures du Canada et du Qu\u00e9bec.  <\/em>She has published in French and in English, in journals such as Qu\u00e9bec Studies<\/em>, Studies in Canadian Literature<\/em>, the Journal of Canadian Studies<\/em> and French Cultural Studies<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

To learn more about the Minor in Qu\u00e9bec Studies, feel free to contact Professors Tr\u00e9panier and Khordoc,<\/a> or visit the Undergraduate Calendar<\/a> to review the required courses.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Minor offers students a unique opportunity to specialize in Qu\u00e9bec Studies.\u00a0\u00a0 By Nick Ward Unbeknownst to many, Carleton University was one of the first Canadian universities to offer courses in Qu\u00e9bec literature outside of Qu\u00e9bec. Although this rich history of studying the province is sometimes overlooked, the 2020 addition of a Qu\u00e9bec Studies Minor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[621],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-32838","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","hentry","cu_story_type-current-students"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/32838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/32838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34849,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/32838\/revisions\/34849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=32838"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=32838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}