It is with great sadness that the Department of French and the School of Canadian Studies share the news of the recent death of Distinguished Research Professor Patricia Smart on December 12th. The family is planning a funeral for Saturday, January 11 at 11 a.m. at the Canadian Martyrs Church (100 Main St, Ottawa).
Professor Patricia Smart
Professor Smart studied at the University of Toronto and Université Laval before earning her doctorate at Queen’s University. She joined the Department of French at Carleton in 1971 and retired in 2005. She taught primarily in the area of Québec literature, culture and visual arts.
In an outstanding career that spanned several decades, Professor Smart authored eight books, edited five and published countless articles, book chapters and reviews. She was awarded the Prix Jean-Éthier-Blais (2015), the Prix Gabrielle-Roy (2014) and the Prix du livre d’Ottawa (2016) for her book De Marie de l’Incarnation à Nelly Arcan a study of Quebec women’s autobiographical writings. She won the Governor General’s Award in 1988 for Écrire dans la maison du père, and was finalist in 1998 for Les Femmes du Refus Global. In 2002 she became the first woman to be appointed Chancellor’s Professor Emerita, one of the twenty honours she has received in her career.
In 2017, Professor Smart was on hand to award an honorary doctorate in literature to the great Quebecois poet Gilles Vigneault on behalf of Carleton. Members of the Department of French celebrated the event.
In recognition of her contributions to the study of Quebec literature and culture, Professor Smart was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2004 and received the prestigious Medal of the Quebec’s Académie des lettres in 2015. She was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1991.
Professor Patricia Smart with her sisters.
Until ten years ago, Professor Smart was still supervising doctoral and post-doctoral students. She was regularly invited to give lectures on her work and acted as a mentor to new faculty members in the department. In June 2024, she published an essay in a an edited volume on the legacy of Robin Mathews.
She left an indelible mark on Carleton, and the field of Québécois studies, and will be missed by all who knew her.
Professor Patricia Smart in 2016, with her husband John.