A History for the Future: Rewriting Memory and Identity in Quebec

by Jocelyn Létourneau

Overview

In A History for the Future Jocelyn Létourneau, a leader of the new wave of Quebec intellectuals, examines the hotly debated topics of history and memory in Quebec and Canada. Rather than focus on the past itself, he considers the challenge of turning the past into a narrative that contributes to building a better society, thereby establishing a liberating legacy for that society's heirs. As relatively new societies whose memories and histories are built on European foundations, the interrelated narratives of Quebec and Canadian history provide a rich body of material for such a far-reaching reflection. By investigating the role Quebec's historical narrative plays for contemporary Quebecers, Létourneau shows how interpretations of the past affect a society's future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773527256
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	07/08/2004
Series:	Studies on the History of Quebec = Etudes D'Histoire Du Queb , #16
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Jocelyn Letourneau holds the Canada Research Chair in the History and Political Economy of Contemporary Quebec at Université Laval.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction	xi
1	"Remembering (from) Where You're Going": Memory as Legacy and Inheritance	3
2	Going from Heirs to Founders: The Great Collective Narrative of Quebecers as Revisited by Gerard Bouchard	30
3	What History for the Future of Canada?	65
4	The Fate of the Past: Risks and Challenges of Turning the Past into Narrative (Notes on Jacques Godbout's The Fate of America)	93
5	Toward a Revolution of Collective Memory: History and Historical Consciousness among Quebecers of French-Canadian Heritage	100
6	What Should We Pass On? Moving into the Future	125
	Notes	151
	Index	191

Editorial Reviews

"a very subtle and impressive meditation on contemporary Quebec's historical imagination ... it deserves to become the focus of a wide-ranging discussion on the future of Canadian history. [Létourneau is] one of the subtlest minds to explore the possibility of writing history under conditions of postmodernity." Ian Mackay, Histoire sociale - Social History


"Stunningly intelligent, provocative, perceptive, and at once scholarly and poetic, this is a major book that ranks among significant works dealing with Quebec identity. Completely original ... it is the work of an eminent intellectual whose profound, sensitive, and rigorous analysis will renew the debate on this topic. This book must be read, reflected on, discussed, even taken issue with, but it must not be ignored." Louis Cornellier, Le Devoir


"This book that must be read by anyone who wants to understand the historical roots or present condition of Canada and Quebec. It will be integral all future debates on these topics. The book is full of stimulating and well-phrased ideas." Jean-Jacques Simard, Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française

From the Publisher