Territories of literary history: the shifting boundaries of Francophone literature in Canada

The writing of literary history opens up a range of questions about territory and boundaries. While recognising the energising role of Quebec nationalism in the emergence and affirmation of Québécois literature in the second half of the Twentieth Century, it is important to recognize the effects of such a national(ist) narrative on the shape of literary history, on its focus, its inclusions and exclusions. No single narrative can account for the complex literary history of Francophone literature in Canada. The enduring impact of Canada’s colonial past on the indigenous population, on the two settler communities and on subsequent waves of inward and outward migration has resulted in a literary and cultural life which needs to be viewed from a range of different perspectives. This article will begin to explore how notions of territory might contribute to a more flexible and inclusive understanding of the literary histories of Francophone literature in Canada

Tzvetan Todorov : die semiotischen und poetologischen Arbeiten ; eine Arbeitsbibliographie

Tzvetan Todorov: Die semiotischen und poetologischen Arbeiten. Eine arbeitsbibliographie. Zusammengestellt von Hans J. Wulff. Für zahlreiche Hinweise danke ich Ludger Kaczmarek

Kundera and Ionesco on the Unmistakable Awareness of Being Minor

Deleuze and Guattari’s 1975 text, Kafka, pour une littérature mineure, posited a theory concerning some groups of literary texts including those of Franz Kafka. Their theory was nevertheless highly connected to their own historical and geographical context in France, and much less so with that of Kafka who had himself previously attempted to theorize small literatures. By looking at the context of Kafka and of two other writers who might be considered as belonging to minor literary contexts, I argue that theorists of minor literature tend to view minor literature in a positive way when their own cultural context is further from nation-state building. On the other hand, those writers who are writing from inside nation-building contexts tend to emphasize minor literature’s limits on literary production. Interestingly, Milan Kundera and Eugene Ionesco who had first-hand experience of nation-building contexts, but then moved to France and wrote in French, take more nuanced views of minor literatures as they are further removed in time and space from their original minor contexts

Rethinking Minor Literature and Small Literature as Secondary Zone Literature

The aim of this article is to argue that both “minor literature” and “small literature” should be readdressed as Michel Ragon’s “secondary zone literature” from three perspectives. Firstly, it will be argued that “minor and small literature” began to lose its theoretical capacity with the advent of globalization after the new millennium. Secondly, the problems of “minor literature” and “small literature” will be updated. “Minor literature” mainly has two problems: 1)  The first feature of “minor literature” runs the risk of not only dismissing all literature written by minorities in “minor languages”, but also diminishing the possible meanings of the term, “minority”; and 2) The second and third characteristics of “minor literature” are unable to explain why only non-European arts are perceived to be political and collective. “Small literature” also has two problems: a) it fails to explain why countries that hardly qualify as ‘small’, face problems similar to those of “small literature” in the international literary context; and b) it does not have the capacity to explain the literature of minority and marginal groups within a nation or country. Thirdly, “minor and small literature” will be reconsidered as “secondary zone literature”, not only in an attempt to emphasize cultural dynamics and power relations based on the visibility of various “minor & small” related literary works, but also to demonstrate that literature may be minor or small, but it always has quantitative implications

Les missions catholiques françaises et le développement des études igbo dans l’Est du Nigeria, 1885 - 1930

Partly based on archives, this description of the progression of French Catholic missions from Senegal to Igboland emphasizes the crucial roles played by the Congrégation des Pères du Saint Esprit (Spiritains) and the Société des Missions Africaines (SMA) from Lyon in collecting folklore, diffusing the Onitsha dialect throughout Igboland, and developing a system of writing for the language. By comparison with their predecessors (the British Church Missionary Society), these two missionary organizations, through their prublications, opened the way for progress in Igbo studies. These authors can be considered to be harbingers of the current cooperation between France and Igboland in the context of Franco-Nigerian relation

L’organisation et la gestion de l’espace dans la langue et la culture igbo du Nigeria

This study based on Igbo language and literature – especially proverbs and folktales – focuses on the use of space, the way it is distributed, organised and managed. It reveals a highly structured use of a communal space organised around the person, considered as member of the group. Traditions, which protect the communal space and ensure its being handed down from one generation to the next, equally give everyone an individual share in it. This space is both versatile and highly partitioned, closely managed and distributed according to age, gender and the sons’ rank in the family. Folktales describe the human world, represented by the village where life revolves around the house and the market, as close to that of the spirits, with the forest and the stream acting as boundaries. Humans and spirits share this space on the understanding that men are only managing it for a while as representatives of their family

Editors\u27 Notebook

Editorial introduction to The Goose Volume 16, Issue 2 (2018)

LIGHT IN COMMUNITY: a study in the adaptive reuse of sacred space

ABSTRACT MOTIVATION American life is increasingly fragmented, leading to a sense of restlessness and disconnection. Much of that fragmentation can be traced to our pattern of architectural and sociological development, namely, the rise of the automobile suburbs in the 1950s and 60s and the abandonment of densely populated, human- scaled environments like that of the small town or city center (Oldenberg, 1999). PROBLEM Large numbers of architecturally significant buildings have fallen into disrepair over the years following the “white flight” of the 1960s and 70s, during which significant segments of investment dollars left city centers and followed to the suburbs (Kunstler, 1994). Specifically, older church buildings have fallen victim to a dilemma of sociological change. Many of the congregations that inhabit historic church buildings do not have the vitality, vision, and sometimes funds to maintain their buildings. While there are many newer congregations that do have the vision and vitality to maintain an older building, they often do not have the funds to do so. As a result, an increasing number of community treasures, buildings built at a dense urban and human scale, are being lost to neglect and misuse. METHODS In order to gain a clearer and more specific understanding of the issues involved in revitalizing and maintaining historic sacred spaces for the benefit of their communities, a course of study was undertaken which included readings of books and articles on urban revitalization such as “The Past and Future City” by Stephanie Meeks, those on third place like Ray Oldenberg’s classic, “The Great Good Place”, and some on the integration of the arts in community centers and shared space. Case studies of successful adaptive reuse projects of church and synagogue buildings, such as Maison de la Littérature in Quebec City and those undertaken by Partners for Sacred Places in Philadelphia, were investigated. Interviews were conducted with leaders from both older and newer urban congregations, and with directors of local community centers and for-profit businesses. RESULTS According to studies completed by The National Trust, historic buildings help a city to maintain its urban vitality, and maintaining stock of old buildings must be an important component of any serious conversation about sustainability in the built environment (Meeks, 2016). At the same time, many historic and architecturally significant buildings which were constructed at a time when church attendance was a larger part of the American cultural experience are falling into disrepair because the congregations that inhabit them are often unable to generate the energy, vitality, and funding that is necessary to maintain them. REFLECTIONS/CONCLUSIONS This project will explore the development of a community center for education and the performing arts in an historic church building. The program will include a small cafe, rentable studio space, a library/ reading room, a performance venue, and event space. Research will support development of a third place model, successful adaptive reuse of sacred space, and will explore options for cost-effective renovation of an historic space