Papers by Leslie Choquette
SUNY Press eBooks, May 8, 2014
Québec studies, Jun 1, 2021
This tribute to the late Dr. Claire Quintal, Founding Director Emerita of Assumption University’s... more This tribute to the late Dr. Claire Quintal, Founding Director Emerita of Assumption University’s French Institute, traces her productive career as a pioneer and advocate in the field of Franco-American studies, as well as an early proponent of la Francophonie movement. Cet hommage à la regrettée Dr. Claire Quintal, Directrice Fondatrice de l’Institut français de l’Assumption University, suit sa carrière fructueuse en tant que pionnière et porte-parole dans le domaine des études franco-américaines ainsi que protagoniste dès son début du mouvement de la Francophonie.
The Journal of Modern History, Jun 1, 2023
Resonance, 2019
In his 2016 survey of Franco-American scholarship, historian Yves Frenette distinguishes between ... more In his 2016 survey of Franco-American scholarship, historian Yves Frenette distinguishes between periods of "boom" (1961-2001) and "decline" (2002-2015) in historiographical production over the past eight decades. 1 Attributing the twenty-first-century downturn to the waning of ethnic consciousness and lower popularity of social history, Frenette concludes: "It would be surprising for the situation to change and for Franco-America to spark renewed interest on the part of historians." He may be right: neither author of these two synthetic monographs-Franco-America in the Making: The Creole Nation Within (2018) and A Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans. Industrialization, Immigration, Religious Strife (2018)-is a historian by training. Both authors, however, have done original research, and their significant contributions, along with Frenette's current collaborative project on "Francophone Migrations in North America, 1640-1940," may provide hope that another, perhaps more interdisciplinary boom is in store. Jonathan Gosnell's Franco-America in the Making: The Creole Nation Within takes an expansive view of its subject, defining Franco-Americans as French-speakers "born in the New World, of French, French-Canadian, Acadian, Native American, African, and Caribbean descent." The author's focus, however, is on the United States, where the French constitute a "fifth largest and forgotten ethnic group." Like geographers Dean Louder and Eric Waddell, Gosnell, a professor of French Studies at Smith College, wishes to excavate the "French cultural residue" that "remains obscured yet present in the industrial centers of New England and on the prairies and in the bayous of south Louisiana." 2 In contrast to early-twentieth-century scholars who reified the qualities of an eternal French "race," Gosnell emphasizes processes of creolization resulting from cultural and racial diversity and hybridity. His first chapter provides a succinct historical survey, after which he examines Franco-American cultural institutions, women's associations, ethnic literature, and the ethnic press in a series of thematic chapters centered on New England. His final chapter looks at French traditions in Louisiana, which represent a fusion of French, African, and indigenous experiences. In his conclusion, Gosnell writes, "A French life constructed by resolute dreamers has rebuffed dominant cultural forces. Franco-Americans are still in the process of making themselves."
Rabaska: Revue d'ethnologie de l'Amérique française, 2021
Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française
Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française
In his 2016 survey of Franco-American scholarship, historian Yves Frenette distinguishes between ... more In his 2016 survey of Franco-American scholarship, historian Yves Frenette distinguishes between periods of "boom" (1961-2001) and "decline" (2002-2015) in historiographical production over the past eight decades. 1 Attributing the twenty-first-century downturn to the waning of ethnic consciousness and lower popularity of social history, Frenette concludes: "It would be surprising for the situation to change and for Franco-America to spark renewed interest on the part of historians." He may be right: neither author of these two synthetic monographs-Franco-America in the Making: The Creole Nation Within (2018) and A Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans. Industrialization, Immigration, Religious Strife (2018)-is a historian by training. Both authors, however, have done original research, and their significant contributions, along with Frenette's current collaborative project on "Francophone Migrations in North America, 1640-1940," may provide hope that another, perhaps more interdisciplinary boom is in store. Jonathan Gosnell's Franco-America in the Making: The Creole Nation Within takes an expansive view of its subject, defining Franco-Americans as French-speakers "born in the New World, of French, French-Canadian, Acadian, Native American, African, and Caribbean descent." The author's focus, however, is on the United States, where the French constitute a "fifth largest and forgotten ethnic group." Like geographers Dean Louder and Eric Waddell, Gosnell, a professor of French Studies at Smith College, wishes to excavate the "French cultural residue" that "remains obscured yet present in the industrial centers of New England and on the prairies and in the bayous of south Louisiana." 2 In contrast to early-twentieth-century scholars who reified the qualities of an eternal French "race," Gosnell emphasizes processes of creolization resulting from cultural and racial diversity and hybridity. His first chapter provides a succinct historical survey, after which he examines Franco-American cultural institutions, women's associations, ethnic literature, and the ethnic press in a series of thematic chapters centered on New England. His final chapter looks at French traditions in Louisiana, which represent a fusion of French, African, and indigenous experiences. In his conclusion, Gosnell writes, "A French life constructed by resolute dreamers has rebuffed dominant cultural forces. Franco-Americans are still in the process of making themselves."
Fear and the Shaping of Early American Societies
In his path-breaking work, La peur en Occident (1978), Jean Delumeau called attention to the "cli... more In his path-breaking work, La peur en Occident (1978), Jean Delumeau called attention to the "climate of fear" in early modern Europe, which had not been given its due by earlier historians.1 The product of famine, plague, warfare, and religious upheaval, this culture of fear had been repressed, first by the aristocratic ideal of bravery, then by the cult of popular heroism that took shape during the age of democratic revolutions. Delumeau's painstaking inventory of the fears affecting both common and educated folk provided important insights into what was also Europe's first age of Atlantic expansion. The New World, as Delumeau pointed out, gave rise to eschatological fears among the elite and more prosaic anxieties among the unlettered. Christian missionaries rushed to convert pagan Americans before it was too late, while prospective colonists weighed the potential advantage of starting afresh against their fear of the unknown.2 The French, who entered the race for Atlantic empire in the sixteenth century, were no exception in this regard. France's American colonies were frightening places, whether for those who clamored to their shores in anticipation of martyrdom or those who rioted in the streets to prevent the embarkation of neighbors and loved ones.3
Recherches sociographiques, 2019
The American Historical Review, 2001
Recherches sociographiques, 2017
Canadian Historical Review
Études canadiennes / Canadian Studies
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Papers by Leslie Choquette