Papers by Geneviève Brisson
The major purpose of this qualitative study was to map particular preadolescent boys' paths t... more The major purpose of this qualitative study was to map particular preadolescent boys' paths to reading by taking a look at various elements that might have influenced their path to reading. Data were collected using five individual interviews with boys, ages 11 to 13 years old, and a group interview with all five of them. Questions for both interviews were designed to gather data in relation to my research sub-questions, which came from a preliminary review of the literature. This study explored how various factors —hobbies (e.g. video games, sports) and personal interests (e.g. swords, reptiles, cars), adults as reading mentors, school, perceptions of reading and readers, agency, peers and popular culture — influence five boys' reading paths. Analysis of this data provided the following findings. Hobbies and favourite activities seemed not to influence four of the boys when they chose books, but they were a major influence for the fifth boy. The five boys mentioned series t...
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. , 2018
In this paper, I explore Discourses [Gee 1996. Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Dis... more In this paper, I explore Discourses [Gee 1996. Social Linguistics and Literacies: Ideology in Discourses. 2nd Edition, 1996; 3rd Edition, 2008; 5th Edition. 2015. London: Taylor & Francis] on language, and how they influenced plurilingual students’ subject positioning during classroom interactions. I analyse documents published by a school board as well as transcripts from classroom interactions from a case study research in a grade-six classroom in a Francophone minority school in British Columbia, Canada. I argue that teachers appeared to have integrated, in their interactions with students, a Discourse on languages of French monolingualism and separate bi/plurilingualism. These Discourses also influenced how students interacted with each other. Some students, however, were able to work around these Discourses in order to position themselves as plurilinguals.
The year 2007 marked the beginning. The same year JOCAM was launched, an interdisciplinary group ... more The year 2007 marked the beginning. The same year JOCAM was launched, an interdisciplinary group of Canadian scholars formed a scholarly association to address the needs of researchers working with young people’s texts and cultures across Canada. In this paper, three members of Association for Research in Cultures of Young People’s (ARCYP’s) Executive examine current and future tensions within children’s media studies by drawing on lessons from ARCYP’s opening decade. Both ARCYP and JOCAM emerged during a time of productive intersections between the fields of children’s studies and media studies. Here, we draw on ARCYP’s history as part of an examination of ongoing lacunae that have arisen as sites of common concern have emerged. These tensions—having to do with notions of textuality and authority, consumption and children’s agency and citizenship and power—point to lacunae in the field of children’s media studies. ARCYP’s history of development is thus taken up as a lens to see the past and imagine the future priorities of our research field.
Revue de recherches en littératie médiatique multimodale, 2015
Résumé
Notre étude de cas ethnographique s’est déroulée dans une classe de 6e année dans une écol... more Résumé
Notre étude de cas ethnographique s’est déroulée dans une classe de 6e année dans une école en milieu francophone minoritaire en Colombie-Britannique. Elle visait une meilleure compréhension de l’influence des littératies médiatiques multimodales sur le développement identitaire d’élèves plurilingues. Dans le présent article, nous présentons des données recueillies lors de la création et de la reconstruction d’un texte multimodal par Blastoise, un garçon parlant anglais, français et russe. Le plurilinguisme, les positionnements identitaires et la multimodalité servent de cadre théorique à cette recherche. L’analyse des résultats indique que cet élève fait une utilisation somme toute limitée des divers modes disponibles (ex. : mot écrit, son, image, vidéo) et montre également l’absence du russe, l’une des ressources du répertoire linguistique de l’élève. Par contre, l’utilisation que cet élève fait du français, de l’anglais et d’autres modes lui permet de se positionner en tant que bon élève et expert en jeux vidéo.
Abstract
Our ethnographic case study took place in a grade-6 classroom in a French-language minority school in British Columbia. Our aim was to better understand the influence of digital and multimodal literacies on plurilingual students’ identity construction. In this article, we present data collected as Blastoise (a boy who spoke English, French and Russian) created and reconstructed a multimodal text. The concepts of plurilingualism, identity position and multimodality serve as theoretical frameworks for this research. Analysis of the results suggests that this student had a somewhat limited use for divers modes (e.g. written word, sound, image, video), and it also shows the absence of Russian, one of Blastoise’s resources from his linguistic repertoire. The student’s use of French, English and other modes, however, does afford him ways to position himself as a good student and as a video game expert.
This paper examines two Canadian (Québécois) novels for young adults, translated from French to E... more This paper examines two Canadian (Québécois) novels for young adults, translated from French to English in Canada: The Road to Chlifa by Michèle Marineau, and Pieces of Me by Charlotte Gingras. We examine the representation of adolescent bodies in space and movement, and how these coming of age narratives play out in relation to discourses about nationality and citizenship. This paper suggests that there are subtle differences in sensibilities in works published in French by Québécois writers and publishers, and that there is evidence of a lingering solitude in relation to young adult literature in Canada. We argue that we need to understand and continue to explicate the complex set of cultural readings and re-readings engendered by these and other coming of age novels that cross real and imagined boundaries of federation and language; that is, we encourage educators to examine representations of adolescent protagonists in relation to the production and reception of literary works that travel within and across our borders.
This article explores a study of five preadolescent boys‘ perceptions of reading and readers, and... more This article explores a study of five preadolescent boys‘ perceptions of reading and readers, and the role of agency on their reading paths. The boys, in grades five to seven, shared their thoughts and experiences through individual and group interviews. The findings suggest that these boys adapted norms and practices of the dominant discourse among their male friends to pursue their own interests in reading. Some participants, however, stated they sometimes experience pressure to assume gender–appropriate preferences in order to be accepted by their (male) peers.
Book Reviews by Geneviève Brisson
Éducation francophone en milieu minoritaire Recension Lamoureux. S. A. et Cotnam, M. (Dir.) (2012... more Éducation francophone en milieu minoritaire Recension Lamoureux. S. A. et Cotnam, M. (Dir.) (2012). Prendre sa place : Parcours et trajectoires identitaires en Ontario français. Ottawa : Éditions David. Cet ouvrage collectif explore l'identité francophone en milieu minoritaire en Ontario, un thème très important pour les communautés et les écoles francophones ontariennes ainsi que dans le reste du Canada. Sylvie Lamoureux (2005), ont exploré diverses facettes de ce sujet d'étude. Ce recueil, par contre, donne la parole à quatre jeunes chercheurs qui présentent le fruit de leur recherche qualitative sous forme d'articles scientifiques. Ces articles explorent des questions telles que les référents identitaires (Elisabeth Labrie), le rôle des enseignants dans la transmission linguistique et culturelle à l'école (Karine Turner), le bilinguisme et les élèves issus de l'immigration (Mary Richards) et le choix d'une école secondaire (Megan Cotnam). En alternance avec ces articles sont offerts cinq récits identitaires écrits par des acteurs investis dans la cause de l'éducation en langue française en Ontario. Le livre se termine sur une postface écrite par Diane Gérin-Lajoie.
In Literacy and Power, Hilary Janks, professor in Applied English Language Studies at the Univers... more In Literacy and Power, Hilary Janks, professor in Applied English Language Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, develops and refines her model of critical literacy by drawing on her own journey toward becoming a critical literacy teacher and researcher, and on the work of a range of theorists well known in education (e.g. Bourdieu, Foucault, Gee, Kress, van Leeuwen, Marx). Janks" book sits at an intersection where theory meets practice, i.e. where critical literacy research meets critical literacy in the classroom. Her interdependent model of critical literacy goes further than critical reading: it involves critical writing or, to use her terminology, design/redesign. The word critical is a key word in her book and, from the very first pages of the book, Janks shows her colors by stating that, in her approach, critical signals a constant focus on power: she states that literacy cannot be divorced from issues of power.
The field of Youth Studies embraces research on all aspects of young people's lives; it does not ... more The field of Youth Studies embraces research on all aspects of young people's lives; it does not belong to one research tradition or discipline. Researchers in fields such as education, developmental psychology, cultural studies, and feminist youth research have been investigating issues connected with young people for many years. In Researching Young People's Lives, Sue Heath, Rachel Brooks, Elizabeth Cleaver, and Eleanor Ireland (2009) provide "an overview of key methodological challenges associated specifically with research focused on young people's lives" and "an introduction to a broad repertoire of methods which are particularly well suited to youth-orientated research" (p. 2). The authors define youth as young people in their mid-teens to mid-twenties. These boundaries are not standard in youth studies, but they are broadly in line with the United Nations' definition of youth (p. 4). Heath et al. suggest that, across fields and research traditions, researchers face similar challenges, questions, and concerns, but a number of issues, such as the relative powerlessness of young people, are unique to youth research. This argument is woven into the entire work, emphasized by examples of qualitative and quantitative studies from the fields of education, human, and social sciences.
Conference Presentations by Geneviève Brisson
Cet présentation porte sur les positionnements identitaires de Blastoise—un élève plurilingue (ru... more Cet présentation porte sur les positionnements identitaires de Blastoise—un élève plurilingue (russe, français, anglais) — lors de la création d’un texte multimodal à l’aide de son ordinateur portable. L’étude s’est déroulé dans le cadre d’activités de littératie en classe de 6e année dans une école francophone minoritaire de la Colombie-Britannique. Les résultats préliminaires indiquent que Blastoise fait une utilisation somme toute limitée des divers modes (ex. : texte, musique, image, vidéo) dans la création de son texte; ils montrent aussi l’absence du russe, une des langues du répertoire linguistique de Blastoise. Par contre, son utilisation du français et de l’anglais — des langues « légitimées» et « prédominantes» (Moore, 2006) en Colombie-Britannique — en combinaison avec l’utilisation de certains modes lui permettent de créer un texte multimodal où il se positionne comme un expert en jeux vidéos ainsi que comme un bon élève.
In this paper, I explore the concept of “otherness” in four realistic novels for young adult publ... more In this paper, I explore the concept of “otherness” in four realistic novels for young adult published in French in Québec and translated into English within Canada: Do pour Dolorès/ In the key of DO by Carole Fréchette, Carmen en fugue mineure/Carmen by Carole Fréchette, Le ciel tombe a côté/ This Side of the Sky by Marie-Francine Hébert, and La Liberté? Connais Pas... /Pieces of Me by Charlotte Gingras. I focus on the reception given to otherness in these translations by graduate students in library sciences.
In this presentation, I explore how coming of age is inscribed in two Canadian young adult novels... more In this presentation, I explore how coming of age is inscribed in two Canadian young adult novels translated from French to English – The Road to Chlifa by Michèle Marineau, and Pieces of Me by Charlotte Gingras. In spite of potentially different “sensibilities” and challenges (Cobban, 2006; Landreville, 2003; Poulin, 2002), The Road to Chlifa and Pieces of Me found their way into English translations. In analysing these two novels I focus on the two protagonists as representations of adolescent bodies in space and movement in relation to societal norms and disruptions, and include references to the translation process and the complex reception of these coming of age narratives.
I position these analyses within the theoretical context of a complex “sense of place” or a “sense of home” in Canadian children’s literature (Reimer, 2008). As Reimer argues, Canadian nationalist practices are enabled by a “homely imaginary” or “imagined community” – one that historically included images of the natural landscapes and more recently has been overwritten by culture. Understanding children’s literature requires an analysis of these cultural discourses that “form places and place readers” (Reimer, 2008, p. xvii).
The analyses of the representations of bodies in space and movement in these two works suggest that there are indeed subtly different sensibilities in works published in French by Québécois writers and publishers, and that there is evidence of a lingering solitude in relation to translation in particular. However, the more important observation may be that we need to understand and continue to explain the complex set of cultural readings and re-readings engendered by these and other coming of age novels that cross real and imagined boundaries of federation and language. The key to understanding our national imaginary is more than simply acknowledging a multicultural context; it likely will require us to more carefully read across cultures (Rogers and Soter, 1997) in ways that examine the production and reception of literary works that travel within our borders.
The issue of translation of adolescent and children’s literature in Canada has received very litt... more The issue of translation of adolescent and children’s literature in Canada has received very little scholarly attention (Cobban, 2006). Within its borders, Canada has two mainstream, parallel, and equally rich publishing traditions; one in French, mostly by Quebecois publishers (Pouliot, 2004), and the other in English (Reimer, 2004). However, very few Canadian books for children and adolescents are translated in any given year, and of these, novels written for adolescents can be numbered on one hand.
This paper explores the phenomenon of translation of Canadian adolescent literature through examination of three exemplary novels for adolescents published in French in Canada and translated into English within the last 20 years (1988-2008): Pieces of me by Charlotte Gingras, Road to Chlifa by Michèle Marineau and Good for Nothing by Michel Noël. These works have received awards or other forms of critical acclaim, and they represent a range of historical contexts and cultural depictions. Following a selective history of Canada’s two mainstream publishing traditions – with a focus on adolescent literature – I will use the three exemplary novels to highlight some of the challenges in translating Canadian adolescent literature from French to English. This paper also investigates themes such as sexuality, sense of place, and identity (e.g. culture, gender) as they are treated in the three novels.
Talks by Geneviève Brisson
Uploads
Papers by Geneviève Brisson
Notre étude de cas ethnographique s’est déroulée dans une classe de 6e année dans une école en milieu francophone minoritaire en Colombie-Britannique. Elle visait une meilleure compréhension de l’influence des littératies médiatiques multimodales sur le développement identitaire d’élèves plurilingues. Dans le présent article, nous présentons des données recueillies lors de la création et de la reconstruction d’un texte multimodal par Blastoise, un garçon parlant anglais, français et russe. Le plurilinguisme, les positionnements identitaires et la multimodalité servent de cadre théorique à cette recherche. L’analyse des résultats indique que cet élève fait une utilisation somme toute limitée des divers modes disponibles (ex. : mot écrit, son, image, vidéo) et montre également l’absence du russe, l’une des ressources du répertoire linguistique de l’élève. Par contre, l’utilisation que cet élève fait du français, de l’anglais et d’autres modes lui permet de se positionner en tant que bon élève et expert en jeux vidéo.
Abstract
Our ethnographic case study took place in a grade-6 classroom in a French-language minority school in British Columbia. Our aim was to better understand the influence of digital and multimodal literacies on plurilingual students’ identity construction. In this article, we present data collected as Blastoise (a boy who spoke English, French and Russian) created and reconstructed a multimodal text. The concepts of plurilingualism, identity position and multimodality serve as theoretical frameworks for this research. Analysis of the results suggests that this student had a somewhat limited use for divers modes (e.g. written word, sound, image, video), and it also shows the absence of Russian, one of Blastoise’s resources from his linguistic repertoire. The student’s use of French, English and other modes, however, does afford him ways to position himself as a good student and as a video game expert.
Book Reviews by Geneviève Brisson
Conference Presentations by Geneviève Brisson
I position these analyses within the theoretical context of a complex “sense of place” or a “sense of home” in Canadian children’s literature (Reimer, 2008). As Reimer argues, Canadian nationalist practices are enabled by a “homely imaginary” or “imagined community” – one that historically included images of the natural landscapes and more recently has been overwritten by culture. Understanding children’s literature requires an analysis of these cultural discourses that “form places and place readers” (Reimer, 2008, p. xvii).
The analyses of the representations of bodies in space and movement in these two works suggest that there are indeed subtly different sensibilities in works published in French by Québécois writers and publishers, and that there is evidence of a lingering solitude in relation to translation in particular. However, the more important observation may be that we need to understand and continue to explain the complex set of cultural readings and re-readings engendered by these and other coming of age novels that cross real and imagined boundaries of federation and language. The key to understanding our national imaginary is more than simply acknowledging a multicultural context; it likely will require us to more carefully read across cultures (Rogers and Soter, 1997) in ways that examine the production and reception of literary works that travel within our borders.
This paper explores the phenomenon of translation of Canadian adolescent literature through examination of three exemplary novels for adolescents published in French in Canada and translated into English within the last 20 years (1988-2008): Pieces of me by Charlotte Gingras, Road to Chlifa by Michèle Marineau and Good for Nothing by Michel Noël. These works have received awards or other forms of critical acclaim, and they represent a range of historical contexts and cultural depictions. Following a selective history of Canada’s two mainstream publishing traditions – with a focus on adolescent literature – I will use the three exemplary novels to highlight some of the challenges in translating Canadian adolescent literature from French to English. This paper also investigates themes such as sexuality, sense of place, and identity (e.g. culture, gender) as they are treated in the three novels.
Talks by Geneviève Brisson
Notre étude de cas ethnographique s’est déroulée dans une classe de 6e année dans une école en milieu francophone minoritaire en Colombie-Britannique. Elle visait une meilleure compréhension de l’influence des littératies médiatiques multimodales sur le développement identitaire d’élèves plurilingues. Dans le présent article, nous présentons des données recueillies lors de la création et de la reconstruction d’un texte multimodal par Blastoise, un garçon parlant anglais, français et russe. Le plurilinguisme, les positionnements identitaires et la multimodalité servent de cadre théorique à cette recherche. L’analyse des résultats indique que cet élève fait une utilisation somme toute limitée des divers modes disponibles (ex. : mot écrit, son, image, vidéo) et montre également l’absence du russe, l’une des ressources du répertoire linguistique de l’élève. Par contre, l’utilisation que cet élève fait du français, de l’anglais et d’autres modes lui permet de se positionner en tant que bon élève et expert en jeux vidéo.
Abstract
Our ethnographic case study took place in a grade-6 classroom in a French-language minority school in British Columbia. Our aim was to better understand the influence of digital and multimodal literacies on plurilingual students’ identity construction. In this article, we present data collected as Blastoise (a boy who spoke English, French and Russian) created and reconstructed a multimodal text. The concepts of plurilingualism, identity position and multimodality serve as theoretical frameworks for this research. Analysis of the results suggests that this student had a somewhat limited use for divers modes (e.g. written word, sound, image, video), and it also shows the absence of Russian, one of Blastoise’s resources from his linguistic repertoire. The student’s use of French, English and other modes, however, does afford him ways to position himself as a good student and as a video game expert.
I position these analyses within the theoretical context of a complex “sense of place” or a “sense of home” in Canadian children’s literature (Reimer, 2008). As Reimer argues, Canadian nationalist practices are enabled by a “homely imaginary” or “imagined community” – one that historically included images of the natural landscapes and more recently has been overwritten by culture. Understanding children’s literature requires an analysis of these cultural discourses that “form places and place readers” (Reimer, 2008, p. xvii).
The analyses of the representations of bodies in space and movement in these two works suggest that there are indeed subtly different sensibilities in works published in French by Québécois writers and publishers, and that there is evidence of a lingering solitude in relation to translation in particular. However, the more important observation may be that we need to understand and continue to explain the complex set of cultural readings and re-readings engendered by these and other coming of age novels that cross real and imagined boundaries of federation and language. The key to understanding our national imaginary is more than simply acknowledging a multicultural context; it likely will require us to more carefully read across cultures (Rogers and Soter, 1997) in ways that examine the production and reception of literary works that travel within our borders.
This paper explores the phenomenon of translation of Canadian adolescent literature through examination of three exemplary novels for adolescents published in French in Canada and translated into English within the last 20 years (1988-2008): Pieces of me by Charlotte Gingras, Road to Chlifa by Michèle Marineau and Good for Nothing by Michel Noël. These works have received awards or other forms of critical acclaim, and they represent a range of historical contexts and cultural depictions. Following a selective history of Canada’s two mainstream publishing traditions – with a focus on adolescent literature – I will use the three exemplary novels to highlight some of the challenges in translating Canadian adolescent literature from French to English. This paper also investigates themes such as sexuality, sense of place, and identity (e.g. culture, gender) as they are treated in the three novels.