Quebec Separatism in Canadian Utopian Fiction and the Quest for a Postcolonial Future

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Quebec Separatism in Canadian Utopian Fiction and the Quest for a Postcolonial Future
Abstract
The author examines the role of speculative fiction writers in the development of a particular political identity in Quebec. He notes that over the years, political conflicts in Canada have inspired a large number of short stories and novels dealing with the consequences of the dissolution of Confederation, most of which evoke the fragmentation of the country following the political success of separatist movements. Utopias in search of a future where different cultural groups live in perfect symbiosis in a democratic society are rare, however. The author offers a reading of The Underdogs (1979), a political satire by Montreal author William Weintraub (1926-2017), which helps to demonstrate the meaning of fictions that are less involved in the pursuit of all-encompassing allegories of national identity than in the celebration of cultural and social diversity in a multicultural context. The author contends that in The Underdogs, Weintraub values a more 'integrated' political culture and has faith in a future where different groups can coexist harmoniously, provided they can shed the rigours of linguistic categories and beliefs in cultural absolutes such as race, nation and identity. T he author argues that Weintraub's novel should be read as a major account of the Quebec cultural crisis of the 1970s, a mixture of regional perceptions linked to a broader concept of cross-cultural affiliation and exchange.
Publication
Revue Lisa
Volume
Vol. 3
Issue
no. 2
Pages
11-22
Date
2005
Language
en
URL
Citation
Pordzik, Ralph. “Quebec Separatism in Canadian Utopian Fiction and the Quest for a Postcolonial Future.” Revue Lisa Vol. 3, no. 2 (2005): 11–22. https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/2321.
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