The Language of Sovereignty: Lucien Bouchard and the Separatist Movement in Quebec

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
The Language of Sovereignty: Lucien Bouchard and the Separatist Movement in Quebec
Abstract
An examination of the separatist movement in Quebec under Lucien Bouchard. Bouchard was the founder of the Bloc Québécois in the federal parliament in 1991, and the Parti Québécois leader and Premier of Quebec from 1998 to 2001. The author notes that the bilingual component to the debate on sovereignty was a unique aspect of the sovereigntist case; separatist appeals were made to both English-speaking and French-speaking audiences. The author analyzes four of Bouchard's speeches - his English-language Centaur Theatre speech in Montreal on March 11, 1996; his inaugural speech in Quebec's National Assembly on March 25, 1996; the "Why We Are Sovereigntists" speech in the House of Commons in January 1994; and Bouchard's reaction to and rejection of the Calgary Declaration in September 1997. Using an ethical evaluative criterion for human communication, the four speeches are analyzed by the author toward the exegesis of their potential to sway voters. The author concludes that the resulting implications indicate a significant difference in the theoretical framework for sovereignty established by Bouchard within each group. The fact that English and French-speaking voters may not be substantively answering the same question on Quebec's separation raises ethical issues that warrant inclusion in future referendum deliberations.
Type
Master's Thesis
University
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Place
Las Vegas, NV
Date
1999
# of Pages
v-85p.
Language
en
URL
Citation
Smith, Christine Elizabeth. “The Language of Sovereignty: Lucien Bouchard and the Separatist Movement in Quebec.” Master’s Thesis, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 1999. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1983&context=rtds.
Find in a library
Permalink