The Disquieting Revolution: A Genealogy of Reason and Racism in the Québec Press

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
The Disquieting Revolution: A Genealogy of Reason and Racism in the Québec Press
Abstract
Since the 1990s, a series of contentious events concerning the accommodation of different cultural and religious traditions and practices in Quebec has incited much debate in the province. Labelled the "reasonable accommodation" issue by the local press, this controversy has incited responses ranging from denunciations of racist discrimination to calls for more stringent measures to ensure the assimilation of non-Westerners into Québécois culture. Many in Quebec have been expressing their anxiety over the idea that the rights of newcomers has reached a tipping point, whereby the limits of reason are now over-stretched, weakening the dominant population's values and identity. The author examines how this fear was stoked in the 2007 Quebec election by politicians and media outlets, when reasonable accommodation was highlighted as a major issue. Specifically, the author examines how Montreal's The Gazette and Le Devoir reported the opinions of the politicians to demonstrate how the media and the politicians saw an opportunity to draw more readers and votes, respectively, and, as a consequence, collectively fanned the flames of racism in the public sphere.
Publication
Global Media Journal -- Canadian Edition
Volume
Vol. 4
Issue
no. 1
Pages
145-162
Date
2011
Language
en
URL
Citation
Wong, Alan. “The Disquieting Revolution: A Genealogy of Reason and Racism in the Québec Press.” Global Media Journal -- Canadian Edition Vol. 4, no. 1 (2011): 145–162. http://www.gmj.uottawa.ca/1101/v4i1_wong.pdf.
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