Research - Dr. Louis-Georges Harvey
Dr. Louis-Georges Harvey
Department of History
Tories Whigs and Patriots: English language political discourse in Lower Canada, 1791-1840.
The research project “Tories Whigs and Patriots” was designed to examine the particularities of Anglophone political discourse in Lower Canada between 1791 and 1840. Using well defined parameters, a team of research assistants combed through English language newspapers published in the province, flagging texts in which questions related to ethnic identity, colonial or Lower Canadian identity or the relationship between the colony and the empire were developed. In addition, researchers on the team noted representations of Britain, the United States and Europe, paying particular attention to representations of Ireland and the emerging representations of the British Empire. The result of this research was a database of about 13,000 texts by the end of the SSHRC sponsored phase of the research (2007-2010). Additional funding provided by internal research funds from Bishop’s University were used over the year after the end of the SSHRC grant to complete the database, adding another 3,000 records (2010-2011). The research deviated somewhat from the original proposal in that it has become framed in the evolving literature on the British Empire as process, system and a discourse of power, as well as the construction of identity in settler societies. This aspect of the research yielded articles on Lower Canada within the expanding British Empire. The database was also exploited in the context a joint Quebec-Ireland research project which served to develop the links between Irish discourse on identity and empire and that evolving in Lower Canada. This portion of the study underscored the importance of Irish references to both imperialists and reformers within the Anglophone political community in the colony, while exploring the failure to integrate the experience of Irish patriots within the historical consciousness of anglophone and francophone Québécois.
The significance of this research is that it contextualizes the role of the anglophone minority within Lower Canada in the formation of colonial identity at a key period of imperial expansion. The study challenges dominant historiographical models which present the Anglophone community as exclusively tied to imperial notions of “britishness”, emphasizing the strong attachment to alternate constructions of colonial identity in the pre-1840 period. English speakers were key figures in this critical period of Quebec’s history and their role should not be underestimated. Conversely, English speaking proponents of empire were also central in defining notion of imperial governance that would have a determinant impact on Canadian political development. The confrontation between these two definitions of identity is the core of this study’s contribution to our understanding of pre-Confederation Canadian history. A monograph presenting the results of the study is currently in preparation.
Anthology of Québécois Republican Texts (2005-2013)
Louis-Georges Harvey recently completed an anthology of Québécois republican texts covering the period between 1703 and 1967. Prepared in collaboration with Stéphane Kelly, Marc Chevrier and Samuel Trudeau, De la république en Amérique française. Anthologie pédagogique des discours républicains au Québec, 1703-1967 (Québec : Septentrion, 2013, 538 p) groups significant and often forgotten texts around themes such as political corruption, education, colonial domination and republican theory. The anthology also includes original introductory essays which introduce readers to the republican tradition in western political thought and trace the evolution of the Québécois republican tradition. Introductory essays open each of the thematic sections, and each selection is preceded by biographical and contextual notes. The anthology’s publication is the culmination of six years of research.
