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Texte remanié de: D. Diss.--Stanford University, 199? / Idéogrammes calligraphiés par Ke Ling au verso de la p. d' avant-titre. Bibliogr. p. [221]-240.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-70).

Thesis (M.A.)--Zheng zhi da xue, 1974. / Reproduced from typescritp. On double leaves, oriental style. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-126).

published_or_final_version / History / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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Everyone would agree that there is little action in Jacques Poulin's works. This minimalism, which characterizes his writing, is based on solitary individuals who share similar difficulties with social interactions. In Poulin's novels, every interaction seems like an event in itself, as if communicating with others was an adventure. Poulin places the interactions at the heart of his narrative writing. This thesis studies the similarities of these social interactions throughout his eleven novels published to date. The interaction will be analyzed in three phases: as recurring ritual, in connection with the representation of the reader, and with regard to the very language.

Interpretations of the Nationalist Revolution in modern Chinese history, especially the so-called “Nanjing decade” (1927-1937) are dominated by theoretical notions which see the state as autonomous in its relationship to society. This autonomous state model, the dissertation argues, finds its roots in the voluntaristic ideas of Talcott Parsons. Arguments based on Parsons’s ideas view the Nationalist Revolution as abortive. The dissertation rejects these views and develops an alternative perspective based on the construction of a quasi-market model of social relations. The theoretical underpinnings, in contrast to Parsons’s ideas, are termed “de-voluntaristic.” These arguments suggest that individuals participate in, and have influence on, the operation of the state. The application of a quasi-market model suggests that there was a major transformation in Chinese society during the Nationalist period. The dissertation argues that the Nationalist Government after 1927 did not continue to achieve the initial objectives of the Nationalist Revolution which, it is suggested, aimed to build a quasi-market society. The revolution, however, was not abortive. It transformed the political system. In the Imperial tradition of government, local elites protected local communities against state encroachment through their involvement in property management. After 1927, the Nanjing Government adopted a “free market” approach to political affairs, and centralized the use of military and legal power to protect property against labour and the peasants. Peasant demands for rights to the land they tilled, a key element in Sun Yat-sen’s programme for the revolution, questioned the brokerage market economy, in which local elites acted as the intermediaries of contractual partners. Workers, in the context of industrialization, and with support from Communist organizers, attempted to improve working conditions. Peasants and workers contested the power of active elites that grew in the new political order established by. the Nationalist Government. The Nationalist State abandoned the traditional role of the Chinese state to protect the well-being of society. Deeply influenced by new elites, it protected capital accumulation and safeguarded the sanctity of contracts. The Nationalist Revolution ultimately failed as it was unable to resist the invasions of the Japanese, or the alternative social formulations of the Communist movement.

On examining novels written in Quebec after the 1950s, surprisingly some common themes emerge. One finds progressively increasing references to the themes of the book, the library, and the author. In this thesis, we study the fictional work of Gerard Bessette and Jacques Poulin, two authors who make abundant references to the universe of the book. Their characters read, write, work and even live in libraries and bookshops. / We will discuss the concept of the library, in order to clarify various key issues. Our definition of the library will include any place where books are read or stored. In other words, we do not intend to limit our study only to the traditional library, but rather to extend it to any place which shelters books. The concept of the library is thus taken in its broadest definition and includes the bookshop, the office, or even the bus. / These books were selected because each author gives an account of contemporary Quebec history. In addition, the opposing themes in these fictitious worlds, seem to be at the core of the concept of the library. Indeed, it is at the same time both closedness and openness, both hoarding and lending. We will examine how the paradoxical realities are presented in these novels.