Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

This thesis project explores the connection between Cuban identity and the twentieth-century Neobaroque. The paper approaches the Neobaroque as a concept that reoriginates or "refracts" culture, implying a relationship between Baroque forms and post-colonial Latin America that creates a transformation of cultural expression. Furthermore, the Neobaroque is seen relating to questions of cultural identity, post-colonialism, transculturation, mestizaje, and Latin American modernity. The Neobaroque's relevancy with Cuba is stipulated in twentieth-century writings of three Cuban authors known as the Cuban triumvirate: José Lezama Lima, Alejo Carpentier, and Severo Sarduy. Similar themes of these writers concerning the Neobaroque's connection with the urban environment of Havana as well as connections to José Martí's writing Nuestra América are highlighted as key components connecting the Neobaroque with Cuban culture. / Graduate / 0336 / 0626 / scruiksh@uvic.ca

When considering the available sources for Islamic history between the seventh and eighth centuries CE, there are few which have greater importance than al-Balādhurī's (d. ca. 892 CE/279 AH) Kitāb Futūḥ al-Buldān (The Book of the Conquest of Lands). While the text and its author are recognized for their importance as a historical source for the early Islamic period, there has previously been no in-depth study of either. This dissertation works to correct these gaps in knowledge of the author and his text by investigating the construction, form, content, and early reception history of al-Balādhurī's book. This research begins by providing a manuscript tradition of Futūḥ al-Buldān, including a discussion of a previously unpublished manuscript. It thereafter illuminates the background of al-Balādhurī, bringing together much of the previous scholarship on the author while augmenting that information with an analysis of biographical sources and the text itself. It situates the author and his text in its ninth/third century milieu, a period of history where the early Arabic historical tradition was still in its infancy and only just being committed to writing. It suggests the text was likely completed at the end of the "anarchy at Sāmarrā'" in the late 860s CE, and highlights the author's role at the court of several 'Abbāsid Caliphs. After this, it discusses a number of al-Balādhurī's most important (and, in some cases, previously understudied) sources of information, and argues that the author chose to differentiate when he was learning information directly from a teacher and when he had access to written sources. It then analyzes the content and themes of the text, placing special attention on the unique form of Futūḥ al-Buldān and its importance in providing modern scholars with information on the conquest, settlement, and building projects of the early Islamic world. In considering these key themes, this research then argues that Futūḥ al-Buldān defies traditional modern genre classification by borrowing form and content from several different Arabic genres including conquest literature (futūḥ), legal texts, and administrative geographies. It contends that both the text's content and form suggest that it was written to be read by courtly administrators in the service of the state as both a site of memory (lieu de mémoire) and as an "administrator's handbook" during a time of upheaval in the 'Abbāsid realm. Finally, it considers the legacy of Futūḥ al-Buldān and the popularity of al-Balādhurī's book throughout the medieval period through an analysis of textual reuse.

Portuguese global expansion was initiated by the capture of Cueta in 1415. Voyages of discovery along the West African coast ensued, resulting in the conquest and colonisation of the N’Dongo Kingdom. This dissertation comprises an archaeological survey of the Lusitanian Empire in the Republic of Angola. The Portuguese first established a settlement at Luanda in 1576, after which they set forth into the interior, following the Kwanza River upstream. The strategy for conquest was to take possession of the river with the objective to control the indigenous population, subjugate the N’gola, and, ultimately, to reach the silver mines at Cambambe. Various settlements developed along the margins of the river with associated forts and churches. Fortifications dominated the landscape while the churches expressed religious idealism. Social contact between the Mbundu people and the Portuguese at the colonial frontier is discussed. Post-colonial theory is used as the research methodology. / Anthropology and Archaeology / M. A. (Archaeology)

Cette thèse propose d’explorer les enjeux de la pratique de la traduction de français en anglais après la Conquête normande, à partir d’une comparaison des deux romans anglais et leurs sources respectives. La première partie s’attachera à examiner le rapport entre le Roman de Brut, écrit au 12e siècle par l’auteur francophone Wace, et sa traduction en anglais, le Brut de La3amon, effectuée au début du 13e siècle. Une autre étude constituera l’essentiel de la seconde partie, portant sur l’examen comparatif de deux versions, française et anglaise, du roman d’Alexandre le Grand : le Roman de toute chevalerie de Thomas de Kent et Kyng Alisaunder, roman anonyme du 14e siècle. / This thesis investigates issues of translation from French to English in post-Conquest England by means of a comparison of two Middle English romances and their respective French sources. The first part of the thesis will examine the relationship between the Roman de Brut, written by the francophone author Wace in the 12th century, and its English translation, La3amon’s Brut. The second part is devoted to a comparative study of French and English versions of a romance about Alexander the Great, the 12th century Roman de toute chevalerie, by Thomas of Kent, and its 14th century translation, Kyng Alisaunder.

Cette thèse de sociologie cherche à montrer la relation ambivalente que des personnes handicapées visuelles, aveugles ou malvoyantes, nouent avec leur agglomération, ici l’agglomération chambérienne. Dans un premier temps, elle montre que l’espace urbain est pour ces personnes handicapées un espace de fermeture : sa lecture, sa connaissance, son utilisation sont restreintes,  soumises à des impératifs comme la canne, la technique de locomotion, l’utilisation d’outils mis à leur intention dans la ville. La vie dans l’espace privé n’échappe à de multiples contraintes. La perte de vue malmène la sécurité ontologique, altérée par la souffrance et souvent la solitude. Et pourtant, l’espace urbain est l’espace où les personnes handicapées visuelles peuvent vivre et se déplacer en autonomie. Cette autonomie est l’œuvre de deux types d’acteurs : d’une part la ville, qui réalise les aménagements urbains d’accessibilité, des chaines d’accessibilité prévus par la loi, parfois antérieurement à la loi, comme c’est le cas de la ville de Chambéry, récompensée pour son action en faveur des personnes handicapées et d’autre part les personnes handicapées elles-mêmes qui doivent conquérir leur autonomie au prix d’un travail personnel exigeant. ‘’Il faut apprendre mon métier le personne handicapée’’, a dit l’une des personnes interviewées. La conquête de son autonomie s’apparente au ‘’cas de la chose réelle’’. Cette conquête ne considère pas seulement le côté environnemental et situationnel du handicap, mais place la personne aveugle ou malvoyante dans une spécificité vis à vis de l’espace urbain. L’extension à l’analyse sociologique de la théorie écologique de Gibson relative à la perception propose de considérer les personnes handicapées visuelles dans une relation spécifique avec l’espace urbain, qui évoque le concept de niche écologique. / This thesis in sociology aims at describing the ambivalent relationship that visually impaired persons, whether they are blind or partially sighted, develop with their urban area, here that of Chambery.First, it shows that, for these disabled persons, urban space is a space where they feel locked in : the reading, the knowledge, the use of this space are restricted, submitted to imperatives such as the walking stick, the locomotion technique, the use of tools provided for them by the city. Living in the private space is also subject to many constraints. The loss of eyesight reduces ontological safety, which is altered by pain and often by loneliness.And yet urban space is the space where visually impaired persons can live and move self- autonomously. Their autonomy is made possible by two actors: on the one hand, the city which carries out urban improvements in its accessibility to conform to the law- sometimes even before the bill was passed as is the case with the city of Chambery which was rewarded for its achievements in favour of disabled persons ; on the other hand, the disabled persons themselves who need to conquer their autonomy at the expense of demanding personal efforts. “ I have to learn my job as a disabled person”, said one of them in an interview. Conquering one’s autonomy shows similarities to ‘’the real-life situation’’…. This conquest not only takes into account the environmental and situational aspect of the handicap, but it also places the blind or partially impaired person in a specific position with regard to urban space. An extension to the sociological analysis of Gibson’s ecological theory relating to perception proposes to consider visually impaired persons in a specific relationship with urban space, conjuring up the concept of ecological niche.

Dès 1830, le théâtre s’empare du thème de la conquête de l’Algérie puis il accompagne l’expansion coloniale en Afrique du Nord, événements majeurs qui ont marqué la vie politique française du XIXe et du début du XXe siècle. Véritable phénomène social et culturel de masse, il a fortement contribué à imposer l’esprit colonial et l’idée d’empire dans les mentalités. Mais dans quelle mesure exacte a-t-il été un acteur culturel de cette politique d’expansion et de domination ? Avec quelle fréquence, quelles inflexions ? Quelles représentations de l’« Arabe » a-t-il véhiculé, et comment les a-t-il transformées en discours idéologiques, reçus en direct par un public donné ? A-t-il été aussi le lieu d’une prise de distance, voire d’une contestation de la colonisation ? Au théâtre, l’altérité est mise en mots, mais aussi et surtout portée sur scène, par le corps et la voix du comédien, presque toujours français et blanc. L’autre, « indigène », celui qui interpelle, inquiète ou fascine, acquiert une visibilité accrue, le temps de la représentation. L’altérité est réduite par certains auteurs à des stéréotypes que d’autres mettent au contraire en question. L’image de l’Arabe, mais aussi du Kabyle, du Touareg et du métissé, a suivi les courants idéologiques qui ont sous-tendu les grandes étapes de l’expansion coloniale, jusqu’aux prémices des mouvements de décolonisation. Sur le plan esthétique, la représentation de l’« Arabe » est-elle l’occasion d’un renouvellement en matière de jeu, de langage, de décor et de costume ? La recherche de l’« exotisme » dans les formes spectaculaires laisse-t-elle parfois place au souci de rencontre et (re)connaissance de l’autre ? La portée à la fois littéraire, culturelle, sociale et historique du sujet nécessite de mobiliser et croiser des approches esthétique, dramaturgique, sociocritique et postcoloniale. / Since 1830, drama has taken over the Algerian conquest theme then backed the colonial expansion in North Africa, two major events which marked French political life from the 19th century to the early 20th century. As a real social and cultural overall phenomenon, it has strongly contributed to impose the colonial spirit and the empire idea into people's minds. But to what extent exactly has it played a cultural role in this expansion and domination policy? At what frequency and with which inflexions? Which representations of the "Arab" has drama conveyed, and how has it transformed them into an ideological discourse, through a live performance received by a given audience? Has it also been a place of distancing, even contesting colonization? Otherness is put into words with drama, but it is also and mostly brought onto the scene through the body and the voice of the actor, almost always French and white. The other "native", the one who puts question, worries or fascinates, gains an enhanced visibility, for the time of the performance. Otherness is reduced to stereotypes by some authors while others call them into question. The image of the Arab – but also of the Kabylian, the Tuareg, and the mixed-race – has followed the ideological currents that have underlain the great steps of the colonial expansion, until the beginnings of the decolonization movement. On the aesthetic level, is the representation of the "Arab" the opportunity of a renewal in terms of performance, language, setting, and costumes? Does seeking "exoticism" in spectacular forms give sometimes way to concern about meeting and knowing, or acknowledging, the other? The literary, cultural, social and historical significance of the subject requires to mobilize and cross aesthetic, dramaturgic, sociocritical and post colonial approaches.

This work is focused on the role of translators and interpreters in the first contact of the Spanish conquerors and the indigenous people of Latin America, and their influence in the conquest. Although they are often unheeded, translators and interpreters played a fundamental role while conquering the newly discovered continent. Meeting new cultures with completely different languages and ways of thinking was a great challenge for the conquerors, that's why we cannot forget about the translators' role during this era. This work is focused on the Inca culture in Peru and their first contact with the Spanish conquerors lead by Francisco Pizarro. Apart from that, other parts of the conquest are discussed, such as Columbus' very first contact with the indigenous peoples or Hernan Cortes' conquest of Mexico.

(in English) This thesis focuses on the theme of the destruction of a world in the Hispanic American literature. Its principal part is a detailed analysis of the novels The Villagers, written by the Ecuadorian author Jorge Icaza, and The Kingdom of this World, written by the Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier. Additional parts of the thesis are a concise outline of significant literary works which include the theme of the destruction of a world and a brief corpus analysis. The analysis compares the frequency of the usage of several words which are connected with the theme in the Hispanic American and Spanish literature. The thesis aims to answer the following questions: Is the theme of the destruction of a world characteristic for the Hispanic American literature? In which forms does it occur? How is the theme demonstrated in the literary works, and what are its features? The thesis also examines the relation between the Hispanic American reality and the presence of the theme in the writings of the authors born in that part of the World. The relation between the analysed literary works and the historical background of the period in which it was written is important for the theses as well as selected facts of the life stories of the authors. To a certain extent, it determined their literary output.

Ce mémoire en archéologie coloniale canadienne présente une analyse de la céramique mise au jour dans la fosse à glace du site Gervaise (BjFj-119) dans le Vieux-Montréal. Le dépôt dans la fosse, où l’on peut distinguer trois niveaux stratigraphiques, a été mis en place entre 1750 et 1770, chevauchant la Conquête britannique de la Nouvelle-France en 1760. La propriété du site Gervaise, acquise par le maître boulanger Charles Gervaise en 1693 et habitée par lui et sa famille jusqu'en 1753, fut par la suite occupée par une succession de familles de la petite et moyenne bourgeoisie. L'assemblage de céramiques des trois niveaux de la fosse reflète l’évolution du paysage socioéconomique et politique de l'époque, ainsi que celle de la consommation de ces individus pendant ce temps mouvementé de l'histoire de Montréal et dans le contexte plus général de l’extension du capitalisme en Occident. L'étude est soutenue par les méthodes de description et de mise en contexte préconisées par l'archéologie du consumérisme, qui explore les diverses relations entre la culture matérielle et les individus. La collection de la glacière Gervaise offre un portrait original des maisonnées aisées de la fin du Régime français et du début du Régime anglais, et approfondit la place socioéconomique de certaines céramiques comme la terre cuite locale, le creamware, la faïence blanche et le grès fin blanc. / This thesis in Canadian colonial archaeology analyses the ceramics found in the ice cellar of the Gervaise site (BjFj-119) in Old Montreal. The deposit within the cellar, which is divided into three levels, was put in place between 1750 and 1770, thus overlapping the British Conquest of New France in 1760. The property, bought by the master baker Charles Gervaise in 1693 and occupied by him and his family until 1753, was subsequently inhabited by different families of the middling sort. The ceramics assemblage opens a window on the rapidly evolving socioeconomic and political landscape of the time and on the consumption practices of these individuals during this eventful period in Montreal history and more generally in the context of the extension of capitalism in Occident. The study is informed by the methods of description and contextualisation suggested by the archaeology of consumerism, which explores the various relationships between material culture and individuals. The collection from the Gervaise ice cellar offers an original view of well-to-do households at the end of French Regime and the beginning of the British Regime, and challenges the role of some ceramic markers such as local earthenware, creamware, white faience and white stoneware.